My wife and I fish the bays of Southwest Louisiana with a passion, and have done so for fifteen years now. We are not young anymore, but remain strong paddlers. Last week I purchased a KC 12 as a birthday present for my wife. Got the Camo model with the nice chair seat as back pain has begun to creep up on us as we age and fish for hours at a time. I purchased my KC 12 from Ship to Shore Co. in Lake Charles. The lovely ladies there are very professional and make shopping there a real pleasure.
First couple of voyages in the KC 12 were in winds at 14 mph with nasty chop and stronger gusts. Thus, a true test to see how a KC 12 performs on the water. This was a very unusual yak experience, not at all what I expected. The KC 12 is initially a bit unnerving when you first sit in it as it seems huge because of the completely open flat deck area. One feels like you are sitting in a bass boat. It also sits quite high on the water as well. When first paddling you feel as if it is quite sluggish until you realize that the geography is passing by quite nicely. This is because of your high position on the water which adds to the deception of speed. And paddling is quite easy, no need to power stroke at all.
The boat does not rock or pitch with the waves or chop... it glides through and over them. It tracks straight as a laser but a quick backstroke will turn the vessel around when stopped. It turns very easily too when at speed. This too is almost unnerving as the vessel just does not look like it would be this nimble, but it is indeed. A slight gurgling noise is the water foaming through the front four scupper holes although water does not come up onto the deck area. After paddling a short while you began to smile as you are getting accustomed to the perception of the yak being a huge beast although it is not.
The stability is just silly. Like fishing from a pier. The KC 12 with chair weighs about 63 pounds which is half the weight of some other fishing yaks with a chair seat. This is owing to the ABS plastic used in its construction. The chair mount will slide to and fro so you can easily find your sweet spot for personal handling. Put scupper plugs in the front four scupper holes and the yak becomes very quiet... no hull slap or wake noise at all.
The KC 12 is a unique hull and deck design that works just wonderfully. Works great in very shallow water and just as well in deep water. This yak has not gotten much attention outside of Louisiana where it is becoming quite popular for fishing and hunting, but it will catch on due to its remarkable versatility, handling, astonishing available deck space. This yak kind of changes your perception of what a fishing yak should be. All in the positive.
