First impressions of the Lynx

Just sharing a few of my experiences as a new Lynx owner and what has worked for me. Overall I am thrilled with this thing: it as light, stable, and fishable as all the hype leads you to believe. I'm a minimalist so I have zero interest in carrying half a tackle shop with me.

I lucked into one a few weeks back after calling shop after shop in Virginia and surrounding states and being told I'd have to wait a few months. The week before Memorial Day I went to the Outer Banks to do a little fishing and called Kitty Hawk Surf Co. on a whim, asking if they might be getting any Lynx Papaya in. "We have six...how many do you want?" Then they asked if I wanted to demo one first, something no other shop even mentioned.

After a shakedown in the Alligator River just to get a feel for it (pros: no currents or boat traffic...cons: alligators) I went into the sound to try and catch some puppy drum or speckled trout. I was surprised at how fast and light it was. Coming back the wind kicked up hard from the NE and was actually putting whitecaps on the water, but I had no trouble making headway. You really expect this thing to porpoise in those conditions, but it punches straight through waves. It's wet but you're up so high it doesn't really matter. The water just sluices right off the back.

I use two YakAttack Omega Pro holders. They are a good fit for this boat because you don't need a leash to keep the rods safe and it holds them up high so the reels don't get hit in sloppy conditions. I use a single double deep Tufftainer for all my tackle, which goes right under the seat. I bungie a small cooler on the back to keep fish and drinks and put a small drybox for my phone/wallet/keys on a stretchy cord in the seat pocket. The boat itself is carried on aero-style crossbars, where I put a small piece of rubberized pipe insulation in the four spots between the upside-down kayak and the bars to provide a little cushion and stability before strapping it in. That's it for equipment.

At home, all the gear except the drive goes onto a large piece of cardboard that I slide under a bed because my house is small and I don't have a garage. The drive hangs in my shed off a wire shelf using the leash I made by splicing some leftover hollow core poly rope; the leash doubles as a hanger using stainless carabiners on either end and has the advantage of costing about three bucks. The Lynx goes upside down on two cheap Harbor Freight stands out back with a tarp over the top.

The one disappointment has been the 3M Megaware I put on for keel protection. I bought a 4' piece, cut off about 18 inches, then cut that in half to hit each side of the high spots. The rest remained intact and went on the front. The boat was new, I followed the instructions to a tee, yet it started peeling off within days. It's overpriced junk.

The cam straps bled blue onto the bottom after being doused in a thunderstorm and the drive is clicking a little on each stroke, but I'll figure those out. This thing is a great little craft. I'm going to get a lot of use out of it.

Thanks for this. I've had a couple of Hobie boats now and I'm wondering if the Lynx might be my next one. I'm not racing anyone but I am curious if it is slow due to it's width compared to the other Hobies I go out with, Revolution 13, older Outback, etc.

Do you have any more impressions now that some time has passed?