KL Industries 10-Feet Water Quest Deluxe Kayak with Adjustable Seat

Has lots of potential for a low end kayak. Got mine in a green color at a big box store BTW. So far have added a flush mount rod holder behind the seat and will add another one soon to hold my landing net. Going to replace the kayak paddle holder with something a bit stronger because the kayak paddle I use is heavier than the one that originally came with the kayak. Adding a small anchor and pulley system, too. Will add a larger bungee cord system on the front and possibly the back for additional equipment like trot lines or camping gear.Hull drills easy with no splitting. I fill in the drilled holes around the bungee cord with epoxy to stop leaks and hull splitting. Takes spray paint moderately if you plan to camouflage yours like I did mine. You might have to put on a flat clear coat to keep the Krylon paint from rubbing off. Already have the tube of JB Weld ready for the inevitable scratches and scrapes from using the plastic kayak in a river with rip rap rocks hidden just below the water line. The slow dry JB Weld works better than the quick dry JB Weld IMHO. The quick stuff peels off the hull where as the slow dry really clings.Noticed two shoe-box sized pieces of Styrofoam in the rear of the kayak when I installed the rod holder. Will shove more pieces of Styrofoam in there to give the kayak more buoyancy if it gets flipped. Will probably float like a long fishing bobber. The covered storage box behind the seat holds about as much gear as a child's shoe box or maybe less. Great place to keep the bug spray and the kayak carrying strap and a snack or two. Will store extra gear around my feet or on top with the bungee cords in a waterproof bag.Named my kayak Ernestine. She's small at 10' long and light weight at 40 pounds and has a flat bottom giving it a bit more stability on calm or very slow moving water and when I'm setting a trot line or pulling one up. The adjustable foot pegs are great. Without the foot pegs, you'll get a lot of lower back pain after a couple of hours paddling. I know I did with my first Old Towne Otter kayak before adding them later on. No matter what kayak you buy, make sure it has adjustable foot pegs or your back will hurt something fierce. Been kayaking in sit-ins and sit-on-tops since 2001.

Bought two of these on sale in 'angler' version at big box. One was perfect but other had issues. The good part: The yaks handled pretty good for short recreational style kayak desiged for stability not touring speed. I saw other reviews claiming hard to track-- not so if you know how to paddle. I had no problems but novice 14 yo in other yak was all over lagoon until he began to 'get' not to dig too deep with the blade and take shorter strokes-- deep long uneven strokes cause yak to yaw, any yak, and trying to 'muscle' the yak doesn't work. It also takes time to 'get' how to adjust for wind but he's working on it. Allowing for inherent design limits, tracked fine for me. Stable, fairly dry, and will be great fishing platform-- or photo, or casual day tripping yak. Snaked through narrow channels just fine-- you are getting it FYI if you are quiet enough to get close enough to see the frogs dive and not just the ripples.The bad: One yak had defects, a riveted anchor for the paddle bungee that pulled out, an adjust lever on a foot brace that broke on first use, and a carry handle that disappeared on the way home-- presumably because the knot was not secure. Whether the yak left the factory that way or happend on way to my hands can't say. The rubber stopper for the drain plug can be tough to replace after washup. The tip needs to be tapered and a bit harder or a pull tab added so it can be tugged in snug from underneath.The good again: KL Customer Service promptly replaced all missing or damaged parts on request NQA, NC.Neutral points: These lack built in foatation but so do many rec yaks. There are some styro shipping blocks that can be retained. What I did was take two USCG approved float cushions and wedge them under the sides of the seat-- folded they just cram in but tight enough not to float out if you roll the yak. Two provide over 40lbs of float-- enough to keep the 40 lb yak awash. The design is a cap over hull type-- meaning the hull and deck are molded separatly and 'welded' together. How this would affect use appeared 'not.' Seam did result in ridge around yak that amounted to a 'strake' and seemed to reduce roll. The rear hatch is OK but just OK; small capacity 'bucket' opens into the hull if you remove the box under the lid. Did not test how watertight it is.The good again: All around I gave this yak a 4 because it does what it is intended to: meets the need for a stable easy entry/exit recreational or beginner level yak. The angler has two in deck rod holders and a swivel rod holder mounted in front of the paddler. HDPE is slick material and not all glues work, but Velcro Marine Grade patches did stick well enough to keep a 5x9" plastic tackle box in place. That and the deck bungies allow you to carry all you reasonably need along for the ride.What we changed: Added an anchor system with a 4" nylon cleat attached with ss washers and bolts next to cockpit, and a line over deck through a guide and a 2" 1/4" eye bolt in bow (and stern) using the existing hole for the carry handles, the eye bolts doubling as carry point and 'bow eye/stern eye.' You put the cleat next to the cockpit so the paddler can adjust the anchor line and/or tie off while sitting, fyi.Because this yak is wide you will want 220 cm or better paddles; otherwise you are likely to be banging the thwarts often. Wear your floatation vest!!!!!