Family Boat

I received my Kilroy DT from the factory just in time for an August family vacation. The plan was to drive to Emerald Isle, NC with intentions of catching a variety of inshore species. What I was most excited for, however, was to get my 3 year old, Grayson in the kayak with my wife and I for the first time.

The first day on vacation my dad and I decided to get on the water and see what the DT was capable of. My dad weighs 270 lbs while I weigh somewhere in the vicinity of 205 lbs. Dad had never been in a kayak before so I was slightly nervous. I was impressed, however, with the stability of the DT along with it’s ease of paddling. The DT tracked straight and can flat out move with two paddlers. Dad enjoyed his day on the water and caught a nice trout for his first fish from a kayak!

The second day on the water was with my better half. She is no beginner when it comes to fishing and she always seems to bring the luck. We searched for a while before we got our first hook up. Of course it was Laura hauling the first redfish of the day to the DT. A couple quick photos and we were back to it. It wasn’t long before I was hooked up but the fight was short lived as a weighty red spit the hook and left my feelings hurt. We both felt good that we had found some fish though. Not long after I was hooked up again but as I began to reel, I noticed that my reel handle was missing. It had falling off in the water somehow and here I was reeling in a redfish with the star drag on my bait caster. I landed the fish and we laughed a little. I remember thinking how I loved having Laura in the kayak with me.

Finally the time came that I had waited so patiently for. Grayson, my 3 year old had been asking about the kayak and wanted to sit in it every time he saw it. I knew I had to get him on the water. Laura and I agreed that it was time so we took him to the ramp and set off. He loved the oyster rocks and dipped his fingers in the water while I paddled along. It didn’t take him long before he crawled in my lap and stole the paddle from me. In this moment I thanked God for the blessings that were in the kayak with me that day.This vacation was one of the most memorable I have experienced. The Kilroy DT played a tremendous part in making these memories. Thankfully, my wife is the camera toting type so we have many great photos to help us remember that the Kilroy DT truly is a family boat.