it looks great. Stable and cool looking. I think the water leaking out the bait tank and into the side hatches was the biggest disapointment. And in the wintertime having the bait tank drain onto my feet is something I'm not looking forward to. I had so much water come in through the side hatches, that .... my fishfinder and baittank shorted out somewhere (any advise as to what happened?) . Saltwater I guess ruined the wiring, cause the battery was in the pelican case. Just flustrating when my homemade plywood yak and Trident 15 ride so dry and nice in the wintertime. I took one windwave in and was surprised at how wet that wave was. Sitting that low to the water is gonna be a new wet ride that I haven't yet experienced. And the conditions I were in weren't even that bad. Been in lots worse, and it kinda makes me nervous to think how I'd do with constant windwaves hitting my Stealth 12 one after another.
I've got my work cut out for me, trying to figure out how to make this my main ride. I know my getting use to the kayak has a little bit to do with the amount of water I found inside the kayak, sure. Also, had a dead cell phone, the side hatches are far from waterproof. My bad again though, on my other kayaks I have dry storage boxes that I put all the stuff in. You live and learn. And that is what I will try and do, I just hope I don't sink and die
With the recent money spent, I can't afford to make too many big changes in the near future. Even will have to save up to purchase the auto bilge pump. I want an auto bilge pump install in this Kayak especially, but will have to use the hand bilge pump for now.
As for the hatches, I think Malibu is okay at best in replacing the hatches if there is a problem, but I've read some real bummer situations on this very subject as well. Something they know about and want to fix, but haven't yet. To me it seems, they probably know they have a serious issue on there hands and are working overtime to fix a.s.a.p. From what I've read they give you all the reasons you don't want to hear like...."well, your using your kayak in conditions that it wasn't intended to be used in." You know the Guy in the Tie that likes to Lie approach.
Agree big time on the main selling point being the bait tank. But, if you can't turn it on cause it leaks water all over and into the side hatches then ....it just doesn't make it worth it. And to have Fall and Winter water temps draining onto your feet, plain sucks. Makes me think, reaching over my back with a net just might be more appealing.
Again, this Kayak has potential to be great for someone, I'm just not sure it's for me. Still kicking myself for not doing more research before buying. In the future, I will read reviews on something I pay more than $500 for... cause usually the info of the pros and cons are out there in today's info world.