I bought this vessel and picked it up yesterday. I’m coming from a vibe sea ghost 130 and thought I would post my Initial impressions in case it helps someone.
Shipping was fast. I ordered it on 3 July and it was here on 10 July. I ordered the boat, and the rudder with foot controls.
Packaging was great. It was securely covered and took about 10 minutes to unwrap it.
The actual boat itself is huge. It had a ton of deck space. I can put the seat in the front in when one of the kids or wife wants to go with me, I can remove it if I just want to bring to doggo. I kinda wish I’d have bought the OD, because paddling this barge is going to be a workout. The good thing is that I can always buy the pedal drive at a later date.
It’s heavy as hell. And I’m not sure how much help the wheel in the keel is actually going to be. It would be much nicer if there was an option for some integrated wheels like the blue sky angler 360. I’m sure you can put the boonedox landing gear on it, but it’s just more money to spend.
Build quality is great and it seems like the plastic is thicker and higher quality than my sea ghost.
The seats are amazing. I was really debating on the gravity seats or the 360 swivel seats. At some point I may buy one of the 360 seats for comparison. The only thing I don’t like about them is if you have accessories that you like to attach to the seat…it’s impossible.
The way the seats attach are very weird and confusing. The attachment points for the rear makes sense, but the front attachment points have straps that are 2 feet long for some reason. I thought maybe it was so you could adjust the seat forward, but it doesn’t work well that way. Seems like a simple small bungee would have sufficed unless I’m missing something. I’ll attach a pic of what I’m talking about
The rudder is missing some small pieces and I have emailed them to see if I can get the parts I need. So I couldn’t install it.
The track system is pretty nice though it is proprietary and you will need adapters unless you use the accessory plates that FF sales. Which isn’t bad. The adaptors are 13.00 on Amazon and work well. I don’t ever mind having multiple options for the same task.
I also don’t like the tackle storage spots on both sides of the rear seat. It’s simply a place with a small bungee that doesn’t come over the top. If you have tackle there and happen to flip…..your stuff is gone. So I’ll likely be buying something I can put boxes in and strap down.
I love the handles and having a good secure place to strap or grab hold of the boat.
So far I give it a 8/10 and is a significant upgrade over my sea ghost which served me well. Vibe has wonderful CS too so I can’t recommend the company enough. It’s just not the vessel I need now that I’m getting old.
Updates as they come. Hopefully maiden voyage this weekend.
Posted by Exit_Trauma