[Guest]

Been doing a little research and found a yak which looks interesting. Its made by a company called Liquid Logic, who have a distributor here in Australia based in South Australia. I doubt they carry stocks of these though?

http://www.liquidlogickayaks.com/products/mantaray.html - Only pics of the MR12 on the website

Pics of the MR14 :
Side Profile
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j207/dudearooer/ll2.jpg
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j207/dudearooer/ll.jpg

http://liquidlogicmantaray.blogspot.com/ (This blog only has pics of the shorter, wider MR12 unfortunately)

Spec's on the Manta Ray 14 : 14'7" (4.45m) - 71cm - 29.5kg - Max Load 170kg

Length is about right.....same width as the Prowler, similar weight as well.
The design looks cool......bit of a Tarpon copy by the looks of it.

Likes :
Low Seating Position = Stability
Tarpon Style Layout = Great Fitout
Good Seating
Supposedly Very Dry Ride
Supposedly Reaonably Fast

Dislikes :
Freeboard looks a little high

Just thought I would post this out of interest more than anything

 

[Davey G]

Hi Dallas..

I picked up Canoe and Kayak magazine (US Mag) a few weeks ago and that issue was their Kayak Fishing Special.. not sure if its still on sale in newsagents? http://canoekayak.com

Anyway, they had a fishing kayak review http://canoekayak.com/gear/kayaks/Fishi ... view/#loop and one of the yaks featured was the Liquid Logic Manta Ray in the 12 foot version and I'll have to say it really grabbed my attention. Although I think its mainly aimed at inshore fishing in the states the deck layout looked great (and VERY Tarponsih!),, probably why I liked it! The 14 footer as advertised in the magazine looked even better.

Another great looking yak was the Perception Bimini - 15 footer and a sensational layout. Have a look here http://www.kayaker.com/new/products/boa ... -top&ID=91.

A pity that these yaks dont seem to be available in Australia...???

 

[Guest]

I fired off an email today to the Australian distributor to ask if there were any plans to bring it over here. If not there is always the possibility of a one off request with their next shipment I suppose

Interestingly the Australian distributors email is (mailto:[email protected])
If you go to http://www.addh2o.com you are actually redirected to a Perception website. There must be some link there somewhere.

The Manta 12 is definately an inshore boat, at 12" and 78cm its good for still water and is suitable for standing.

The Manta 14 looks very much like it could handle some offshore work, the hull shape is practically the same as the Tarpon with a few cosmetic differences. And at 4.45m and 71cm wide it should be fast as well.

 

[Guest]

Heya Gatesy

As they local distributor already brings in shipments of the Whitewater Liquid Logic kayaks, the freight arrangements should not create the problems Varp encountered. It'd just be a matter of shoving one in the container Varp shipped privately LCL which is what caused all of his headaches I think.

They have some reviews and comments on KFS, and it appears there is a factory rudder (which isnt the best) and also a Feathercraft system will work with this kayak

Interesting comments on the review pages. I suspect the writer fishes from a kayak much less than he likes to make out he does. Totally ignored the P13's Scotty Mounting Point and then criticised it for having no rod storage up front :roll:

 

[Guest]

Another great looking yak was the Perception Bimini - 15 footer and a sensational layout. Have a look here http://www.kayaker.com/new/products/boa ... -top&ID=91.

A pity that these yaks dont seem to be available in Australia...???

The Bimini 15 is a nice looking yak isnt it......someone should tell Perception to send a copy of the mould to NZ to start producing these kayaks, I reckon they might increase their market share.

Although, its not really like they are having trouble selling any Swings is it

 

[Davey G]

yeah but from what Ive seen on KFS forum the main yaks over there are still the OK Prowlers, WS Tarpons, Malibu Kayaks, Cobra Fish n Dives and Perception Casters (their version of the swing). Most of these are avail in Australia.

However the Liquid Logic 14 footer and probably the 15 foot Bimini do look like great yaks and would get a good following here in Australia if introduced IMO..

