Old Town - Predator K140 Kayak

[Fitzy]

Over New Years I was fortunate enough to borrow an Old Town, Predator K140 kayak & took it for a paddle in part of the Clarence River catchment in northern NSW.

Having owned several canoes / kayaks I was surprized at how easily I got this polyethylene constructed kayak on & off the roof of the Hilux on my own & then carrying to & from the waters edge. The weight was surprizingly less than other plastics kayaks I've paddled previously and doing a little research after the fact I realised it is only 30.8 kg.

Once on the water, I found there was ample storage space, in fact lots more than I needed for day tripping. I could have easily fit a sleeping bag, tent and alot more fishing gear if I really wanted to, upto 205kg pay maximum payload. Storage nets with zips allow the storage of comonly used things like tackle trays, camera case etc. Positioned on the floor between your legs is an insulating foam rubber drink holder and storage area where things like pliers and that last lure seem to congregate.

One of the first tests for any canoe or kayak is getting in. The K140 Predator was easy to get into due to the large cockpit area which is  around 2.4 meters long and over half a meter wide; even the widest of folks could swing inside with little effort. Once the bum was in the seat, a couple of quick ajustments saw the back rest and foot rests in the most comfortable position for me. Once settled I noticed the cockpit provided a work space that was not restricted and allowed me to swing around to cast lures to the side, move the legs around with ease and even kneel with ease to give the crook back the occasional stretch.

Being a "sit-in" arrangement as opposed to a "sit on top" gives a lower centre of gravity thus giving a very stable position in the water and eliminating the need for specially formed hull design to compensate. The K140 sits nicely in the water and tracks extremely well. Being 4.3 meters long it is a fairly quick kayak for its purpose. I paddled it fairly effortlessly at a comfortable paddle rate and easily maintained over 5 km/hour.

The K140 Predator does not come with a rudder, and, having previously paddled kayaks with rudders I thought this might be an issue. Again, the no nonsense hull design has no need for a keel & thus turns well without the need of a rudder.

All in all, I was surprized at how effective the K140 is as fishing tool. It provided a comfortable, stable fishing platform for a long day and many miles on the water. As a fishing package the rod holder mount comes in very handy and the camo color, for mine is great for not attracting attention to yourself when you're trying to enjoy the solitude a piece of river like this provides.

I can highly recommend the Old Town Predator K140 to anyone who is interested in a purpose built kayak for fishing.

Weight - 30.8kg
Length - 4.3m
Width - 0.79m
Cockpit - 2.39m x 0.53m
Capacity - 204kg
Plolyethylene Construction
Price - $1799
Trade Enquiries to BLA Pty Ltd 07 3907 5500

Garry Fitzgerald

[Fitzy]

Didn't catch anything huge, but the bass made up for in eagerness what they lacked in size.

[Fitzy]

Hi James,
I have updated the original post to include price.

Cheers,

fitz..

[roz]

Would definately agree with Fitzy's views on the K140.

I was lucky enough to be given a test run.

To be honest I really would have been happy to paddle off, and leave Fitzy standing on the banks of the Orara while I flicked lures around for bass.

My old fibre glass canoe is the only thing I have ever bass fished from, so it was certainly a surprise to climb into this kayak and find it was so much better than the old canoe..certainly something I had never contemplated.

At around 30 kgs, it is extremely light, I would have no trouble what so ever, loading & unloading from the back of my ute, even sliding it up onto racks would'nt be an issue at all!!

Yep!! I know what I want for Christmas (last Christmas).

Thanks again Fitzy