KAYAK recommendations REQUEST :)

[packerz4]

This post is for all the kayak lovers i've seen on this forum.

i went to gander mountain today to look at the kayaks there. i'm confused.

i'm thinking I want to buy 2 of them. we are both amatuers, i was thinking for ease of hauling the shorter the better. what do you recommend?

sit on top kind?

sit in kind?

how do you identify the weight capacity of them?

stability? (does wider kayak mean more stability?)

anything else i should know?

can you point me to a good web resource?

thanks!

tk

[Ma3tt]

I'm in the same boat, so Ill be watching the answer to this one.

[prohandyman]

It really comes down to just how you expect to use the boat. Whitewater?
Fishing? expedition trips?
Start with paddling.net They have buyers guides, product reviews,etc.
Wider is more stable, but not neccasarily faster. Why fast? Are you planning on covering lots of water, as in sea excursions? Then you need a sleek, fast boat that is easy to move and track straight. A 20 ft fiberglass sea kayak wont handle rapids anywhere near as nice as a short plastic boat. A whitewater sit-in wont keep you and your fishing gear comfy while stalking fish.
The weight capacity rating is usually for pilot, and all gear and clothing.
It can really get complicated when you hear terms like initial stability, secondary stability, rocker, etc.
Can you join a local org that specializes in paddling?
If fishing is your bag, check out http://www.IndyYaks.com
or http://www.kayakfishingstuff.com
By the way, I haven't found too many Gander Mountain sales people that really know their stuff about kayaks!

[BrwBier]

packerz4, when you come to Cooler Near the Lake II, their is a store on the river 6 miles from the state park that rents and sell kayaks. Maybe try before you buy?
Brwbier

[TPMcGinty]

Be very careful about buying a short boat. The shorter they are the easier they are to turn but the hard they are to keep going straight.

As an example my brother and I went kayaking down a river. I had a 12 foot wilderness system pungo and he rented a 9 foot perception swifty. He did better on the river in the turns but when we hit the lake, he had to paddle three times as much as I did to cover the same amount of water.

[packerz4]

packerz4, when you come to Cooler Near the Lake II, their is a store on the river 6 miles from the state park that rents and sell kayaks. Maybe try before you buy?
Brwbier

great idea Brwbier! I'll check into that. do you know the name of the store?

tk

[packerz4]

Be very careful about buying a short boat. The shorter they are the easier they are to turn but the hard they are to keep going straight.

As an example my brother and I went kayaking down a river. I had a 12 foot wilderness system pungo and he rented a 9 foot perception swifty. He did better on the river in the turns but when we hit the lake, he had to paddle three times as much as I did to cover the same amount of water.

Good advice! I was thinking the 12' ones looked good...

[packerz4]

It really comes down to just how you expect to use the boat. Whitewater?
Fishing? expedition trips?
Start with paddling.net They have buyers guides, product reviews,etc.
Wider is more stable, but not neccasarily faster. Why fast? Are you planning on covering lots of water, as in sea excursions? Then you need a sleek, fast boat that is easy to move and track straight. A 20 ft fiberglass sea kayak wont handle rapids anywhere near as nice as a short plastic boat. A whitewater sit-in wont keep you and your fishing gear comfy while stalking fish.
The weight capacity rating is usually for pilot, and all gear and clothing.
It can really get complicated when you hear terms like initial stability, secondary stability, rocker, etc.
Can you join a local org that specializes in paddling?
If fishing is your bag, check out http://www.IndyYaks.com
or http://www.kayakfishingstuff.com
By the way, I haven't found too many Gander Mountain sales people that really know their stuff about kayaks!

thanks for the leads! this forum is such a great resource!

[Sonetpro]

As has been said. The shorter wider ones are quick to turn and stable. The longer skinnier ones are faster and less stable.
I would recommend you rent or try a kayak before buying it. It is sort of like buying shoes. When it fits you you are very comfortable in it.
SINK or SOT is a choice according to the way you will use it. I prefer SOT's but a SINK is great for calm water or rough water if you can get the eskimo roll down.
Here is a good introduction to kayaks from the kayak board I am on.

http://www.texaskayakfisherman.com/arti ... basics.php

[pgwilli]

As has been stated, it depends on what you want to do with it.

I understand Lake Michigan is a serious piece of (cold) water.
If thats where you want to paddle, you probably want a sea kayak and a good skills class.
If you are thinking about sheltered waters, the Pungo someone mentioned is a good rec boat.
I think its pretty cold up your way for a sit on top, but I don't know that for sure.

