I'm late to the party but glad to be here. That FS-18 is easy to love. Richard, I've used my Plyak for over a year now and what I like about it is how well it tracks. I can set the paddle down, pick up a rod to cast to a spot, and it stays true on course. Paddling in a quarter head wind is good too, but paddling is a drag compared to the foot drive. I rented a mirage drive hobie several years ago at a builders meet and it was a real pleasure to fish out of, but nowhere near as fast as the plyak.
My plyak is heavy. Too heavy I think. It's too long for my short pickup bed so I put it on top of a little utility trailer I have. I reconfigured a cheap little kayak dolly I found online and it's easy enough to maneuver that way. Mine is not all that stable. It's dumped me several times! It has always happened when I am getting in or out. Once in I'm OK. Last week I took it out for the first time this winter. There's a little river (the Blanco) ten minutes from me with a nice put in spot. No appreciable current. So I eased her in,and gingerly stepped in from the bank. As I approach 68 years of breathing I notice I tend to plop rather than ease down when sitting. Not the best approach for the pylyak, but all went well. The water was a bit off color from rain two days before and there was a fairly brisk wind. I paddled about, wielding a road runner jig on a tiny little 5 foot ultralight rod, and after half an hour was happily surprised by a little 2 lb or so chunky river bass that was laying in wait on the far shore. He jumped 3 times on that little ultralight rig, until I lipped him and eased him back in the water. Half hour later his slightly smaller cousin provided similar entertainment. It was a long up wind paddle back to the car. I'd been out close to 2 hours, was tired, happy, and pleased with myself since I'd fooled around quite a lot in the yak and never got close to a tumble. So I eased up to the bank and decided I'd try to debark directly to shore, without getting my feet wet. I went to secure to paddle at the side and Mr. Ply promptly dumped me head first in 2 feet of cold river
Looking forward to this thread Dougster
Cool build Richard I'm sure it's gonna look great as always!
