Tamarack Pro Kayak

The Original Tamarack was Lifetime's first original design for an angler kayak and has been their best selling kayak. When it came time to design the upgraded version of it, I knew that I would need to research user feedback to know how best to improve on the original.

I turned to social media to understand what users loved about the original Tamarack. I searched Reddit, Youtube, and the Lifetime Kayak Facebook fan group to learn more about Tamarack kayak owners. 

From my research, I learned that users love to modify their Tamarack kayaks! I discovered that owners of the original Tamarack most often added a frame seat to the kayak and added accessory mounting tracks for attaching assorted fishing accessories. Accessory tracks are a great way to add more tools to a kayak, but they require a flat area of the kayak to be mountable. 

In the sketches above, I've illustrated how I addressed my greatest concern from a user experience standpoint. The biggest addition was the inclusion of a frame style kayak seat, which I learned was the most popular mod made to the original Tamarack. I also needed to ensure that there was ample flat surfaces on the gunnels for adding additional track and accessories. In addition, I ensured that all of the angler's gear would be accessible from the seat position. 

Since adding DIY accessories was key to the popularity of the original Tamrack, I also designed three additional accessories for the Tamrack Pro. These items were a new adjustable foot brace and a tankwell bag that would be sold in two different sizes. All three items would be also be utilized across the water sports line and needed to fit with Lifetime's brand design language. 

Unfortunately due to costing, development for the tankwell bags did not move forward after the first prototypes were made. Fortunately there was enough costing to add the adjustable footrests to the Tamarack Pro and they are also now used across the watersports line where needed. 

The user research I did for this kayak paid off and it currently holds a 4.8 star rating at Lifetime.com with high customer approval of its upgrades compared to the original Tamarack kayak.