Anyone Paddle an Otter Stealth?

[MuskieJunkie]

I'm looking at getting a new kayak for duck hunting. I'd like to be able to use it for fishing small metro lakes too. I like the Otter Stealths, 1200 and 2000. I currently duck hunt 1 or 2 weekends a year and if I start catching fish at the lakes by my house I might end up using the kayak for fishing much more than hunting.

What I am wondering is are these things too big to be paddeling around all day fishing, and only really suited for hunting? The 2000 is 120 lbs.

Any other thoughts on the otter series, likes, dislikes....

[Green 'eyes!]

You will wish you had something that weighed less, and then will end up using it less as well. 120 is a load.

[MinnesotaMongo]

Lake Assault has a "Mudduck" - a welded, all Aluminum duck boat that might suit your duties. It has a lot of room and weighs 95 lbs. They are out of Elk River/Ramsey.

[fisherman-andy]

whoa 120lbs? That is heavy. Weighs more than a full 15ft-17ft heavy Coleman/Pelican Canoe.

Look into a Meyers/SportsPal type canoe. They weigh like 40lb to 60lbs for a like a 13ft. Good for fishing and hunting.

[grousehunter]

I'm selling mine this fall because of how heavy it is. If just bringing it within a short pull of lake it would not be that bad. it is incredibly stable(can be swiming and pull myself up into it without worrying about tipping it). It paddles pretty good, but definatly not as good as a canoe would. It works well with a kayak paddle. If windy its hard to handle alone. Overall I think it would be a good boat to put a trolling motor on instead of paddling. I made due with it, it worked very well for hunting and when paddling with another person. It definatly has its upsides, but the weight is just too much for me to drag very far(especially up hill at all).

[bmc]

I've used an Otter Stealth 1200 for the last couple of years. It is heavy and doesn't paddle very good with a canoe paddle. Maybe if you sat more in the middle of the boat it would paddle better? I'm getting the oar locks before duck season and I believe that will help tremendously for getting around. I've also got the motor mount and run a 2.3 Johnson outboard on it. It really cruises w/ that set up. It is pretty much un-tippable IMO. As with any thing, it's got it good points and bad points. If I were you, I'd give it a test drive (if possible) before you decide.

Brian

[MuskieJunkie]

Thanks for the replies so far. This is the kind of info I am looking for, keep it coming.

I would really like the weight and stability for hunting but it sounds like that doesn't go well with paddleabilty (did I just create a new word), I kind of thought I would find myself walking that line......

The lazyness in me says "buy the big one and slap a motor on it" but deep down I know I should be paddeling around in a lighter one.

[BudMan]

If you duck hunt in really shallow [6 inches or so] the hull design seems to always drag in the mud . A good friend of mine had one and hated it for that reason and cause it was sooo heavy .But in deeper water he said it was untippable [sp] so it was safe in that regard .

[bmc]

You may also want to look at the Carstens Industries duck boats. I think the Pintail might be more what you are looking for. Better yet, it's another MN company, that I believe is located in Melrose, MN. That's what I would have bought, if I wouldn't have bought an Otter Stealth.

Decisions, decisions, decisions!!!

Brian

[TroutYammer]

I have the Otter Stealth 1200. It is stable as a rock! I am over 6ft tall and I can actually stand up in it and not worry about tipping it over. I also have a canoe and never stand up in it because I would definitely tip over.

The Otter Stealth 1200 paddles best with a Kayak Paddle...a canoe paddle works in a pinch but the kayak paddle is the ticket.

[ChuckN]

You may also want to look at the Carstens Industries duck boats. I think the Pintail might be more what you are looking for. Better yet, it's another MN company, that I believe is located in Melrose, MN. That's what I would have bought, if I wouldn't have bought an Otter Stealth.

Decisions, decisions, decisions!!!

Brian

I own a Carsten Pintail and no doubt, it's a great boat, stable and tough as a rock, but I really wish I had some sort of dry storage like the Otter boats. My older pintail probably weighs over 100lbs. It's relatively easy to paddle with a kayak paddle, and a kayak paddle is the only way to go IMO. I have the oars and it's too bulky.

I've eyes up the Otters for a long time and I really like all the storage, gun rests, etc. It probably doesn't paddle as easy as the Pintail (I've heard) but that doesn't bother me much, I need the exercise. My dog soaks everything in the boat and I hate laying my gun/case in inches of water. I think the Otter has more floor space too.

[BoxMN]

We have two Carsten's Puddlers (the smallest they make, at 10' long and about 70#) and one Pintail (13'4" and about 100#). I love the Carstens boats.

The Puddlers are very easy for one guy to lift, drag, carry, whatever. Once you get a fat guy (me and bro go about 260 each)and a gun, and some dekes in they are getting a bit low in the water, but they are very stable and for a thinner guy even better. But even iwth all the weight, you could spit on the sidewalk and it would float!

