Well the big day came and went off without a hitch! (Sound of fireworks and champagne corks popping...crowds cheering....)
I had arranged to meet Onkabob at 2:00pm, but I cheated and went early. I wanted to head out into the gulf, and see if I could catch a couple of squid before meeting up with him.
So I loaded up the 4wd, which wasn't hard even though it has come in a bit hefty at 28kg. (That's due to a few mods, but also my inexperience and oversized fillets I'm sure).
Got down to the launch spot, and unloaded. There were quite a few people about, being such a nice day, with kayaks coming and going everywhere. I had lots of comments and curious looks. One of the locals who was suitably impressed took some photos and I asked him to take one with my camera:
I proceeded downstream, the tide was very low so I got hung up on a couple of sand bars trying to find a way through to the mouth and out into the sea. Finally I made it out of the mouth navigating a couple of 3-4 foot breakers on the way, which got me wet but the Sabalo took it all in her stride. I was amazed at how stable it stayed while riding over waves that were just breaking.
I ventured out about 500 metres to a favourite spot to try to catch some squid, but unfortunately they had gone home for the afternoon. But I used the time wisely by opening a celebratory beer and toasted my good health and held a brief naming ceremony, dubbing my Sabalo the good ship 'Go Anywhere'.
After about an hour out there enjoying the sun and sea, I remembered that I had an appointment with Onkabob back at the launch spot at 2:00. I got back in time and a few minutes later he paddled down the river, having arrived a few minutes early while I was away, and heading upstream. He said some suitably kind things about seeing my Sabalo in the flesh and so I gave him a go. It was nice seeing it on the water at a distance, and it looked great. Bob looked very comfortable in the boat and it did look great, even though it's still not finished.
So we ventured off together back down the river, flicking lures as we went, but without success. (Mid afternoons aren't usually prime fishing time on the Onk.)
All in all it was a great day. the Sabalo is a fantastic boat. Very stable, and surprisingly nimble (really does go anywhere - flat water, rolling surf and ocean). I was amazed at it's surfing ability on the way back into the river, where the breakers seemed the biggest. I could surf with ease and only needed to apply a little oar to keep it straight.
I found it very stable, I even stood up in it on the flat water, and while I wouldn't make it a habit, I wasn't scared of tipping. Certainly getting up on my haunches to make my way fore or aft wouldn't be a problem at all.
In terms of speed I was pleasantly surprised. I was able to make quick pace and it paddled straight as an arrow. I thought it might be a bit difficult to turn, being a straightie, but it wasn't at all. Carved turns aren't the Sabalo's thing, but it isn't a chore to turn her right about with a couple of decent sweep strokes. The tumblehome panels really make it easy to get a good angle onto the paddle, and I didn't skin my knuckles once on the handles I installed there.
Fishing is going to be a delight in the Sabalo. My favourite position when fishing from a yak at anchor or when drifting is side-on with legs over the side. I find this is the best position to be able to get hands to everything - in this case the cockpit hatch on one side, and the coolerbox on the other, and to manage a fish into the boat (when that happens!). The sharp lip on the top of the cockpit edge surprisingly wasn't uncomfortable under my legs at all.
I didn't have time to install rod holders before this trip, but I found the tankwell scupper performed the task very nicely while paddling.
However there a couple of negatives to report. The first, which is easily fixable, is that water did get into the under floor storage area. I got a fair bit of water into the cockpit when I crashed a wave heading out to sea and I was surprised when I opened the hatch that there was about half a litre of water in the bottom. This is no fault of the Sabalo design of course. At first I was worried that I might not have sealed the scuppers well enough up forward, but I am pretty sure it is because the hatch I installed, which is a second hand Hobie 8", has a foam seal that came with it which was pretty thin and flimsy. I think I will need to replace the seal, or better yet, seal it with silicone.
The only real gripe (minor) is that when I got water in the cockpit, water did well in the rear section where the seat is. I thought that this might happen, so I am planning on retro fitting a couple of scuppers. I plan to make some fibreglass tubes which should be easy to install. Of course carrying a big slurpy sponge with me might also deal with that, after all it's not alot of water, but it it a bit of a drag sitting in a puddle of water getting a wet behind. (The other fix is to lift the seat up an inch or so with a foam pad.)
That's about it for my first play on the Sabalo. Fantastic fishing yak, and will definitely be responsible for the demise of a fair swag of fish!
I still have a couple of weeks work on it to finish it off, hopefully in time to enter a local kayak fishing comp.
Thanks again to all here who have been an encouragement and a source of help when needed, and thanks Matt for designing a fantastic fishing kayak!
But hey its still a lovely boat.
