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!