Gear: Ocean Kayak Drifter

I’ve had the Ocean Kayak Drifter for a couple of weeks now and have been out in it six times already. Twice just paddling on Bastrop Bayou, once fishing in Bastrop Bayou to test the “angler” setup, twice fishing in Christmas bay and twice fishing in Salt Lake. A couple of the fishing trips I was alone and so far I am the only one to catch any fish so I don’t have a lot of video yet of the actual fish catching, but I can comment on the yak.

In ideal conditions an able yakker could probably make an Ocean Drifter go at a steady 4 mph, but I would be conservative here and say when planning a trip use 3 mph as the baseline for this kayak mostly due to the drift. True to its name, this kayak is a drifter, even when you don’t want it to. On a day with any significant wind, plan on the front end of the kayak getting blown around like a wind vane.

In good conditions the Ocean Drifter is moderately comfortable. In the winter use of scupper plugs is essential as true to it’s reputation, the Drifter is a wet ride. For someone over 200lbs, the water comes in through he scuppers upon boarding and never drains.

In adverse conditions, such as high winds, the Ocean Drifter is not very comfortable and doesn’t perform very well, as mentioned above. A rudder should help alleviate the drift problem to some extent but such add-ons start to make an inexpensive kayak into an expensive one. The wet ride you just have to live with. I recommend wearing some waders in the cold water months and forget about it in the summer months.

Even at full speed the Drifter can turn on a dime, but it does not track very well at all no matter what. While paddling it takes on water over the sides in as little as a one foot chop, and everything in the boat gets soaked in chop bigger than a foot and half. Without a real keel to cut through the chop, the flat hull rises with the wave and then slams back down. The resulting spray soaks everything so stow your camera bag and dry wear. A practiced stroke is required to keep the boat on tack. However, unlike my first kayak, the Pelican Castaway 116, the Drifter is very stable and never did I fear the yak might flip.

The molded foot pegs cause my feet to fall asleep after an hour or so of paddling. I prefer the adjustable pegs. And for the two hundred dollar premium charged for the “angler” package at least one cleat and two forward facing flush-mount rod holders or at least one center mounted rod holder should be included. Why there is no forward-facing rod holder is a mystery. I wont even mention the well-known fact that the tank well will not accommodate a standard milk crate, the holy grail of rigging out a fishing kayak.

A big positive about the Ocean Kayak Drifter is that the front hatch doesn’t leak at all. The Pelican Castaway required a pit stop about once an hour to drain the inside of the boat. I had to completely seal the scuppers with epoxy sealant due to the welds failing and the front hatch never held out a drop of water from the day I bought it.

Another positive on the Drifter is that is relatively small at 12′ 4″ and weighs only 54 lbs. which allows the boat to be easily and safely tied into the back of a pickup truck making it convenient for a single person to quickly load and unload.

I wouldn’t buy the Drifter in the “Angler Edition” for $599 but for $429, which is only about $50 more than you can buy the Pelican Castaway 116, it is a worthy kayak that I would not hesitate to reccommend over the Pelican for basic or entry level kayak fishing, especially for the bigger guys. The Pelican comes with a paddle and a built-in backrest included, which are extra on the Drifter, but those items are at the very low end and will need an upgrade if you plan to kayak much. I do recommend a good seat as the seat on the Castaway literally rubbed my back raw. I could only paddle so much as my raw back could stand on any given day.