Wilderness Tarpon 130x reviews?

[creekstone]

Does anyone have experience (own or demo) with the Wilderness Tarpon 130x?

Better yet... has anyone moved from the Tarpon 140 or 160 to the 130x?

Even better yet... has anyone used the Torqeedo Helix motor on a 130x (or other Wilderness yak)?

Thanks! (I will also post this on the Freshwater board.)

[TexasJim]

I saw a 130X at the Corpus Demo Day on Sunday. Nice yak. My friend(who had gone out on a Pescador 12setup once, and fallen out three times) was looking for a pedal drive kayak. They had a Radar 135, which neither of us tried. We both tried the Perception Pilot 12.5 and the Native Slayer 13 Propel. The Pilot was worthy of its low price point(horrible rudder, so-so on the pedal drive, didn't paddle very well to windward), the Native was a much better(at almost double the Pilot price), and it was a slug in the water trying to paddle to windward.
My friend bought a Radar 135 the next day. A really well-engineered kayak, designed around the Helix Pedal Drive System.
It's stable, my pretty big friend can stand, pedal and paddle. From what they told me at the event, the Radar 115 and 135 are the only Wildys that can use the Helix Pedal(so far). Maybe the motor drive will fit in the front box slot, intended for transducer mounts? It's not very big.
Some viewpoint inputs. Good luck! TexasJim

[lc2hl]

I moved from a Ride 115x to a Tarpon 130x. Spent the last 2 days out in it, Saturday in salt and yesterday on fresh water. The 130x is not as fast as the 140, but is a quite a lot faster than my Ride. Have a friend with the Radar 135, and I can pull away from him easily. My balance is also pretty good, and I have no issues standing, casting, poling and fighting fish while standing in the 130x. The issue with that is how long you can stand. The most stable place I have found to stand is either on the mesh pockets or on the seat itself.
I can see the torquedos making it a real quick boat for sure.

[Duweezy]

I won the 130X in a raffle last year and took it out once before I sold it. It was a decent paddling boat that I was able to stand in and the seat was pretty comfortable. My one gripe was that it was a pretty noisy boat with hull slap especially in the hole on the bottom of the boat where the fish finder console was. The day that I took it out I spooked several reds in the flats that I believe was due to the noise from the yak. If I was near fresh water I would of kept it, I already have 3 yaks so I sold it.

[creekstone]

Guys, thanks for the feedback.

The hull slap has me a bit concerned. I wonder if some weight redistribution might address that.

There's nothing wrong with my T140. My interest in the T130x has as much to do with the seat as anything else. A little elevation might help my back (and keep my butt dry).

[JesseCJC]

I've owned a T140, ATAK, and the T130x. It's obviously not as fast as the T140 and marginally more stable. It is VERY loud with hull slap and that has to do with the flex pod and the drain around the drink holder area. I highly doubt any weight distribution will fix it but I could be wrong. It's a great boat overall though, I think you will enjoy it.