Sea Eagle 385fta

Size, weight, capacity

Sea Eagle 385fta is 12 ft. 6 in. (381 cm) long and 36 in. (91 cm) wide. This narrower profile gives the kayak speed over the water, and makes it easy for you to transition from paddling to fishing.

When portability is key, you need a kayak which is both lightweight and has a small pack size. The 385 fta weighs just 44 lbs. (20 kg), making it easy to load up into the trunk of most cars.

With a capacity of 635 lbs. (288 kg), there’s plenty of space on board for two paddlers and all of their fishing equipment. Sea Eagle do bill this as a three person kayak, though for fishing this would be a tight squeeze.

Features

The most obvious feature of the 385fta is the NeedleKnife keel. Situated on the outside of the kayak, this high pressure keel line gives the 385fta the tracking abilities of a rigid kayak. This tracking is made even better by the removable skeg at the rear. The swept back design helps improve speed and stability and can be easily removed for paddling rivers.

Inside the 385fta, the floor has an EVA foam, crocodile skin inspired design. Not only does this make the floor strong enough to withstand hooks and rod ends, but anti-slip, so you can stand to fish. Like the keel, the floor inflates to a higher pressure than the rest of the boat, giving it rigid and stable performance. The floor isn’t all that’s reinforced, though. The tubes around the outside are extra thick, to withstand hooks and rocks.

At either end of the boat, there is an inflatable spray skirt which can help prevent water splashing into the hull. These skirts have built in rod, lure, tool and hook storage, as well as bungee on top and extra storage below.

A built-in fish ruler on the tube and well placed grab handles complete this kayak.

Performance

Right from the beginning, the 385fta makes it really easy for you to get on the water. This lightweight boat is easy to transport to the water and takes no time at all to inflate. The onboard storage is straightforward and well thought out to maximise the space available.

Once you’re on the water, you’ll feel how easy it is to get this boat going in a straight line. The keel not only makes this boat track straight, even in windy conditions, but gives it an extra level of stability, without needing huge tubes on either side.

Perhaps the only notable negative to the 385fta is that the standard seating position is very low and difficult to fish from. This can easily be solved by buying one of Sea Eagle’s many aftermarket seats.