I have that exact Shoalie and I did some mods on it (about a year ago). I primarily use this kayak for river trips on skinny water where there's lots of dragging. I cut out the front hatch to expand storage capabilities. I don't regret it. I still have it and am looking for a way to reattach when I want to use it. I bought some kydex and added it to the keel for a skid plate and in the back of the hull in the sensitive areas since I drag so much. I had a feel free lure prior to this yak and bought this for the river features and the weight. The feel free is 20 pounds heavier. I love all of the features, but I'm going to add some padding under the seat points to soften the impact on the hull and adding a seat cushion for my trips (3-4 days). End of the day, I love this yak and can't wait for my next trip.

ok so first thank you for doing this. It is great to see what some one who knows a lot about kayaks, has to say about this yak and is honest about it! As I said before iv already got this one and love it! it is a little over the top for me being I'm a simple fisher and im smaller in size 5,3inch and yes im a girl and the yak can be hard for me to move around. although I didn't just get it for fishing i also got it for camping! There are things that i questioned or had concerns about!. i like the handle up front but no mater how tight i make the strap mounts they are always twisting so the strap is bunching up, so the weight is not evenly distributed, I'm afraid the strap mounts might break. The front hatch is nice but I wish they made it a removable tub like they did with the OG lite tackle so you can still use both the haul and the tub. The cup holders are nice but when im paddling, my large tumbler get in the way just like you said it might ,even in the high seating position. oh and Iv learned to make sure the cups are sealed cuz water from my paddle drips right on top of the cup. I did want an anchor wizard but they made some kind of miscommunication when designing the yak. It was suppose to go on the cup holder like you said but don't fit like it was suppose too. Although they did come up with another way of mounting it to the side handle mounts but last I heard they are still working on getting it figured out to be better, so I'm still waiting! Those rod holders behind the seat are also great for a net and ya they should of padded all the chair leg holes not just the top ones ! the paddle holders in front of the seat are way to close I moved them to the upper tracks and put my YA fishing pole holder mount on the small lower tracks . You did miss the groovy landing gear mounting area in the back tank well! I do have this and I both love and hate it! I got it to make it easier for me to move the yak and it does but ,they put it to far back so when lifting the front you still end up lifting a lot of weight . they should of put it closer to the middle to balance it out ,like maybe some where under the seat! also you lose most of the use of the tank well although they did send a conversion kit at a later date ,so I can mount a black pack on top of the landing gear mounting bar! that conversion kit is now standard with the landing gear! Thank you again you have been so helpful and it was great to hear your input on the shoalie!

I spoke with James Derbecker from Crescent and he assured me that there are kiss offs throughout the hill design and there is no issues with the seat design. They have had zero warranty claims regarding seats making hulls crack. I do agree with your assessment on the front pull strap potentially catching hooks and I also agree with no skid plates. Both are easy fixes….. I don’t own a Shoalie but I am deciding between a Shoalie and a RVR for my river boat.

I have two kayaks, This Shoalie, and a Bonafide ss127. I must say I've owned the Shoalie for over a year. Last month I traded the Shoalie for another Bonafide SS127. The ss127 is way more stable. I use my yaks for river fishing only. Trust me for fishing rivers, go with the Bonafide SS127, RVR, or the PWR129. Can't go wrong. Only thing better on the Shoalie is the turning, and speed, which I don't need for river fishing. Just my two cents. Great video..

Thanks for the review!

A fair detailed description of a kayak OMTC does not carry. I enjoyed the comparison to the yaks you do carry. As is the norm, your opinions are spot on 👊 Thank you Sir for the video. 😎

I really want to see how the k-craft does in river fishing. I hope you’ll do an overview of that one.

Nice looking boat but I can't seem to get away from the nucanoes seat track and the ability to slide seat to equalize the load in the boat ....wish more companies used this system....maybe I'm the only person that feels like this...I enjoy your videos though...happy padding and happy new year...

Have you ever heard of anyone having hull weakness anywhere on a Crescent, ever ??? I haven't. Shame on you for suggesting this company might have issues because another company had issues in the seat area. I appreciate your reviews, but that was just wrong. Please when you do your river comparison, put the seat in the low position, try to find some class 1 and 2 rapids. Thats what real river kayaks do. Also see which boat works better in skinny water 'draft' . In my opinion your bi-hulls will be the first to drag. I have a bi-hull and its great for stability, sucks in skinny water and cross river treks. As far as hull protection.....Kydex, front and back. As far as an anchor setup goes, there is a side mount that goes where the side handles are and you can mount your wizard and put your handles back on. Anchor wizards both sides and keep your bottle holders. Yak gadget front offset anchor mount lets you keep your front handle/strap.