# Native Watercraft Ultimate 12......help



## nickel back (Feb 11, 2011)

need a little help plz...

I'm looking to buy a kayak and have been looking at many types.

To make this short,what do y'all think about the Native Watercraft Ultimate 12?...(its like a  Hybrid Canoe/Kayak)

the cons and pro's of it compared to the sit on top kayak


thanks.
NB


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## Randy (Feb 11, 2011)

It is a very stable canoe.  It has probably the most comfortable seat on the market.  It is a great flat water ride.  Like another canoes it provides easy access to equipment.  It will hold about 80 gallons of water before sinking if you are in a pool sitting still.  It is very stable.  Stable enough to stand in.  It is the perfect ride for what it was designed for.  Jimbo designed it for standing and flycasting in calm water.

It has all the cons of a canoe.  Harder to paddle that a SOT yak.  Will swamp if turned over.  Takes on water is anything much over class two shoals.  Will swamp in heavy waves on a large lake during a storm (I saw that happen).  The seat while very comfortable is not fixed in place.  As such it has some movement as you paddle.  The pontoon design of the hull, while stable, also hangs on rocks when paddling in rivers.  I found the paddling position to be really inefficient.  You sit low in the boat and with high gunnels my hands tended to hit the gunnels, but I am short.  Compared to SOT kayaks I found it slow.

Did I mention it will hold 80 gallons of water?  You can also use it as a bathtub.


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## nickel back (Feb 11, 2011)

Randy said:


> It is a very stable canoe.  It has probably the most comfortable seat on the market.  It is a great flat water ride.  Like another canoes it provides easy access to equipment.  It will hold about 80 gallons of water before sinking if you are in a pool sitting still.  It is very stable.  Stable enough to stand in.  It is the perfect ride for what it was designed for.  Jimbo designed it for standing and flycasting in calm water.
> 
> It has all the cons of a canoe.  Harder to paddle that a SOT yak.  Will swamp if turned over.  Takes on water is anything much over class two shoals.  Will swamp in heavy waves on a large lake during a storm (I saw that happen).  The seat while very comfortable is not fixed in place.  As such it has some movement as you paddle.  The pontoon design of the hull, while stable, also hangs on rocks when paddling in rivers.  I found the paddling position to be really inefficient.  You sit low in the boat and with high gunnels my hands tended to hit the gunnels, but I am short.  Compared to SOT kayaks I found it slow.
> 
> Did I mention it will hold 80 gallons of water?  You can also use it as a bathtub.



thanks for the info Randy.

I do not like the idea of it holding water at all.(swamp not good)

Hanging on rocks,that does not sound good.


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## Randy (Feb 11, 2011)

nickel back said:


> thanks for the info Randy.
> 
> I do not like the idea of it holding water at all.(swamp not good)
> 
> Hanging on rocks,that does not sound good.


There are times and places where those issues don't matter.  I fish from a canoe a good bit.  But SOT kayaks are way more versatile across the spectrum of conditions.


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## FERAL ONE (Feb 11, 2011)

nickel back, we love ours . it is my son's main boat. he has the deck skirts so it is less subject to fill on a wave but randy is correct on the swampability. but that could happen to any "canoe" .  that being said, tp me it paddles just as fast as any 12 footer i have tried and my only drawback with the seat is the fact that it is not "fixed" in the boat and i have to transport it seperately. there is no better seat on the market though for all day comfort.  i have yet found a sit on top that i don't feel like i am doing a partial sit up in and that kills my back. gonna have to try out randy's one day but till then i will stick with the ultimate or my commander 140 , another "canoe" ! thankfully most of our fishing is slow moving lakes and rivers around here .


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## nickel back (Feb 11, 2011)

I also have a bad back so the SOT's might be  tuff on long trips that's one of the reasons I was looking at the Native.


but  I want yak  that I can fish the ocean/rivers with also,the idea and looks of the seat on the native looks good,it seams the comfort would be there for sure.

guess I'm going to haft to keep doing some research to find which one fits my needs.

thanks for the info guys.


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## Paddle (Feb 11, 2011)

Have you checked the Jackson Coosa out? Looks to be in the same price range as the Native Watercraft Ultimate 12 and the seat in the Coosa is suppose to be very comfortable.


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## nickel back (Feb 11, 2011)

Paddle said:


> Have you checked the Jackson Coosa out? Looks to be in the same price range as the Native Watercraft Ultimate 12 and the seat in the Coosa is suppose to be very comfortable.




yes I'm looking into them also...


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## cjones (Feb 11, 2011)

I like the comfort in the seat of my Native Manta Ray 12.  Might want to check them out and see if they meet your needs as well.


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## crackerdave (Feb 11, 2011)

I would recommend a sit-on-top kayak.

You can spend a little money for a good,highback aftermarket seat,and it will be money well spent.Next to the paddle,the seat is most important.I got a cheap $40 paddle from "Seasense" and a good seat for about $100.


