Took the Point 65 Kingfisher out fishing and filmed a quick field review along the way: how it splits apart and fits in an ordinary hatchback, what I’ve already tweaked on it, and how it handled the first waves.

Splitting apart and transport

The kayak’s main trick is that it splits fully into two halves, so you don’t need roof rails at all — I took my old roof rails off (used to carry a bike and a roof box on them) and freed up space in the hatchback’s boot. Each half weighs about 16 kg — roughly like a kettlebell, not the most pleasant thing to carry, but manageable: the front half has carry handles and mounts for various gear, and I carry the rear half one-handed by its handle or over a shoulder. Assembly is simple: the two halves face each other, slide into guide rails, and lock together with snowboard-binding-style clips until they click — job done except for fitting the nose piece.

Catamaran hull and stability

The Kingfisher was designed by a Swedish designer who spent years at Volvo and worked at Porsche Design before that. The unusual part is the hull itself — built like a catamaran or trimaran. That has upsides and downsides: it clearly helps stability, especially if you keep the center of gravity low. Raise the center of gravity (say, sitting higher on a wave) and things get noticeably sketchier, with a real chance of capsizing.

My tuning and the weak points

A few things I’ve already adapted for myself:

  • anti-abrasion tape on the spots that scrape against rocks when dragging the kayak into the water;
  • bungee straps for a dry bag at the back — though I removed one after it snagged a hook while fishing;
  • a brace for the pedal-drive screw — pushing hard on the pedals shifts the drive’s angle and the screw digs in the wrong way, so I cut a temporary shim to brace it (though, as they say, nothing lasts longer than a temporary fix).

The main flaw is still unresolved: the front hatch isn’t watertight. I bought the kayak used, and it came without a gasket cover on the hatch — even a small wave, whether hitting side-on or head-on, splashes water in, and it never drains back out. I’m planning to either fit a thicker seal or just glue the hatch shut with silicone, since I barely use the storage anyway.

How it handled the water

Leaky hatch aside, the kayak itself feels stable on waves — no wobble, no sense you’re about to tip out. Two fins under the hull, run by cable steering, make it fairly maneuverable for its size, and the paddle clips into the guide rails with a bungee. On the test run I trolled along a line of buoys with a rig of five flies — no bites in that spot, even fishing deep.

Bottom line: for short outings — half a day or a day of fishing — the modularity outweighs the downsides. No inflating, no garage needed for a fuel-smelling boat, and both halves can be carried by hand, no cart required. For me this kayak is a way to add some activity to fishing instead of sitting still all day like in a motorboat.