The only issue with the Puddler is that there is no real "Seat" in the boat. We always wear waders and use a boat cushion for a seat, strapped to a Gander Canoe seat-back rest. It works great, but your butt will get wet, usually. I don't think I would take a Puddler out in heavy "waves" but it excels in the backwaters and bays, and we actually haul one along in our 16' duck boat to use as a decoy setter and duck retreiver boat, and it is great for that.

The Puddlers really cruise with the kayak paddle, and they blend into the area like a layout blind. I personally think my Puddler is the best duck hunting purchase I have ever made. (BTW - call the factory direct if you want to buy one, and ask about seconds...)

The Pintail is a bit heavier and higher, and easy for two guys (or a person and a kid) to handle, but doable for one person to get into a pickup truck, etc.

I have talked to guys while hunting who have Otter boats, and they liked them.

[hanson]

The Otters are tough to paddle, they like to wander side to side and its really difficult to paddle a straight line. Thats really my only complaint about those boats.

The paddling problem can easily be solved by adding a trolling motor to them. Battery goes under the back seat, they have a bracket that mounts to the side, and away you go. 65lb thrust transom mount pushes these boats nice.

Stability has already been touched on. They are rock solid and I have never felt more safe in a small boat in my life.

[bmc]

Hanson,

Don't you use a Carsten's Bluebill too? For some reason I thought I saw on another site that you have one. I'm trying to sell my 1200 Otter right now and get a Bluebill. It will give me more room as I will be hunting with 2 people more now that my dad is retired. If you do have the Bluebill, I'd be interested in how you have it set up for hunting (blind, etc).

Thanks,

Brian

[MuskieJunkie]

The not tracking strait is one of my complaint with the kayak I have now. It's similar to the Carsten Puddler (fiberglass 10' long, very low in the water).

Hansen - 65 lbs thrust!? You'd be able to water ski behind that thing! Or troll motor restricted city lakes....hmmmmmmmmmmm

[hanson]

Hanson,

Don't you use a Carsten's Bluebill too? For some reason I thought I saw on another site that you have one.

Yeah, we have another duckboat but its not a Carsten's. It was actually made by Larson Boat Works years ago, really unsure of the year, although my quick research puts Larson in the duck boat business during the 50s and that seams about right. It was my Grandpa's so its been around awhile We've had to do a little glass work on it but its a great little boat, just a little too small now for 2 guys. Awesome for one though! I'll see if I can't find a photo of it.

There were 3 of us hunting this day, 2 in our fiberglass canoe and 1 in the duckboat. We just posed with the duckboat for the photo.

[hanson]

Hansen - 65 lbs thrust!? You'd be able to water ski behind that thing! Or troll motor restricted city lakes....hmmmmmmmmmmm

It leaves a wake.

[MuskieJunkie]

Well I finally made a desicion. I bought the Otter Stealth 1200 last night. Thanks everyone for the info.

I had the Carstens Puddler (sold it on hsolist) and I didn't like it because it was too small and not really stable enough to climb in and out of in deeper hunting water.

It sounded like the biggest complaint was the weight of the otters and it is pretty bulky to move around. They claim it's 100 lbs but I think they're underestimating that.

I wouldn't have tried fishing out of the puddler but I am going to try fishing out of this one which was one of my reasons for upsizing. That and my son who will be coming out duck hunting in a few years.

[AngelicFatum]

I have a stealth, but I don't use it much because of the weight. You almost need two guys to maneuver it from truck to water. I use a kayak paddle, and have always ended up kneeling in the middle to paddle it.

[Kodiak]

i sold my 2000 because of the wieght and you had to be in the middle kneeling to go straight worth darn. Tell you what it feels like 200lbs not 100lb.

[bmc]

I just put the oar locks on mine tonight and will be using it tomorrow, so I'll post the results on how it oars. I'm hoping it's better than paddling.

Brian

[MuskieJunkie]

I had my 1200 out for the first time last weekend and I'm really happy with it. I used a 7' kayak paddle and it goes pretty good, the boat itself it heavy and when you get into lilly pads the paddeling it tough. We put out and took in the decoys with 2 guys, me paddeling the other guy doing the decoys.

Otter recomends a 9' paddle and that definetly would have worked better since the boat is so wide.

The 1200 tracks MUCH better than my old Carsten's Puddler.

I'm very happy with the stability it's better than I had expected.

[bmc]

The oars worked AWESOME!!! NO comparison between oaring and paddling!

Brian

[MikeH55343]

Hey bmc,

What are the specifics on the oars?

Did you get the oar lock kit that Otter makes? What length of oars? I've been thinking of setting mine up with oars.