New Native Kayak with propel drive

A new video is circulating, as of yesterday, showing a short clip of the new Native Ultimate FX Propel to be released in February, 2016. It is priced just under $3000 with the added fancy package which includes factory anchor trolleys on both sides, a sliding crate "thingy" rear of the seat, 3 rod holders, and room for paddles inside and along the sides. It has the "canoe" look so the floor area where one would stand will place you deeper in the water. It turns on a dime based on the video, has a top speed of over 5 mph. Very stable. I think it will grab a lot of market share up in the high-end, pedal driven space.

Here is the info sheet:




Brad

Well dang, this makes things a little more complicated for me! Good thing I still have a couple of years until I get a propel.

And the price of yaks keeps going higher and higher. Nice boat though.

I like what I see so far but I'm concerned about accessible storage and a good spot for a Side Image transducer.

Yeah i'm pretty excited about this kayak also.

Man.. that's sexy... I must have one... don't know where I'll put it.. But I must have it... LOL.

And, here is the video of one of the factory men giving it a spin. It does look like it turns in a very tight circle for a 13 footer.


Brad


New Propel video

Well, if you have ever priced a high quality recumbent bike, part of the price for Propels, and really Hobie's too, makes sense. We had this dude who used to ride through the TCU neighborhoods on one, I thought it looked really nice, so I priced one and it was nearly $3000!

One huge factor for this kayak? Its weight of 79 lbs. without seat or drive in place, and I think 98 lbs. with them both installed. This still leaves this kayak in the range of easily moving it to the lake, then at the lake, without being forced to trailer it, or forced to drop it in using a ramp.

Options wide open, certainly with a truck and a cart.

I'm leaning toward this model for a second kayak I'll need next year.

Brad

Does it use the same propel drive as in 13 or this is a new drive?

You can put it on top of my car

Yakrider,

The Propel 10 and 13 use the same drive unit but with different length thwart bars, the bar (or tube) up at the front that clips down in two places. A third clip then forms a triangle to lock it down once the drive is rotated down into the water.

This new kayak uses the same drive with the 10's thwart bar, at least that is what they were using on the demo model at ICAST 2015.

I'd have to "think" about some of the design trade-offs. The new vessel is a half inch narrower than the Slayer Propel 13, 1.5" narrower than the 10 but the person's feet will be lower in the water for some offsetting positive stability. Just a guess that the boat is shaped better for paddling. Comfort-wise, there is much more room under the seat for storage, and a person will be sitting with thighs almost parallel to the water for easy standing up. No need that I can tell for an stand-up assist of any sort.

* I like the idea that they are staying with a single Propel drive so it can be continually perfected over time. One major advance to its design was made for the 2015 models that makes the unit water-tight. And, a propeller change was made, too.

I hope to see some of these on the lakes next year, one with my butt in it!

Note that Greg Blanchard won the KATS Angler of the Year out of a Propel 13. You'll be seeing more of these models in kayak fishing tournaments I suspect.

Brad

This is virtually the same hull as your FX12. It will have the same fore and aft storage capabilities.
The beauty of this boat is it comes with lots of added features not found on most yaks.
The front hatch cover, dual anchor trolleys, thwart box, and rod holders are all standard equipment.
This boat took us approximately 18 months to design and it incorporates ideas from kayak fishers all over the world.


VIDEO

When will this be available to Demo?

They are supposed to start shipping around the first of the year.
If one becomes available sooner I'll post up a demo time and location.

I love my Commander 120 but after watching that video I have got to get one!

For anyone who watched the video, you can hear Woody commenting on the kayak's demo accessibility this week "in Texas." If I were in town, I might have gone down and taken a look at it.

Jerry is correct: this kayak has a ton of accessories as standard features that we normally have to add after a kayak purchase. It appears to me to be almost ready-to-fish.

For my preferences, I am primarily a finesse fisherman, an under-seat storage device for my tackle and I'd be all set to go.

Brad

We may have one in Dallas for a visit next week. Don't know if there will be an opportunity to put it on the water or not. Still working out all of those details. As soon as I know I'll post an invite.

I spoke with Woody and Mike at OR about this kayak. The thwart box is being overlooked by a lot of people right now because so few have seen it. There are endless possibilities with it for sure. Woody also said he was planning on having this kayak at the ACK Demo Days this weekend and next. I am going to run down and check it out. Hopefully it makes it. They were doing some fine tuning to make it even better. For those looking for standability + pedals this is another great addition to the market. It won't be for everyone but it will impress in person. I spent about an hour going through every nook and cranny of it last month. Other than the thwart box (which I think they should rename to something not including *wart) the paddle stowage is pretty cool as well. I'll try to get some pictures this weekend if it makes an appearance. I also plan to test out the 5mph speed. From what I've seen and experienced in past hulls like this have some limitations. We shall see. I hope I am wrong.

And, in addition to a speed assessment, if Jerry or PayneFish, anyone else for that matter who demos this kayak, will fill us all in on how well it paddles.

Even though I rarely break out the long paddle for my 10, most anyone on the water in a vessel is usually very big on redundant "get home" power.

Brad

I can assure you that it paddles well. It is virtually an Ultimate FX with a propel drive. We designed it to be used either way.

