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Pro II Tandem |
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| I have now owned my Malibu Kayaks Pro 2 tandem for three
seasons. I have dragged my pro 2 over the beach with and without rocks, rammed harbor rocks.
Surf launched and landed and the boat is still in great shape.
I have loaded the hull with all my gear while on top of my car and driven in scorching
desert heat and have experience no distortion to the hull (I use the Yakima Hully Roller
system).
During winter months I store it under a cotton tarp with one hatch off. During the months
when I use it most, it is stored on my back patio, semi covered. It has the three hatches and 4
flush mount rod holders. I installed the rod holders myself. The color and the durability of the
plastic are easily equal to Ocean Kayak and other major manufacturers.
My few problems with the boat are minor. While I had the boat on the ground at my house my son jumped on the front deck next to the round hatch, the plastic flexed enough to pop the silicone seal on the hatch. I removed the hatch and used 3m 5200 with stainless nuts and bolts and have not had a problem since. I prefer stainless nuts and bolts, to rivets when I can use them and I prefer heavier duty sealant/adhesives to plain old silicone. The other issue is that the front pad eyes in the footwell loosened from the heavy use of clipping equipment. These pad eyes are installed with rivets and rivet failure is problematic with all brands of kayaks, this is not an issue unique to Malibu Kayak. The solution was very simple and that was to replace the rivets with stainless nuts and bolts. I could easily reach the location through the front hatch, which made for a very easy fix. I configure my tandem for four different operations. Tandem/Saltwater, Solo/Saltwater, Tandem Freshwater/ and Solo Freshwater. The tandem/saltwater configuration is the most demanding as equipment quantity and weight is at its highest level. Solo/Saltwater is the next most demanding followed by freshwater configurations. |
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Most of my use in a tandem setting is with my 9-year-old son.
The configuration of the deck is very well planned for this use.
The center position flushmount rod holders and rear rod holders make it easy for the two
of us to fish.
The hatches are large and easy to access while leaving plenty of deck space to spread out
our gear.
My son can access our lunch and other things through the front hatch while I can manage
the other more difficult equipment through the large rectangular hatch.
The dive tank wells are great for lashing loaded dry bags.
I have had my 210 lb brother in the front seat and when loaded down near max capacity the
kayak still performs well, but definitely a noticeable difference compare to when paddling with
my 9 year old.
My brother and I had the boat loaded down with 500+ lbs and had no problem surf launching
and landing as well as fishing for a morning off Malibu.
We even had a close encounter with a California Grey whale.
We should have flipped the kayak when the whale went under us at touching distance, but
the stability of the kayak proved to be a great asset that day.
The center-seating position for solo use is high and dry. I strap the seat over the large rectangular hatch and paddle from that position. |
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| Pad eyes are installed for this arrangement. A high quality seat and extra padding is recommended for the center-seating configuration. The one draw back to sitting in the center is that the center rod holders are in the way of paddling. Those rod holders are in the correct position for tandem use, so the crossover should not be expected to be there in a solo configuration. | |||
| The stability is so good that after surf launch (solo), I tie up to the kelp get on my hands and knees, turn around and get my gear out of the large rectangular hatch. The platform is very stable in rough water condition whether there are swells, wind chop or water skier wake. There are times when I have been out solo where I laid down on the deck while drift fishing. When I began looking at Tandems, the weight capacity and the large rectangular hatch were two of the main reasons I purchased this kayak. The large rectangular hatch is great for easy access of rods, reels, fish finders, tackle bags, dry bags, extra paddle and to put everything away during surf launches and landings, also not to mention perfect for stowing away a trophy fish. I figured that two adults with gear would be a concern and I wanted the extra capacity for those times. The deck layout was the next item on my list as Malibu Kayaks actually considered the idea of molding the gunwales with room for flushmount rod holders. |
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| A large roomy deck with flat areas friendly for fishing gear and the choice became very easy for me. The Cobra Tandem was the last tandem that I was considering, but the Cobra price tag and the fact that the Cobra Tandem did not have the gunwales that were designed for fishing gear, proved to be the reason Malibu Kayak’s Pro 2 Tandem went home on top of my car. I was concerned early on if this kayak would hold up to the heavy criticism it had received and I am happy to report that I did the research. The research has been a big payoff in that I saved money and ended up with a kayak that has proved its critics wrong. | |||
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