Magic 14.5 Tandem

Took it out today for the 1st time for 9 hours and I can honestly say that that chair is FIRST CLASS!!! I have a bad back and my back and my back side don't hurt a bit!! I know, cuz I also have an Old Town Vapor 10 and that seat leaves my body in shambles after 4 hours.

I'm 5'6" 160lb and it is VERY Easy to stand up in and fish, even in a 6" chop in the flats today. It held up very nicely against that chop as well up and down the coastline of W. FL all day.

I had 2 milk crates setup with rod holders, but will need a rod holder on either side of my chair. So frustrating that there are no accessories anymore as its discontinued, BUT would like to SEE OTHER OWNERS MODS so I can retrofit these aluminum bars for one. With the rounded side edges, I can't even put in a gear track. Maybe that YakAttack 12" GearTrack strip may fit, but wont be flush. Hope I can use rivets to place it on.

It tracked gr8! Has LOTS of space... Exactly what I was looking for. Had a milk crate and my gear bag in front of me. The crate had a rod holder. Had another crate in back of me with 3 rod holders. Will add an anchor trolley next...

The Kayak tracks beautifully. I've paddled my 12 year old grandson miles as he fishes our lake. It takes the turbulent water of larger boats (bass and ski) without concern for safety. There is ample room for gear, but dry storage is limited to one small 6" compartment aft. I've yet to customize the Magic for fishing, but will do so with locator and rod holders. The existing accessory slots will be used to incorporate a "fishing deck" with room for multiple accessories. Since this model is no longer manufactured, accessories are not available from dealers. Have read from user's group that some are available from Michigan, but have had no success in locating.

This Kayak is heavy, so car-topping is a two person endeavor. I've built special racks on the pickup cab and an extended T bar that fits into the trailer hitch. I'm in process of building a swivel-loader so I can load it by myself for solo trips. I think the capacity exceeds 450 lbs. I've not tried standing to fish, but can see that it will be an option based on stability. Haven't been fishing solo as yet.Know that most storage for this craft is topside.

Overall, it's a very stable kayak which will work well on streams with tandem paddlers and well on lakes as tandem or solo.

Needless to say, the Magic certainly did not live up to expectations or its potential...and Native Watercraft will ultimately shoulder the blame for the Magic's many failures for years to come. With a little more vision on the part of its creator, the Magic could have been a great kayak.

The "Plug-N-Play" system was initially billed as versatile and modular. However, Native did not develop the Plug-N-Play concept to meet the demands of kayak fisherman. This probably explains why the Magic has now been factory discontinued. Specifically, user friendly rod holders, paddle holders and stake out pole holders would have been a good start. For example, the Scotty rod system is awkward, unstable and inconvenient riding on the Plug-N-Play bars. Other MFG's like Malibu incorporated these systems in a user friendly way. Then, Native discontinued the Plug-N-Play dash system altogether...unannounced...before I even received my Magic.

The rudder pedal fasteners continually break and the P-N-P snaps are a pain to use. Moreover, the lack of a hatch system makes this kayak an even bigger under achiever considering the Magic's hype and high price tag.

Finally, the 85lb weight on this kayak is ridiculous considering that its carrying capacity is low...50% less than comparable kayaks in its fishing class!! In fact, after this experience, I would never consider purchasing another Native Watercraft product again.

The search for the "perfect canoe" led me, one sunny Sunday afternoon, to Oak Orchard's Water-port store and test pond. Several hours (and several test paddles) later, I found myself driving down the Thruway with an SOT on my SUV trying to figure out just exactly how and when my "canoe dream" had morphed into kayak reality. The past year and several outings with the Magic (as well as some of its cousins) has convinced me that SOT's in general and this SOT in particular offer the physically limited (and the horizontally challenged) an opportunity to share in the fun of paddle sports, (Rumor has it that SOT's also work well for fishing. You fisher folk will have to judge for yourselves. I get mine at Wegman's)

So what makes the Magic special? Excellent initial stability, tracks like the Super Chief, glides very nicely and has a comfortable, easily adjustable and very sturdy seat. Although the (adjustable) foot braces appear less sturdy then they might, they have yet to fail to do their job. The shallow sides make getting in an out (or on and off) doable without assistance. Turning the Magic, which was a challenge when using a 240 cm paddle became a non-issue when I switched to 280 cm. (Teddy R. was right about the "big stick" thing.) Wind has thus far not been a problem (keeping in mind that my paddling has been on relatively small bodies of water) and while I have yet to test the limits of the boat's secondary stability, my sense, from dealing with motorboat wakes, is that you will fall out long before you are able to tip the boat over. The weight, which makes a helmet mandatory for anybody trying to car top the beast, seems to be part of the reason for its excellent stability. As for the rotomolded polyethylene hull; love it or hate it, the stuff is truly bomb proof.

There are some caveats. The plug in modular system for seat and foot braces needs some attention from the folks at Native. A relatively simple redesign of the plastic clips would make the whole system a lot more user friendly. Also, sturdy stainless steel bow and stern rings (for those all important bow and stern lines for out of water transport) as well as the odd paddle and water bottle holders should really be an integral part of a boat whose price tag is in the $1k range.

Overall however, I'm glad I ended up with this boat. It's allowed me to return to paddling and as my skills improve, the boat seems to grow with me. Most important, I'm having fun and in the end, that's what it's all about.