Holiday News

Wow, the holidays are upon us and it seems to have thrown everything into fast forward around here.     There has been a lot going on at Diablo HQ over the last couple of months concerning new products, accessories,  and pricing.  We are making great headway on some aspects and others are still taking their time (which reminds me, I gotta call that guy about that thing).   So with that said, let me catch you up on what you can expect over the next couple of weeks here at Diablo. 

We just had the first run of Chupacabras come off the truck and we'll start assembly tomorrow!  WOOOHOOO!  This has been in the works for some time now and we thank you for waiting patiently, but we are now taking orders for Chupacabras and if you hurry we can get it them out of here and under your tree just in time for Christmas.  The price will be $1249 retail, yes that’s $101 less than we originally quoted, but we’ll explain if you keep reading.   The Chupacabra is the smaller counterpart to our Adios.  It comes in at 10.5’ long and just over 36” wide, still providing you the platform to sit, stand, paddle or pole for all your fishing styles. 

We are still working on our skegs  and anticipate being able to have a run ready for purchase at the beginning of the year.  They will fit into existing handle holes on the rear of your Adios or Chupacabra, so they can be added in minutes, with a screwdriver.  We have also become big fans of the Larry chair , www.travelchair.com/the-chairs/169  , which fits perfectly into our cockpit with a normal kayak seat already affixed.   Paddling is easy from this position and it makes going from the seated to standing position much easier. 

In addition to all this we need to thank some of our friends and supporters that put us up on their Christmas list.  Thank you to Cameron over at the www.FiberglassManifesto.com for adding us to his wish list, as well as Isaac Miller for his mention that you can check out at http://www.yakangler.com/products/fishing/item/569-isaacs-christmas-guide .  Thanks guys and we’ll talk with Santa for the Spring…

One last thing that we find very exciting and we think you will to,  PRICE DROPS ON BOTH MODELS!!!  That’s right, we told you that as soon as we were up and running a little smoother, we would re-evaluate and see what savings we could pass on to our customers and dealers. We have done it.  Just in time for Christmas and 2011 Kayak fishing season, we are able to drop our prices to $1499 and $1249 respectively on the Adios and Chupacabra.  That is over $100 on each model and we are very happy to announce this as a benefit to both our dealers and customers.

Did we mention we have Swag available.  Trucker caps in Khaki and in Chupacabra Green!  T-shirts with our  jolly Diablo logo, what could be better for a stocking stuffer.  Holiday special , $15 per item, and we’ll pay the shipping. 

I hope you are all having a great holiday season!

Cheers, tf

New Product Testing- Our Favorite

We went out to test out some new accessories on the Colorado River last week, and couldn’t have had a better day on the water.  Megan, Tyler and myself headed out with two Adios’ and one Chupacabra, to Webberville for an afternoon float n’ fish.  One Adios was rigged with a Torqeedo trolling motor,  while the other was sporting a prototype skeg, and the Chupacabra was also sporting  a skeg.  We tried out all three and were very impressed with how all performed. 

Let’s start out with the Torqeedo.  I am going to have to eat crow on this one.  I have never been a big fan of trolling motors on kayaks, and this product has changed the way I look at trolling motors.  One of the main things that seem to deter when mounting a trolling motor is the weight, and Torqeedo has definitely solved that problem.   I think the whole unit weighs in around 14lbs and that includes the battery that can be plugged into the wall to recharge and if you aren’t using the motor, you hardly know that it is there.  Coupled with the Larry chair, you are sitting up cruising comfortably and the Torqeedo definitely earns it’s place on the stern. 

Getting past getting lazy and spoiled on the Torqeedo, we took one Adios and one Chupacabra out with our first run skegs off the back.  The main difference I immediately noticed was the improved SUP performance.   This is a feature we have been  wanting to get out and onto boats for quite some time, and have finally had a chance to go forward and get some in the water.  We are not into production yet, but will be after a few tweeks.

So after we finished up with all of this “work” on the water, we managed to get a fair amount of fishing in.  Did pretty well with cotton candy flukes, fishing  them weedless and weightless on ultra-light spinning rigs.  I caught plenty of small ones and one nice sized largemouth, but as always Ty managed to catch the big one in the end. 

 

Just getting started

I have put off starting a blog for a long time now, I think mainly the holdup has been where to start.  Well, let’s start now.  We are in the beginning of fall, our major tradeshows are done for the year, manufacturing has moved home and it is time to start off everything fresh and gear forward.  I am not sure exactly what my blogs are supposed to be about, but if you decide to keep reading them, I would guess that they will vary from questions to product reviews, to stories about our trips to stories about your trips, a few rants and raves, new product info and all around what’s going on in the world of Diablo that floats around my melon.  This blog won’t always be about Fishing and paddling, I love hunting, dogs, camping, live music, good people and funny stories, and will be covering all of this that I can as well. 

So please help me out with this as well and if you agree, disagree or want me to tackle a certain subject, just let me know and I’ll do the best I can to help.