Sun Dolphin Journey 12-Foot Sit-on-top Fishing Kayak

My unit was lost in freight, and arrived late. However, I found it was well protected in a fibrous mesh-like bag. Unlike the 10' and under models I received for the rest of the family, this one did not get ripped, dented, and scratched as badly.I'm a heavy guy of average height, and know I wanted something with a higher weight rating to carry me and a bunch of gear. At 240 lbs, it was light on the water, and took little input to maneuver. I had rented, borrowed, and researched before the purchase, & it paid off. I love it.Having only taken it on a 2-hour maiden voyage, I have no regrets yet. Things you should know:* Mine came with scupper holes, only up by the legs, with a drain lip to keep it there.* This thing is big, without much to grab in the middle. I use the lip, but found a remnant of nylon strapping made a great shoulder strap. A loop on each end fits around the bow/stern handles, and functions as an anchor when I'm near shore.* Get a good paddle and lanyard (or make one)* The rear storage is quite a twist to reach, and the bow compartment is way beyond your toes.* The 10' version of this is also an excellent boat

Had really high hopes for this but upon putting in the water. Not fully loaded but a tackle box and a couple rods. (tackle box firmly bungied behind me). I launched great. Just in a clear enough area, didn't need a boat launch or dock. Paddled out to the middle of the lake an reached around for the tackle box...... HOLY CRAP!! Damn near capsized would of lost a couple good rods and maybe the box! Very easy to roll this baby! Not a bad boat but if you plan on standing up on this... You better know how to log roll.

Nice boat, stable, tracks well. Like the fact that it is not a "sit on top" or a "sit in". Its somewhere in the middle. One of the knee pads were put on crooked but I was able to pull it off and re-stick it back on in the right position. For the price this is a very good platform without the high price tag.That said, the kayak was delivered with a number of long gouges in various places. In a couple of places they were almost 1/16 in deep. I believe the gouges were done before it was shipped and someone ignored it because the plastic wrap the boat comes in was not damaged in these spots. I did not wish to return it and Amazon did reimburse me some of the cost but I would have rather not had the gouges and paid the price I paid.

I like this yak, most of the bad reviews that I have read come from bad shipping and handling but that has nothing to do with the performance or quality of the Journey 12ss the others are comparing it to $1,500 kayaks really! but even those have a few bad reviews. If your going to be fishing on a lake, pond, slow to medium moving river or the flats for redfish this kayak will do you good its very stable the scotty fishing rod holder is a little funny make sure its secured often you wont regret this kayak.

Saw some negative reviews of this yak. Wanted to add my views. I am 6'2" and 200 lbs. I sit comfortably in this boat. Paddles well and is great for fishing which is what I wanted. Only reason for 4 stars is the small forward dry space. I replaced it with an add-on hatchn that is larger and allows access to the forward part of the hull. I have added deck eyes, anchor trolley and other items. Great boat.

What isn’t shown well in the picture is that the seat is lower than the rest of the kayak so you are sort of sitting in a hole. All the water that comes off your paddle into the kayak runs down into the seat and you end up sitting in a puddle. Also, it’s not easy to steer. It is stable though! I have a 40lb dog who stands on the side and walks up and down it.

I am 6'3" & 212 LBS. This is my 1st kayak and am a novice, but found this to be a perfect fit for me. Excellent tracking, behaves well when anchored (3LBS). No problems fishing while drifting or anchored. The paddles that came with it are horrible (very weak) though, but I picked some up for $30.00, which is no big deal cuz I still saved $$$$$. The best feature for me is it only weighs 48 LBS, so loading & unloading by myself is a snap (although my wife & I are now known as "Yak-Man and Bob-In" - cuz she bobs in & out to assist if necessary). I AM LOVING IT!

Bought this 2 years ago and will be buying another one at the beginning of next season. This is one of the best fishing Kayaks out there. I have tried 4 other ones and end up giving them away. My brother and friend each bought the same kayak and love it. The only knock I have is the seat. It needs to be a little more comfortable. I solved the problem by cutting some memory foam and using that as my seat.Rod holders are great, storage is great and it rides true with little effort.AMAZING KAYAK!!!