Wildman
Free Member
Play boat, or fishing yak, you choose. AB Leisure Retail Ltd., have a stunning range of sit on top kayaks suitable for just about anything you could wish for. They have a 3mtr,3.5, and 4mtr all of which I will have the privilege to review for you. We initially look at the Ranger 1, the smallest of the range , so small it will fit inside most cars, vans and motorhomes. Motorhomes come in many sizes large vans like mine with a roof full of solar panels only have three choices to carry water transport of a solid variety, inside across the back or on a trailer. So a small kayak like the Ocean Ranger 1 should fit the bill.
As delivered and on top of my Disco you can see it will actually fit inside, and I later proved that it could. So what do you get,
Kayak 2.700 long, 800mm wide and 300 deep, it weighs 21 kilo and has a payload of 150kg (we shall see)
A set of six scupper bungs
One piece paddle
Deluxe seat that includes a handy bag on the back of it.
4x flush mount rod holders
1 x centre mount (on a ball so adjustable) rod holder
Initial impression is one of solid engineering and well thought out design. There are two hatches both hinged.
The hatch in front of the seat is a sealed watertight compartment.
The one in the bow allows access to the hull but also has a removable bag suspended by the rim.
The rear well is large enough to carry a dive bottle or tackle box
Footrests are moulded in to make paddling comfortable.
The high backed seat incorporates a useful bag on the rear. The seat itself is very comfortable and well padded.
Side carry handles are magic to save skinned knuckles they make lifting very easy.
The paddle keeper is one of the most positive I have seen and holds the paddle well down out of the way when fishing.
The sides of the yak taper out towards the bottom making it easier to paddle and creating a stable platform.
Before I can try it on the rear of the motorhome I have to build the rack, but dimension wise it fits perfectly. However due to the fact that it is only 300mm deep it does pass easily through an open Seitz window and fit inside of the motorhome making it easy to keep safe when out exploring.
More comments once it has been on the water and in the surf.
As delivered and on top of my Disco you can see it will actually fit inside, and I later proved that it could. So what do you get,
Kayak 2.700 long, 800mm wide and 300 deep, it weighs 21 kilo and has a payload of 150kg (we shall see)
A set of six scupper bungs
One piece paddle
Deluxe seat that includes a handy bag on the back of it.
4x flush mount rod holders
1 x centre mount (on a ball so adjustable) rod holder
Initial impression is one of solid engineering and well thought out design. There are two hatches both hinged.
The hatch in front of the seat is a sealed watertight compartment.
The one in the bow allows access to the hull but also has a removable bag suspended by the rim.
The rear well is large enough to carry a dive bottle or tackle box
Footrests are moulded in to make paddling comfortable.
The high backed seat incorporates a useful bag on the rear. The seat itself is very comfortable and well padded.
Side carry handles are magic to save skinned knuckles they make lifting very easy.
The paddle keeper is one of the most positive I have seen and holds the paddle well down out of the way when fishing.
The sides of the yak taper out towards the bottom making it easier to paddle and creating a stable platform.
Before I can try it on the rear of the motorhome I have to build the rack, but dimension wise it fits perfectly. However due to the fact that it is only 300mm deep it does pass easily through an open Seitz window and fit inside of the motorhome making it easy to keep safe when out exploring.
More comments once it has been on the water and in the surf.