 

[Mallard Duck]

Having read the reviews of the yaks offered i can't believe that really the only boats (didn't read the SIK reviews) that had negative stuff were the 2 yaks i have owned or currently own.

Gatesy i was interested in your decision to purchase the adventure as i too am looking at getting one. (initially thought outback but think the extra speed/rough water ability would be beneficial. For those of us looking at the adventure and who don't have the mag what were the negative points???

Thanks.

Chris

 

[RedPhoenix]

Unfortunately, due to the change in ownership of this web site and the lack of response by the owners to my requests to remove my email address from all administrative-level notifications and functionality, I have decided to remove my posts on AKFF. Thank you for the great times, the fantastic learning experiences and the many many fish. If you are desperate for the old content of this particular post, it is available below base64 encoded and bzip2 compressed.

Red.

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[Guest]

Been doing a little research and found a yak which looks interesting.

Spec's on the Manta Ray 14 : 14'7" (4.45m) - 71cm - 29.5kg - Max Load 170kg

Length is about right.....same width as the Prowler, similar weight as well.
The design looks cool......bit of a Tarpon copy by the looks of it.

Likes :
Low Seating Position = Stability
Tarpon Style Layout = Great Fitout
Good Seating
Supposedly Very Dry Ride
Supposedly Reaonably Fast

Dislikes :
Freeboard looks a little high

Just thought I would post this out of interest more than anything

Dallas, I have the mag Dave is talking about. The mag gives them huge raves. I happen to like it too. Gee wish I could buy one :roll:

The 12 foot one retails for 725 in the States.

Send any info you get my way, I'm interested.

Cheers

 

[Guest]

Heres some comments I located on another forum re: the Manta Ray 14

Talk about being able to try about anything you want… they have about 2,000 kayaks and canoes in stock and were very accommodating on test paddles…we took the OK Prowler 13, the Wilderness Tarpon 140 and the 14’ Manta Ray to a nearby lake for a test paddle. Both of us really liked the Manta Ray…very dry ride and exceptional glide. Both my brother and I are 6’4 and 240Lbs and this boat had the best leg comfort of anything I have been in…

Also.....something which is a great bonus

liquidlogic warranty

Each liquidlogic boat is warranted to be free from manufacturer's defects for the lifetime of the boat. We will do our best to make sure that problems are resolved as quickly and painlessly as possible. We can ship repair parts to you, or if necessary, replace your boat.

Sel,

I'll let you know how I get on. If the price is right and they are able to get their hands on one for me I might be tempted.

 

[Guest]

Found some more pics :

Them more I seeof it the more I like it

Bow shape looks like it would cut through chop quite well
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j207/dudearooer/LLMR14/IMG_4191.jpg

Rudder Installed (Feathercraft)
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j207/dudearooer/LLMR14/IMG_4188.jpg
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j207/dudearooer/LLMR14/IMG_4190.jpg

 

[Guest]

Are those extra long rudders?

They seem really long in those pics, gee they would steer well.

Cheers

 

[Guest]

I was thinking the same Sel very long......

I have seen a picture somewhere which shows the LL factory rudder and it is quite a bit shorter than the aftermarker Feathercraft rudder.

Reckon I would go for the Feathercraft rudder too

 

[Davey G]

Dallas, its basically a copy of the Tarpon 140 http://www.wildernesssystems.com/produc ... ductid=24# and as such the hull shape is almost identical. However in saying that it does look like theres a couple of slight improvements over the Tarpons.

 

[polylureosis]

Hi,

When I was researching Kayaks I looked at ALL makes and models.
The Liquid Logic yaks (which are as far as I can assertain modified version of the WS tarpon 120/140) were high on the list of possibles.

Here is what the Aust distributer told me in June...
"We do also import the Liquid Logic range but only their whitewater
kayaks at present their recreation range which is new is not available
to us just yet."

I was specifically after the 12 and I asked about the perception caster 11.5 and 12.5: Also from the same Aust dustributer. There reply is below: You may have more luck with the 14 from these comments.

