AKFF Wiki

You won't see too many of these about. The model was heavily criticised in the USA (the central hatch is high and the hull is noisy) and was withdrawn from sale after a short time, being replaced by the Marauder. They are made in New Zealand and offered in Australia as Cobra's premier fishing yak.

At 4.15m length, 0.73m beam and 23kg it is narrower and lighter than other kayaks in its class. The hull has a gull wing design and pronounced rocker (turns on a sixpence), which leads to the bow sitting high. The upside of this design is plenty of speed and good secondary stability. It is a bit twitchy, especially at rest, and this owner has been known to fall off a few times - see Peril. However, I've only managed to flip it once when using a drogue on a too short line beam on to a 2m swell with a 1m chop. Noise is noticable in comparison to other yaks, but not enough or in such circumstances as to be annoying or to spook fish.

It has a superb deck layout for a fishing kayak. Standard are the large, rectangular centre hatch, which provides unmatched access inside the hull, two side bins for storing bait and gear (these are covered but take water), and a sealed kill/live-bait well with a rectangular hatch cover immediately behind the seat well. Behind that is the open rear well - not big enough for a standard milk crate but does take smaller crates with room left over for a bucket. Two flushmount rodholders either side of the kill tank and bungee across the rear well and front deck complete the fitout. Front and rear carry handles and two side handles are standard

Optional features include a rudder (very useful for tracking straight given the pronounced rocker) and a large A hatch for the front deck. The space inside the front deck is huge so the A hatch is highly recommended.

The gunwales are nice and flat, permitting fitting of rod holders and other accessories and the console between the shins is perfect for a fish finder or rod holder.

There is plenty of room for a paddler. At 180cm, I place my feet in the centre foot position, so the yak can easily take a 2m paddler. Load rating is 145kg. I find that at 80kg + my gear, if anything, the yak could do with a bit more weight to settle it in the water.

This is a fine fishing yak, a beautiful balance between handling on and off the water, and an unmatched setup for fishing. Yes the centre hatch is noticable at first, but it is in no way a continuing irritant and it just too useful to give up. Indeed, it provides the perfect seat when you want to dangle your feet when at anchor or on the drift. The only danger or discomfort would come from falling asleep.