Best Tandem Sea Kayak

BEST TANDEM SEA KAYAK: INTRO

Kayak fishing is becoming more and more popular. In fact, we’ve received a number of emails asking about tandem kayak fishing – a type of kayak fishing that allows for you and your fishing partner to be on the same kayak at the same time!

Our Tandem Fishing Kayak Ultimate Guide will teach you everything you need to know about tandem kayak fishing. But what about tandem kayak fishing in the great blue sea? This KFC post highlights the best tandem sea kayak and serves as a guide for everything you need to know to tandem kayak fish in the ocean!

Best Tandem Fishing Kayak: Unbiased Review

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Best Tandem Sea Kayak: Overview

This post includes all of the important details about the best tandem sea kayak. With so many great details and features, its important to organize this article in a logical manner. So, we’ve started with a brief highlighting of the basic information about the best tandem sea kayak, then we have a short “how to” checklist that will get you and your tandem kayak out onto the ocean in no time!

Next, we have highlighted a number of key features to look for in any tandem sea kayak, all of which are featured by our showcased best tandem sea kayak. We have also included a link to the product page for this particular tandem sea kayak that you can visit if you’d like to learn more. Finally, we’ve included a short paragraph about our own experience with the best tandem sea kayak!

Best Tandem Sea Kayak: The Basics

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Shortcut to the Best Tandem Sea Kayak Review

This tandem sea kayak is 13 feet long and has a weighted load capacity of 500 pounds. One of the best things about this particular tandem sea kayak is that it can comfortably seat up to three kayak fishermen. The typical capacity for a tandem sea kayak is only two fishermen, but this particular kayak comes with a center slot that can either be used to seat a third fisherman, or can be used as a main slot for a solo kayak fishing outing!

This tandem kayak is great for kayak fishing on the ocean. Why? Well, we’ll get into all of the features below, but one nice touch is the two flush mounted rod holders (with caps included) and mounting locations for four deck mounted rod holders. This variety of rod holders is great for having multiple lines in the ocean at once. The more lines you have in the water, the better your chance at catching the big one! Oh, and weighing in at 80 pounds, this tandem sea kayak has the appropriate amount of mass to help keep you stable in the ocean waves! Oh, and if you need more help with stability, make sure to learn how to use kayak stabilizers – they are great when battling wavy conditions!

How to Use Properly

The ocean is a fantastic place to kayak fish! That said, it can be a very dangerous place if you do not have the knowledge required to manage the risks correctly. Tandem sea kayak fishing can also be very dangerous. The risks of kayak fishing are compounded when you venture out onto the ocean. Take a quick look at the checklist below. It should serve as a helpful guide to get you up to speed on the best tandem sea kayak techniques and helpful hints.

1. Take a close look at the forecasted weather conditions for the ocean on the day of your trip. These conditions can rapidly change so, even if your forecast calls for smooth waters, be aware that things can abruptly differ and be prepared if they do!
2. Make sure to properly “clip in” the tandem sea kayak’s seats to their appropriate connection points.
3. We’ve included an image of the seat connection point below. Remember, the seat should connect tightly to the hull of the tandem sea kayak.
4. We like to test the connection by sitting in the kayak seat and rocking forward and backward then side to side, mimicking the impact of the waves upon the seat.
5. Next, inspect the hull of the tandem sea kayak to ensure that there is no cracking. Also, you’ll want to inspect that there are no wear points or holes in the hull itself. Even the smallest of holes or cracks can allow a significant amount of sea water to enter the kayak!
6. Install your fishing rods into the flush mounted and deck mounted rod holders.
7. We like to have our fishing rods properly installed before we set out into the ocean. This means we can focus on getting up and over the waves and not worrying about the rods falling overboard after a big wave!
8. Make sure to keep your water sensitive items and other personal effects safely tucked away in the water proof hatches that are included in the hull of this tandem sea kayak.
9. For extra protection against the water and waves, you can buy a “dry bag”, place your contents within in, and then lower it into the water proof storage hatch!
10. Oh, and while you are here, any time you are on the ocean you need to be wearing a fishing kayak life jacket. This is one of the best ways to assure yourself of your safety while on the water!

Important Features

High quality seats. As you can see above, seats are one of the great conveniences of buying a nice tandem sea kayak. The padded and adjustable seats are important because you will be spending a lot of time sitting in them! Most tandem sea kayaks will be built with an area in the hull into which the leg of the seat can be lowered. The lower cross rail of the seat is the strapped down tightly to the hull of the kayak ensuring that the seat and the kayak move in unison with the rocking and rolling of the waves!

Waterproof Storage Hatches. We always bring our phone, keys and wallet out onto the ocean with us. I am sure you do as well. It is important that these personal effects be protected from the harmful effects of water, not to mention saltwater! Remember, when tandem kayak fishing in the sea, the deck of your fishing kayak is going to be subject to getting splashed by unpredictable waves. A waterproof storage hatch, like the one pictured above, is a great way to keep your valuables safe and dry. The soft interior lining also keeps your delicate property (like your camera or iPhone) from getting scratched!