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## nickel back (Feb 11, 2011)

cjones said:


> I like the comfort in the seat of my Native Manta Ray 12.  Might want to check them out and see if they meet your needs as well.



yes I like them,going to try and find one this weekend to take a look



crackerdave said:


> I would recommend a sit-on-top kayak.
> 
> You can spend a little money for a good,highback aftermarket seat,and it will be money well spent.Next to the paddle,the seat is most important.I got a cheap $40 paddle from "Seasense" and a good seat for about $100.



 good idea,who makes a good high back seat?


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## crackerdave (Feb 11, 2011)

nickel back said:


> yes I like them,going to try and find one this weekend to take a look
> 
> 
> 
> good idea,who makes a good high back seat?



I'm not sure,but I _think_ I ordered mine from Backwoods Outfitters.The molded-in "seats" that are built into the kayak are very uncomfortable for fishing.When I'm going to let a bunch of kids play with my 'yak,I take the good seat out.

Just google "kayak seats," and there's a lot of choices.


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## EJC (Feb 11, 2011)

The coosa has some of the features your looking for, and it's also a self-bailing boat.


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## FishingAddict (Feb 11, 2011)

I really like it.  It's much better than a canoe, as it doesn't get blown around by the wind as much.  Much better than an SOT for comfort reason and storage reasons. I've never swamped mine. 

But SOT are crummy to sit on all day, and the NU will sink.

That being said, the Coosa may be a good blend of the Native U and a SOT kayak.


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## Hogtown (Feb 12, 2011)

It is a sit inside kayak as opposed to a sit on top kayak. It isn't a canoe anymore than a sit on top kayak is a surfboard. It is a wonderful boat - stable, dry (unlike SOT), very comfortable. It is easy to paddle and pretty quick. For fishing I wouldn't own anything else as there are few rivers that are both (1) too rough to run in an Ultimate and (2) excellent fishing. Finally if it capsizes, that isn't a problem - yes you will be wet, just like you always are on a SOT - but hopfully your gear will lashed, you'll right the boat, and move on... No big deal. Finally - like others have said - great seat - after a day on a SOT I feel like I've been beat with a stick, but in my Ultimate, I am in great shape.


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## Davexx1 (Mar 1, 2011)

I have a Native Ultimate 14.5 and love it.  It is by far the most comfortable and stable paddle boat I have ever been in.

There are several reasons for the comfort.  The boat has easily adjustable foot rests.  The seat is a mesh type material that is very cool during warm weather and it dries quickly.  That is good as I am in Fla.  The seat has a very good and adjustable back rest that provides excellent support for your back.  The angle of the back rest can be adjusted while sitting in the seat which is great feature for those that have tender backs and/or those that just want to or need to change positions every once in a while.

The Ultimate is designed with a tunnel down the middle.  This design makes the boat very stable in the water and less tipsy than the usual kayak.  The seat rests on top of the tunnel and your feet rest in the troughs on each side of the tunnel.  This places your feet a few inches lower than your butt and doesn't give you that sitting flat on the floor feeling.  This design allows much added comfort and with the other features and super comfortable seat sold me on the boat.

The best thing to do is to go try out the different boats and then decide which one is best for you.

Dave


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## nickel back (Mar 2, 2011)

thanks for all the info on the Native,I passed it up but my good friend picked it up and loves it.....

I picked up a used perception search 13 at a great price,I know have two yaks,one for me and one for my son........look out fun its about to begin.


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## horse2292 (Mar 3, 2011)

Davexx1 said:


> I have a Native Ultimate 14.5 and love it.  It is by far the most comfortable and stable paddle boat I have ever been in.
> 
> There are several reasons for the comfort.  The boat has easily adjustable foot rests.  The seat is a mesh type material that is very cool during warm weather and it dries quickly.  That is good as I am in Fla.  The seat has a very good and adjustable back rest that provides excellent support for your back.  The angle of the back rest can be adjusted while sitting in the seat which is great feature for those that have tender backs and/or those that just want to or need to change positions every once in a while.
> 
> ...



For these reasons I have the Ultimate 14 in Olive.


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## sborsh99 (Mar 4, 2011)

The Tarpon 120 is a great yak. The seat is extremely comfortable and they are real easy to rig for fishing.


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## Apex Predator (Mar 10, 2011)

I'm looking at the Native Ultimate and the NuCanoe myself.  I want to fish/hunt/camp out of mine.


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## GottaGetOutdoors (Mar 25, 2011)

I just ordered a Native Ultimate 12 Angler today. Can't wait to put it to the test!


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## crackerdave (Mar 26, 2011)

nickel back said:


> thanks for all the info on the Native,I passed it up but my good friend picked it up and loves it.....
> 
> I picked up a used perception search 13 at a great price,I know have two yaks,one for me and one for my son........look out fun its about to begin.



That will be some of the best money you'll ever spend! If you don't like a boat,used kayaks are very easy to sell and you can try another till you find what suits you.


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## chipperdog (Mar 26, 2011)

spent 14  hrs  in  two seperate paddles  on  florida rivers  last weekend in  an ultimate 12  was  a  great  experience  very  easy  to  manover , paddled easy,handled what little falls that were  there  with  ease  .  you  wont  go  wrong  with  this  boat.


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## yaknfish (Mar 29, 2011)

Nickel back, 
You should like the Search 13. I've got one. It does everything I want it to.


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