Stealth profisha 525 has landed, tried and tested in a big swell.

Hi everyone,
You guessed it, the new kayak landed thanks to Eric Devos and Stealth kayaks Ireland. What can I say it's a beauty.
At 17ft long in grey and lime green, 4 flush rod holders, 1 large hatch behind the seat that It looks the business, It is a lot bigger than the opening, also huge center hatch. The 525 has an excellent rudder as well.
It also has 2 bunges one for the center hatch and 1 for the main hull.

The centre hatch
At first glance you do have to wonder where would all your gear go.
But that question is soon answered when you open the center hatch.
To say it's massive is an under statement.
I had to see what would go in the hatch and the hatch will take two 10L barrels and a Flambauge water proof box, and still have room for some rods too. I was amazed.
The centre hatch is a separate compartment to the rest of the kayak and has a bung at the bow for draining afterwards.
The hatch lid itself is held closed by 2 quick release straps that can be opened with one hand, so it is handy if you have the fishing rod in the other hand and you need your pliers or net.

The hatch behind the seat
This hatch also looks small from the out side but it's like Mary Poppins hand bag inside. I emptied my full dry box into it and it didn't even half fill it. It's an excellent hatch for electrics and any thing else you want kept dry.

The rod holders
On this model there are 4 flush rod holders. The 2 nearest the paddler are angled and are in a very handy position for trolling and for keeping the rods separated as the 2 behind them are near straight up and also a are clear of each other when rigged.

The rudder system
The rudder system is a serious bit of kit. It is worked by 2 adjustable pedals to suit any paddler. Again to look at the rudder it seems a modest size but turn it full to one side when paddling at a good pace and you will near do a donut. It turns very quickly. It was a bit of a surprise the first time I tried it lol.

The seating position.
The seat is an interesting bit of  craftsmanship, You are in a position with you legs a small bit bent with your legs fully supported. The seat is also moulded in such away that an added seat is not needed. I was out for 6.5hrs today and at no stage did I feel I needed the extra seat.

Stability
Well coming from paddling my old kayak that was very stable this kayak did feel less stable at first.
I was not keen to go out off shore on a kayak that I hadn't paddled before so I went for a run up and down the shore while Eric got ready. Yes at first it did feel tippy at first but with in 10 mins paddling about I was feeling a lot more confident and really getting the feel for this kayak. The initial unsteadiness soon faded and I was really getting to like this kayak. It was far from a calm day with a large lazy swell running. The swell was to big to anchor up but I felt at ease 1.5miles off shore on my own. As well all know when you try to get a pic of a big swell it always looks tiny. This was the only pic I got. This was the top of a large swell passing under me.

Speed and effort.
With this kayak speed and effort go hand in hand, It is definitely the fastest kayak I have ever sat in. I am bringing effort into the speed category as once your doing your normal pace the amount of effort needed to do your normal speed is considerably less. It really is effortless to push on out to sea. At an easy pace I was doing 6.5km against a 1.5km tide and a wicked swell.

Fish ability.
Most importantly for me is it suitable for fishing.
With this kayak being a long kayak it is tricky to get the rods around the bow but you can move yourself up a bit and a 7ft will pass around the bow. But what I found even better when fishing 2 rods was there is ample room to fish 2 rods on the same side. Simply lye the rod on the forward deck and it sits perfectly. I would say it would be no problem to fish for tope like this.
This was my first time out on this kayak and I didn't hit any whoppers but I did snag the bottom with 30lb line and broke the 30lb mono 4 times with out feeling as though I would fall out the other side so I was impressed and I am busting to get out again.

Loading.
Another great feature of the Pro fisha 525 is it's weight, at only 54lbs it really is easy to carry and load onto the roof of the car. We had a kayak trolley with us on Sunday and we didn't even bother to take it out of the car, I just put the kayak on my shoulder and walked down the beach. I did the same when I got back in.

 

 

This is the slimmest in the Stealth kayaks profisha stable range, There are many other models to choose from to suit your needs. I went for this one as I intend to do distance when possible to further deeper  marks. Here are some links below to help you choose the kayak that is right for you.
http://stealthkayaksireland.com/choosing-your-kayak-stealth-kayaks-the-ride-of-your-life/

http://stealthkayaksireland.com/stealth-range-of-kayaks/


What I really liked.
Very fast,
Effortless to paddle,
2 excellent hatches,
Very comfortable seating position,
The rudder is excellent,
Very easy lockable hatches.
Easily adjustable foot pedals.

What I didn't like.
The only thing I didn't like was that I didn't have one years ago lol.

There is a Stealth kayaks demo day on the 6th of December 2014
It will be great to see you all there and see what you think of this phenomenal range of kayaks.

So thanks for reading and I am looking forward to snagging some beauties in the very near future.
Until then, tight lines every one.