G'day all,
I picked my 'Cuda up a week or two ago from Horizon Line. As everyone has said, Ben was great to deal with, and I wouldn't hesitate to buy there again.
Her maiden voyage was last weekend, just out to Apple Tree Bay to go for a bit of a paddle. I'm ordinarily a beach/rock fisher, so don't have a lot of gear appropriate for river/estuary work, so decided to forego the fishing and just see how the Cuda went out on the water. First and foremost, the rudder makes a hell of a difference, and I'm somewhat glad that only ruddered versions are being imported - going unruddered in a Cuda wouldn't do it justice. It tracks very well considering the hull design and size, and is much faster than I expected - I was quite happily cruising along at around 5 knots in a fairly heavy crosswind (again, tracking very well by trimming the rudder). It should also be noted that I'm not the fittest paddler in the world.
(also, it's a fairly large yak for someone of my size to drive, given I only weigh about 65).
I was amazed by the sheer amount of room available - with the rear and fore hatches, and the enormous centre hatch, I can't see anyone complaining about the amount of hull storage. The tank well is also huge. I had been intending on using my hammock when yak camping, but I reckon I could quite happily fit my swag in the tankwell inside a drybag. Luxury!
Once real concern I had was loading and unloading - I transport the Cuda on my roof basket (75 series Troopy), which is a pretty decent height to lift 14 foot of yak onto. I had no problem doing so at all with the aid of a decent trolley and a little planning. Loading it was even easier than unloading it was. I do have the advantage of a basket designed for a tinny, with rollers either side - but that roller is really only useful as a starter, as it's too narrow to take the entirety of the yak up. I ended up gaffing a cut-down water noodle next to the roller as another slide, to avoid damage while lifting. This worked better than I could've imagined.
Moving the yak around on the trolley was a breeze - I only had a short walk, so didn't even bother slipping the trolley fully underneath the yak, which would've made it significantly easier.
It's hard to comment on the fishability, since I haven't, well, fished from her yet - but I'll get there.
I'm planning on installing a few starports up front for a rodholder/hardcase mount (for my phone, which I'll be using as my GPS), and just as soon as I can get down to Whitworth's I'll grab some gear to make an anchor trolley. Behind the seat I'll install a high-vis flag, seeing as I couldn't help myself when I saw the lowland camo style Cuda.
I'm lucky enough that my better half was eager to come along and check it out, and take some photos for me, so... enough babbling, a picture is worth a thousand words:
Hopefully some of those help out prospective buyers. I know I had a lot of trouble finding much info on the Cuda because of how new they are.