I like the way the bow rides high it will make it even more capable taking on rough water and boat wakes.

i put my transducer on the propeller head, just like i do on a trolling motor. works great. so far

You got that right... yikes

Good idea, I hadn't thought of that, to obvious, Thanks

There are still kayaks for sale that are less expensive.
Of course they do not have the capabilities or features of those that are more expensive.

Pictures and report in the morning!

damn it, does this mean I have to call in sick????

No, I'm gathering info any minute.
I'll report in the morning.

Pedaled one this weekend. I'm a novice kayaker so my take may be different than a more experienced one. I did not paddle it, only pedaled it. I pedaled it, the 10' slayer and the 13' slayer.

IMO, The Ultimate did not track well, if that is correct term. I could not keep it going in a semi-straight line at all. Had to continuously adjust the rudder to keep it going toward a set target on the bank. It would start veering either left or right; I would barely move the rudder the opposite direction and it still wouldn't correct. Moving the rudder even further would eventually correct it and I would go straight for a few yards and then it would veer the other way. It was more stable than the two slayers. As Woody told me, I could stand and press the outside of both legs against the side and I felt very firm. It is more canoe than kayak in my simple mind. More storage than the slayers. I liked the idea of the split paddles being put on each side of the ultimate.

The 10' could turn much easier than the the 13' or the Ultimate. It tracked better than the Ultimate but not as good as the 13' Slayer. It was least stable of the three but not unstable at all. I felt that I could stand and fish easily.

The 13' was the best of the three at tracking. I could keep it going straight toward a target with very little adjustment to the rudder. It did not turn as well as the 10'. Very stable while standing.

I will be purchasing a 13' soon.

Anyway, just my thoughts. Your mileage may vary!

Those are actually really good points, even from someone who considers himself a rookie. That is how I'd identify myself since I have only kayaked for a few months in my 10. Before that, I used a fishing canoe.

Your report jibes with most other's regarding the turning and other features of a 10 versus a 13. Now, we can start quantifying this new Ultimate Propel and how it compares.

I was thinking the exact same thing, that really the new Ultimate FX leans a bit more toward a canoe than a kayak. So many kayaks now are hybrids, some between a kayak and a Stand-up paddle board, others between a kayak and a canoe.

But, hybrid vigor is almost always a good thing.

I actually experience the exact same tracking issue in my Propel 10 and what I have found is that after a few times out, I learned to use the hand control a bit better meaning I have learned to be more subtle and not over-steer where I then have to jam the lever the other way and I get caught in one of those "back and forth" endless adjustments.

Several of you may have read my way of handling the long distance pulls across water when you desire a straight path:

What I do is look at my target and generally bring the kayak onto that preferred course, then I start pedaling and I purposely set the bow so that it pulls slightly off to port(it could be off a few degrees to either side), then I use one of those small hand paddles on the opposite side (in my right hand) and I drop the paddle into the water on the starboard side just briefly, pulsing it as necessary to pull the bow back onto my intended target. So, what it looks like is a vessel moving to its far-away target, then pulling a degree or two to port, me dropping the "hand rudder" into the water and dragging it for a few seconds, then back on my target course, and I repeat this across the lake.

It sounds like a lot of work; it isn't.

I just find hand ruddering with one of the small hand paddles a whole lot easier to make a one or two degree adjustment to a tiny port bow pull . . . than making constant back and forth rudder lever adjustments of, what, 5 degrees or so.

On short moves, my 10 tracks fine and I don't use the paddle as a rudder.

Anyone who canoes knows what I am talking about since most of them, especially broad and flat bottomed fishing shaped ones with no rudders or keels, track poorly . . . so they often drop the long paddle blade in the water as a rudder to make course adjustments more often or as often as they paddle to one side to line up the canoe back up.

My hand paddle is right behind my seat all the time and I often use it for really tiny adjustments.

Just a guess that this is one of those "putting things on the scales" where, yes, they could have made these kayaks track a bit better at the expense of making them less stable for standing and general stability issues for a broader and better fishing experience.

Anyway, good report!

Brad

Since I was a part of the design team Woody brought the prototype unit up last night for me to try it out.
I was very impressed with the look of the unit (I had only seen photos and conceptual drawings until last night).
The Ultimate is a hybrid cross between a sit on top and a sit in kayak. It has the tunnel hull construction which is way different from any canoe I have ever seen. The first class seat of course is one of my favorite parts of our Native yaks. The boat was quick, tracked really well in my opinion (I actually took off across the lake and just let it glide to determine how well it would track and it went very straight), turned a lot quicker than even my SP 10, and the weight being so much less than most yaks is a huge plus with me.
The thwart box with the built in rod holders, the battery box, the front hatch cover, and the dual anchor trolleys coming stock on it are a nice touch.
We turned the boat over so I could see the new transducer pod on the bottom which is a really nice touch (they heard you Derek). It will have molded in mounting hardware on the production models.

I did not paddle the yak as I didn't realize I had a paddle until I got back to shore and got down and started looking closely at the interior and discovered one in the built in paddle holders under the gunnels.

Overall I was very impressed with the first prototype of the yak.
It does need a few tweaks and once they are done I see it as a very versatile kayak that can be used on a multitude of waters.

Jerry... I'm jealous... just sayin...

Sorry, had to re-size my pics before uploading them.

still jealous...

.

Thanks for the report and Picts.