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I needed a light weight fishing SOT and this review is mainly about the fishing ability of the 2009 Kestrel. To start with, it is one of the driest SOTs I have paddled. It handles well in the wind, tracks well, handled rough water well and has enough speed. With fishing , stability is an issue and one I had to work through. The boat is fine without the fishing gear which has to go above the waterline. Also where to put fish is important. I lined the rear hatch compartment with foam being careful not to block the bulkhead vents. I find that 8-10 lbs of ice bottles offsets the fishing gear nicely and is a great place to put fish. It is not like one of the fishing barges in initial stability but has good secondary unlike most of the barges. I have not come close to going turtle but you do get an occasional twitch. I am using a 1/2" foam pad for a seat and a back band. I have 2 ram tubes mounted behind the seat and a removable plate forward of the foot rests for my depth sounder and gps. The battery pack sits on the floor below the depth sounder. Except for the Ram mounting bases, everything is removable for transport. I installed pad eyes below the foot rests for the thigh straps. The original location was useless. I am not using the supplied seat as I don't like the high back.

Wish list; I would like to see the cockpit a little deeper for better stability. This would require a venturi instead of a scupper and would eliminate the need for a back band. A hatch instead of the bottle holder would be handy. A larger tab on the rear hatch cover would help. The boat is working quite well for me now but it did take a little time and effort to work it out. 40 lbs is a lot nicer than 60 lbs for loading. The older I get the lighter I want.

I got my GP on 3-16-06. It was shipped to me in AZ from a dealer in CA and arrived nicely boxed. I was surprised that the boat had been built in South Africa. My boat was a blem and with shipping came to $1180. The boat comes extremely bare. Some bungees on the decks and lots of stickers. The stickers come off easily with a hair drier. I took it out for a test spin that afternoon. I had previously paddled the boat at a symposium so I knew what to expect. It paddles more like a 15' boat. The seat was wide enough to almost be a side by side tandem and no provisions for a back band or thigh straps. I set to work and have installed a 4" screw hatch at the base of the tunnel and an 8" toggle hatch at the back of the tank well. I added 7 eyes for the seat back, thigh straps and paddle leash. I also added some velcro and a Scotty flush mount rod holder base to the top of the tunnel. I put 2" of padding on each side of the seat as 20" was way too much. The boat now handle a lot better and I have good body control. The boat weighed 30# bare and now weighs 35# with the seat and straps. We did a 6 mile paddle in about 1.5 hrs with no strain. Even tried surfing a few wakes. I did take water over the nose crossing a good wake but in fairness I was doing 4.5mph when I crossed it. The 1st wave was fine but I caught the 2nd going downhill. I tried a little bait fishing in an area that gets a lot of wakes and refected wake waves. Nothing large but still choppy. I wanted to test the stability and the boat came through quite well. I did get a couple of splashes over the side but not much. Even caught 3 fish. The foot wells do fill with water when sitting still but the venturis will suck it out when you have a little speed. I keep them plugged. It is a pretty decent little boat and certainly light enough for one person to handle and load. They could replace some of the stickers with fittings.

I am upgrading the previus rating. The seat was replaced several months ago. The dealer apologized and said it was their fault for the delay. We had a problem when we took the boat to a high lake (4500'). The bulkheads are not vented and the presure change caused the front deck to crease at the bulkhead and the bulkhead to unseal. The hatch cover seals that well. Kajak Sports paid for the repairs and I have vented the bulkheads. If you are going to use the boat at high altitude or very hot weather, vent the bulkheads. The hacth covers are much easier to use now and we have not seen any water leakage from the venting.

My wife has had the Viking about 2 yrs now and we have had a few problems. The seat broke while rolling and I have not been able to get a replacement. I repaired the seat and found that it had been installed improperly. It was very sloppy work and there is no excuse. There is a spider crack showing up on the rear deck and there are some small cosmetic cracks around the rudder socket. It has the socket even though it had a skeg. The boat does track well especially after I remounted the seat. It has good speed but my Caribou out turns it by a considerable margin. It handles well in rough water but watch the leans as it will go over quickly if you go to far. Again my Caribou does considerably better.

We just bought this boat for my wife who is 5'2" and 120 lbs soaking wet. To start with the boat fits. We have had a hard time finding a boat that fits and feels right without adding a bunch of pads. The boat is 16'3" by 22" wide and is low volume. It is ideal for smaller paddlers. We were out on the lake today with 20mph wind and a 1' chop. The boat handled it with no problems. The boat tracked well even with the skeg up and turning was easy. The boat stayed dry and maintained a very good pace. We highly recomend the Viking to smaller paddlers with some experience. A beginner might find it on the tippy side but with good secondary stability.

I bought my Freedom for use as a fishing boat and have rigged it accordingly. I do not have a rudder as I prefer the solid braces and the boat is heavy enough (65lbs) without it. I am used to paddling a Looksha IV DS so the stability seems extremely high. Thigh braces allow me to lean for turns and the wind does not bother it much. I am 5'10" and 180lbs so I am probably optimum for the boat. The boat was suprisingly quick. I did not expect it to be as fast as it is. The boat came with flimsy hatch gaskets but the factory replaced them with heavyer ones at no charge. Other than the weight I have no complaints. I have even caught fish from it.