Very nice setup!

First fish!


Here:

Nice boat, Pops. I've paddled them alot at the RISE events and they are stable as hell and paddle nicely.

Looks like a good rig come duck season.

Initial thoughts:
Cool little boat, everybody ought to have one!

I need to preface my comments and say they are based on a very short initial quick 2 hour fishing morning. I'm sure I'll change my mind on some things over time. Don't pay attention to this if you're shopping or even just curious. Just initial, random thoughts.

When I got in and started paddling my first thought was "what have I done".
If I had test paddled this boat I wouldn't have bought it.
I'm glad I didn't test paddle and walk away though because I really like it!

It paddles easy. It doesn't take much to get it going. That's a plus! It tracks OK I guess, but not impressively. It is pretty easy to cover water in it but it doesn't build momentum like the pescador (old Tarpon hull) did.
The pescador tracked great, dead straight and the more you dug the more power it built. It would flat out get rolling and stay rolling. The Ultimate wasn't a struggle at all to get rolling or keep on track, it just seemed like you didn't reap the benefit of prior work. If you wanted to keep going you needed to keep paddling. Once done, it didn't seem to stay as straight as the pescador. It would drift around a little. Harder to keep pointed at a spot. I think about 90% of that complaint would be solved with a little short paddle for easy quick corrections.

What did totally freak me out in a positive way was when I got it perpendicular to the slight chop I was in, it would just sit there. Sitting sideways like that I could fish a spot as long as I wanted to and barely move. No way I could have done that in the pescador.

Fishing in it was just frickin' awesome!!! Everything in easy reach. Easy to co-manage a rod and the paddle. Comfortable in changing tackle or taking fish off. No fear about losing anything. Tons of room to work with. It's a fishing machine!

Love the light weight. Really easy to manhandle around.

The stability was off the chart. I think to fall out of this thing you'd have to jump. Totally different from the feel of the Pescador.

I really like the seat. It is super comfortable but I'm not really sure it lives up to all I've read about it. I think a long day in it would still be a long day.

It bugs me that it doesn't at least have a drain. I'm good with no scupper holes but would like to be able to pull the plug and hose it out.

All in all, a very cool deal!
A light weight, easy to handle, easy to paddle, super stable fishing machine with a super convenient layout. I think because it is what it is vs a yak that it will have a much longer season for me than a yak. I think about a cool fall day when I might think twice about taking the yak out, I'd take this out in a heartbeat.

Glad I own one! I think everybody should.

Whether it remains the only ship in the fleet and the number one ship in the fleet, time will tell!

......but it definitely has it's place!

A rudder would be a big help. It should have a drain slot on each side, look high up on the middle of the craft, between the Adapt-a-Trak and the top of the gunwale, above the Native signage on the side. I tip my Natives on their sides to hose them out and drain them.

Saw those. Wondered what the heck they were! Thanks.

I have two Native Ultimate 14.5s. They track really well without the rudder and even better with the rudder.

I'd like to paddle a 14.
I bet they're sweet!

That's a nice kayak. Don't let haters get you down. You did good!

Thanks!

I read all the haters before I bought it.

I love being able to read all the input good and bad but I have a history of pretty much doing what I want to. I ran boat brands for years the cookie cutters always slammed. I like what I like and I think this is pretty cool.

Pop, I am new to the kayak thing, but that looks like a great rig! Could it be set up for two people. I am looking for something I can take my 6 year old daughter out with me. Thanks.

Congrats pop!!! Good choice! No kayak is perfect but some are so much better in other areas that they make up for where they lack. Also it's always a good sign when you slime a yak first time out.

I take my 8 year-old granddaughter out in my Native Ultimate 14.5 Tandem.

I think we will see a trend towards more fishing specific SINKS/hybrids in the future - the Jackson Kilroy is one example. Many paddlers have only done SOT's and don't realize some of the significant advantages of a SINK. Most are turned off (and understandly so) about the turtling issue but I think if more people took the time to check out boats such as the Ultimate, there would be more yakkers in them and a stronger demand. The fact that the Ultimate has such a strong following is testament to that. Again, I think you did great in your selection.


Pops, I would like your feedback about how you like the surface mounted rear rod holders. Do you find them convenient vs. a flush mount?