">Thank you for your enquiry at present we are not intending to bring the
>Caster into Australia or New Zealand at this stage we feel that our
>market is looking for fishing kayaks 4.0 metres & upwards."

 

[Davey G]

I also contacted the guy at their importer re the 15 foot Perception Bimini but he advised that there was no intention to import this model as the 4 metre Perception Swing fills that section of the market.

I also found out that the Tarpon 140 has very little speed difference over the T120 (only .3 of a knot), so that sort of ruled out the T140 in my search for a quicker yak for offshore. Not sure how the LL 14 footer would compare with the Tarpons, but looking at the hull shape I'd be surprised if it wasnt exactly the same.

 

[Davey G]

Hey Davey where did you find the speed infomation as it could be useful for other people searching for yaks / or faster yaks. That seems really surprising and a bit of a shame really. The speed may be simlar but perhaps the 140 Tarpon can maintain its' speed in rough water more easily :?:

I enquired on the KayakFishingStuff forum (US) and got a response from the guy who runs the forum, and who is also one of the main kayak retailers over there. He also advised that the Tarpon 140 doesnt handle weight as well as the Tarpon 120 and in fact despite being 2 foot longer, the T140 only has the same weight capacity as the shorter T120. To me I don't think this is a 'negative' of the T140 (which is still a good yak), but I think it's an endorsement of just how good the T120 is and what it is capable of. These yaks are probably the most popular kayaks in the US, and I dont think you'll find any Tarpon owners that have bad things to say.

Hence my reasons for 'not rushing into' any other yaks until I can find one that's going to do what the T120 does, and more.

He pointed me in the direction of the longer (16 foot) T160i - a truly fast fishing yak with basically the same layout as the T120, and that's what I'll be looking at (as soon as the damn shop in Sydney gets one in!).

 

[Guest]

The Manta 14 is a little longer (4.45m opposed to 4.27m) than the Tarpon 140, so hopefully there will be a notch or two extra in the speed stakes. The hull also looks quite a bit different than the T140 in a few front on bow shots which I have seen but not posted here.

I think the hulls are different enough that the speed will not be the same. I'd expect the M14 to be a little faster. I think I saw Jon from KFS say about 6.0mph on the M14 measured with a GPS. The fastest speed I have seen mentioned for the T160 was 7.0mph or a little over, or there abouts I think?

6.0 is fast enough for me, over a 7 mile paddle head to head with a T160 the M14 would theoretically arrive 9 mins behind the T160's time of 60 mins.

Also, heres a quote from another forum which is relvant here :
http://nslog.com/archives/2004/03/10/tarpon_140_vs_120_vs_emotion_fisherman.php

The final issue? Speed. My GPS tracks my speed down to the point where I'll see a 0.2 MPH drop when I finish one stroke but have yet to begin the next. I could paddle comfortably at 3 MPH in my Tarpon 120. Heading into a wind I'd get anywhere between there, and paddling as fast as I could (i.e. for about ten strokes) I'd top out at about 5 MPH. The T140 did 3.5 MPH into a reasonable wind today with only a teeny bit more than "comfortable" expenditure of energy. In calm waters (I tested this on my apartment complex pond just now), I paddle at about 4 MPH with the same comfort at which my T120 hit 3 MPH. My top speed in the T140 is around 6.5 MPH. That's a 25 and 30% improvement over the T120! I can't imagine how fast the T160 might be!

Also agree with Gatesy's comments, top speed is one thing, but add some rough seas to the mix and I think the gap would increase a bit.

 

[Les Lammers]

Hey Davey where did you find the speed infomation as it could be useful for other people searching for yaks / or faster yaks. That seems really surprising and a bit of a shame really. The speed may be simlar but perhaps the 140 Tarpon can maintain its' speed in rough water more easily :?:

The KFS site usually tests yaks for speed, have a look there. The Tarpon line is hugely popular here and many manufacturers are coming out with
their version. I have not paddled the LL yaks. I do have a friend that LOVES the Bimini.

No real speed info but here are some reviews.

http://www.kayakfishingstuff.com/review ... item_id=66

Les