Here is a shot of my cuda 14 with the 16.5x13 crate and a 12x10 ice chest.



So that crate is 16.5 long in the fore aft direction +10" for the cooler and 2" for the rod holders on the back of the crate. That gets you a idea of the length.

I'm thinking you might can get your yeti in the hole but not both. if the dimensions of your yeti is 21x15.5. The back right behind the seat is a bit bigger than 21 inches but there are 2 rizers there that will not let it go down all the way. You might be able to set the yeti on top of the rizers, I'm not sure though.

I was looking at your Yeti dimensions Here

It looks like it will sit right behind the seat but will have to sit on top of the rizers. Your crate would have to go behind the cooler.

You can see the rizers that I am talking about here in this photo. right behind the seat it is 21.5 wide.

325lbs + your rods, tackle trays, & sonar is fine. but say your camping on the river and the water come up like it does... this is just one of many things that can and do happen...
Not trying to burst bubbles or up trouble with what im about to say. just understand that the more weight you put in any boat, the less performance your gonna see from it. Can you MAKE IT WORK on a nice day? Yeah!!! Is it safe?
I hope you never find out that its not. Weight capacity ratings are there for good reasons. Please, pay attention to them. After sinking 1 boat & almost loosing my life as well as 2 friends, I think differently & so should we all about what is sea worthy & not. Remember there are no "unsinkable" ships. If it EVER takes on water, there goes the rest of what performance you once had.
BELIEVE ME, i speak from experience & admit i may be singing a different tune had it not happened to me. nothing wrong with the jackson line IMO as long as you adhere to their weight capacity ratings.

Thanks Whitacre I do belive your right about it fitting on top of the rizers.

Zombie The Jackson line is the only kayak that has everything im looking for but the only compromise is the weight capacity, witch is a big compromise! The ride has the high seat now my im not impressed with it compared to the cuda. Im in love with the hobie pro anglers, but with trying to buy the wife a kayak i cant afford a PA. I like the malibu line also but there a little sketchy. Not sure were else to go and get at least most of what i want in a boat. Any suggestions?

Big tuna but I know your not keen on that. No internal storage. The Native slayers, I think they are a bit more weight caps (50lbs or so), than the cudas, nice clean decks but no internal storage.

Malibu had a management change in 2011, with an emphasis on changing the way they manufactured yaks and specifically addressed the issues common with the Malibus, like the seat breaking. In the new yaks' short life spans, we've not seen any broken ones. I'd be confident in the 2011 models and newer.

Keep in mind that manufacturers over inflate their capacities to varying degrees. Jackson and Native exaggerate a little, OK and Wilderness exaggerate by as much as 33%. Finding a solo yak that can truly handle 400 lbs among the bigger yak companies is difficult: the Malibu X-Factor is the only one I would feel comfortable recommending.

However, there are smaller companies who have options, such as the NuCanoe Frontier and Kajun Kayaks' KC12, both of which have serious amounts of capacity.

I still would encourage you to test drive a Big Tuna. It has the capacity you're looking for and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by the performance.

Have you taken a look at the WS Ride 135? Has 550lbs capacity and will come with the new seat if you get a new version. It has plenty of internal storage. Also would cost ya a couple hundred less.

Whitacre-Your right about the tuna, Im not fond of it at all. As far as the slayer, I had looked at them but I hate that there is no internal storage. It sucks trying to fit all of your camping gear into a bunch of dry bags.

Id rather stay away from the newer company's with the weird designs.

I had heard that Malibu kayaks went through a management change. They still scare me. There seems to be to many issues that there still trying to sort out. I mean they cant even update there web sight and or display the new designs of there boats.

For some reason I dont really care for the wilderness systems boats. I dont like the look or designs of there seats for some reason. Im sure there great boats and most people seem to love them, but for some reason i just dont.