Paddle Holders. When you are tandem kayak fishing in the ocean, you need to focus on the water conditions you are facing. This is particularly true for when you are departing from the shoreline and are first encountering the breaking waves. There is very real risk of an overturn here if you are not careful. Once you get past the breakers and out onto the rollers or relative flat of the ocean, you’ll likely put your paddles away and will pick up your rods. This is when it is great to have paddle holders into which to safely place your paddles. The best kind of paddle holders, like the ones featured on our showcased kayak, are those with a rope and hook type connection. Why? Because this type of adjustable connection point allows the secure storage of kayak paddles of different weights and thicknesses! You might also want to consider kayak rod holders!

Cargo Hold. Tandem kayak fishing, by its very definition, means that you will be kayak fishing with more than just one kayak fisherman per kayak. This, of course, means a doubling of the amount of kayak fishing gear that you’ll be bringing along with you. You’ll need to have a safe and effective location into which to store your and your partner’s kayak fishing gear so that it doesn’t get in the way, crowd you, or even get knocked overboard! Look for a tandem sea kayak that has deep cargo holds (preferably in the front and in the rear). The best kind of cargo holds are those that feature bungee type straps that can tighten down atop the cargo hold (and the included gear) to keep everything safely strapped down against the ocean’s waves!

Buy the Best Tandem Sea Kayak

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There are so many different kinds of fishing kayaks on the market today. There are even becoming more and more offerings for tandem style kayak fishing. It is important to make sure that you move forward with a tandem kayak that is built to manage the challenges presented by tandem sea kayak fishing. The ocean presents a unique set of difficulties, and picking a tandem kayak that is built for more serene waters could get you into world of trouble!

We’ve named this particular tandem sea kayak as the best because of the features it comes with. It has the high quality seats and built in connection points that will keep you comfortable, but more importantly safe, when you are encountering the big waves in the ocean.

The waterproof storage hatches screw down flush with the hull of the tandem sea kayak, keeping your valuables safe from splashing salt water and saving you from having to spend money on a dry bag. The paddle holders are adjustable and are more than strong enough to tightly hold our heavyweight kayak paddles. Our favorite part? The Best Tandem Sea Kayak comes with dual cargo holds, one near the bow and the other near the stern. These cargo holds are perfect for storage of tackle boxes and camping gear – the bungee cords keep everything safely strapped down!

Side Note: Kayak fishing in the ocean can be dangerous! Be sure to wear a proper Fishing Kayak Life Vest at all times and learn How to Use a Kayak Anchor to keep you anchored in a safe location!

My Experience

The Best Tandem Sea Kayak has far surpassed my expectations. I knew that this particular model had tons of great features, but I failed to realize that it truly covered every difficulty posed by sea kayak fishing with ease. The 13 foot long and 80 pound frame was more than effective at battling through the waves close to the shoreline. We are able to address the waves head on and, thanks to the cargo holds, didn’t lose any gear!

My favorite part has to be the included seats. They’ve held up very well against the salt water and piercing sun – a quality that is certainly not present in many of the other tandem kayaks belonging to others in our kayak fishing group.

Another noteworthy feature is this tandem sea kayak’s adjustable foot rests. Not only did we think these were great for keeping us comfortable during our many hours of kayak fishing in the ocean, they are also great to “push” against when we had a large fish on the line! Having the ability to push back against a particularly difficult fish is a great bonus and results in reeling in bigger and higher numbers of game fish!

BEST TANDEM SEA KAYAK: CONCLUSION

KFC named this particular model of tandem kayak as the Best Tandem Sea Kayak because it contains all of the features that are absolutely critical to safely and enjoyably participate in kayak sea fishing. Yes, there are many different tandem kayaks on the market, but it is critical that you not try a “one size fits all” approach when it comes to tandem kayak fishing in the sea.

I hope this article has helped you learn more about why we have named this tandem kayak as the best tandem sea kayak. If you still have questions or wonder whether this specific tandem kayak would be the best tandem sea kayak for your own kayak sea fishing experience or style, please comment near the end of this page. We’d love to discuss the pros and cons of this model with you and we think the comment board is a great free resource to help others in the kayak fishing community make their own decision!

While you are here, if you are looking for the all around best tandem fishing kayak, KFC has written a thorough review just for you! Learn more about fishing in saltwater conditions!

Do you want to explore new and exciting kayak fishing destinations? Take a look here!

Comments

Do you own or have you ever used a sea tandem kayak?  How did it perform?  Was it able to handle the waves and saltwater with ease? Any other features you find to be important? What overall score would you give it? Do you agree with our opinion on the Best Tandem Sea Kayak? Remember, if you have any questions, we’d love to discuss them with you! Please share your knowledge with the KFC Community by posting a comment below. We love interacting with the kayak fishing community.