If you had the chance to pick your dream kayak setup without any budget constraints, what would be your ultimate kayak and (if you put graphs) which graphs would you outfit it with?
Go wild with it, would love to hear your ideas for set ups and accessories that you would add.
(also don't worry about weight either...unless your trying to mount (4) 31 series batteries and a 250 optimax haha)

well since my idea of the perfect kayak is something that will get you through thick and thin, wind or waves with a paddle, and able to transport without a trailer... I already have it.. for me its the Native Kayaks Manta Ray 14.. if I want more room to stand or haul more gear, its going to defeat my whole purpose for sticking with a paddled kayak.. that day is coming sooner than later as I am having trouble loading and unloading these days... already have two trailers for kayaks, already have two motors .. honda 5 and a Newport NK180 trolling motor (that I havent put in the water)... after watching how much effort it would take to unload a kayak off a trailer, then on to a cart, then down to the water ... or trying to get a kayak off a trailer thats backed down to the water, or retrieving it... I am not sure what to do... think you better have enough power to run that kayak up on bunks or you are going to be in the water trying to get it to stay on trailer when windy.

If I go big it will be this one

I can't pick just one, but with unlimited budget I would want to have a about 5 different types of kayaks.
Each one has it's pros/cons depending on where you are fishing.

1 Lightweight paddle Kayak for small lakes or ponds that I can easily carry or even possibly portage around.

2 Peddle Kayak that is stable for standing and can handle bigger water and longer range on lakes, bays and slow moving streams

3 Trolling motor Kayak with a full electronics set for fishing deeper lakes, probably have a trailer on this one

4 Shorter River Kayak that can handle fast water and durable, maneuverable in rapids and around rocks, more like a canoe

5 Saltwater kayak than can handle big waves and longer range, either peddle or TM

There's not one Kayak that can do all these things IMHO. If there is, it's a unicorn Kayak.

Is that more of a Skiff? Very cool looking

I could never pick 1. I have 2 needs, speed and stability. In freshwater I'd like decent speed with enough stability for me to throw my castnet. Currently I want a nucanoe pursuit. In the speed areai have a stealth fisha 500.i would like a 575. I'm not too big on graphs. Although I do like GPS. Those would be my 2.

This^
The OP post begs the question-why?
Kayaks, in their true form, are meant to inexpensive simple way to get on the water. I know some people love to spend money "improving" their kayak and that's just fine.
My buddy that fishes out of his Pelican 106 (vintage 1990s something) that leaks like a sieve and looks like ka-ka, is totally happy with his kayak and catches a lot of fish on a regular basis.

I agree. Simple is better. Also,,,most who go into the saltwater offshore don't use a trolling motor. Light is key out there. The distance required for real offshore play means you need a serious battery. To give an example, I regularly paddle over 20 miles out there.

Mine is about as perfect as I could hope for for me. I fish mainly lakes, use a trailer; and want a big stable kayak that gets me where I want to go and back with all the goodies and juice I could need.

^^^this is about right
*pedal

I’d also add a quality inflatable like the Sea Eagle 385fta
Something that deflates to put in the back seat, and then just reinflate.
Their lightweight makes them easy to transport to places you just can’t do easily with an HDPE kayak.

With an unlimited budget, it wouldn't even look like a traditional kayak with all of its inherent flaws. I would hire a marine designer to build me something that would be a cross between a one man pontoon, a sup, and kayak out of carbon fiber materials which are super light and strong, plus collapsible for car top or PU truck transport to Launch point.

With lots of difficulty for fishing out of a kayak, whether standing up or sitting down- myself would need something that is an effortless boat platform. It takes too much practice to handle several things on a kayak design at the same time, like- keeping your balance, getting only a momentary both hands-free (some pedal kayaks need 1 hand steering) for casting or working a fish, holding position without swinging around from an anchor, annoyances with balance needed for crawling in and out multiple times during a trip, focus for fighting wind and waves so they don't hit broadside or push you backwards when fighting a fish, tracking in and marinating feet in muddy water without a bail out system, poor ergonomics and comfort of the sitting position, Etc.. Even for The Talented youngsters that achieve a decent mastery, it gets more and more difficult to handle kayaks as one approaches senior citizenship with it's aches and pains, balance and strength issues.. That's why in my humble opinion, probably a one-man solid or inflatable pontoon design, which can be Rowed, finned, or GPS motored to hover / cruise autopilot in shallow / deep water with an added stand up collapsible lean bar might be a consideration, as it gets around many of the above issues.

Agree on lightweight and carbon fiber... Kaskazi out of South Africa made the Dorado years ago out of fiberglass... my very old friend Dr Hammer, got one of the first ones imported to the US.. and became their poster boy... At almost 16 feet and 24.5 beam it was a rocket ship on the water and weighed only 55 lbs. He backed his truck over the first one and ordered a second one.. The one below was a special build they made for him, his third. I gave him a hard time on public forums telling folks it was the finest looking fishing kayak ever made... but the cockpit was too narrow, even for my skinny butt. They made this one a with a wider seat pan and added some width to the foot wells which were so narrow on the earlier models that you couldnt wear shoes in one.. pics below


pictures of it sent to him as it was being built.




the finished product sitting in my buddys koi pond. Im not sure he ever caught a fish out of it as he just liked looking at it.

He sold it to me a few years ago when he started losing his balance and couldnt lift it into the back of his truck... damn old age!


I rarely fish out of it except when I go back to Flamingo, Everglades, where I first met him.