Try before you buy is always a good idea, but even before that, I try to get my friends who are interested to take a 3 hour tour with a reputable outfitter. That way they get to get out and learn to paddle in a relatively straight line and see if your legs are going to fall asleep with a minimal investment.
I also recommend they buy a used boat for the first. Your first boat is rarely your last.

I see there's a symposium near you in June:
http://www.rutabaga.com/everyonepaddles/page.asp?pgid=1016

Thats usually the place to go try all the boats available and talk to the local 'experts'.

Have fun - be safe

[arsnls64]

The best place for advise is a store that specializes in outdoor activities such as kayaking, cycling and such. That's what I did and got great advise. Also, those same type of places sometimes have weekends where they take all kinds of boats out for you to try free of charge. I tried at least 15 different kinds before I bought my 3.

[b.bodemer]

Tk,
You are getting great advice and perhaps that store even has a demo day. You get to sit in lots of different kayaks.

I mostly river kayak now so for sure I want a boat just for whitewater. Some boats are considered recreational and then you get into the seakayaks and touring boats.

Rec boats generally have a lot of volume making them easy for people to start out and enjoy. They are longer than my whitewater boat but shorter than a touring boat. Recreational boats are great for small inland lakes.

So that my nieces and nephews have a nice intro to boating I purchased a sit on top from Gander Mountain. It's just over 8' and the price was right....$199. I take that on family trips because a sit on top is generally wider, very stable and tracks well(goes straight). You just walk it out a few steps into the water and turn and plunk your rear in the seat. No climbing in or out of a cockpit. It's so stable the kids and I jump off, swim around and then climb back on top. Just remember than even though it's very forgiving you are totally exposed to the elements. Your fanny for sure will get wet, and you'll need sun tan lotion on your legs too or you'll burn. Again I picked that boat because it's fun in the sun in summer time. If I went much further into the fall I'd have to consider more protective clothing. Plus sit on tops are self bailing so not much else is required(like float bags, skirts, and a pump).

The nice part about most of these plastic boats is that you'll probably outgrow any boat when you get more experience or your paddling changes. That's easy............kayaks sell pretty easy "used". You might even find a used one for yourself.

Have fun deciding and trying and you never know you might see me on a river or inland lake near you!
Barb

[JunkMan]

I agree with the others that said to try a boat first, if possible. We have 5 kayaks, 2 recreational, 2 sea kayks, and a folding tandem. When we bought our sea kayaks, we based our purchases on information we found on the manufactures sites, and from recommendations from others.

The kayak we got for Odie was harder to paddle in a straight line, and seemed tippier than she was comfortable with, so I ended up using it (even though the cockpit is a little snug for me), and she uses the one that we got for me (which is made for a larger person). My daughter prefers Odie's kakak to all of the others, which shows that personal preference makes a lot of difference.

We bought our recreational boats for our daughter and granddaughter to use, but we would not want to use them ourselves, as they are too slow and don't handle as well as the sea kayaks (although they would be better than the sea kayaks if we were planning on doing some fishing from them).

The Folbot we have (folding kayak) was a big disapointment. We thought it would be good for taking in the camper, since we could carry it inside, and not on the roof, but it is VERY slow, and takes a lot of energy to paddle. It might be Ok just for a slow paddle on a lake, and some fishing, but that's about all that we would do with it. On the other hand, we did some kayaking though Topoc Canyon with a group, and one of the guys (who also owns several kayaks) used his Folbot single, and preferred it to his other boats.

Our local kayak dealer has several rental / loaner boats, and will deduct the rental cost from the purchase price if you buy a boat from them, and also holds some demo days from time to time where you can try out several boats for free. I would look for a dealer like that, in your area, so you can try before you buy.

You might also see if there is local kayaking group in your area. We have an informal group out here, and everyone is pretty good about letting others try out their boats, and giving feedback on their likes and dis-likes of their boats.

[packerz4]

thanks for the replies everyone!

i love this forum... i am definately thinking the sit on top ones are what we'll like. (i'm lazy)

most importantly we are going to try several styles out before buying. i'm thinking the most use will be inland lakes, and streams. not much whitewater, or Lake Michigan...

so stay tuned. I'll let everyone know what i end up doing.

tk

[McTeardrops]

My canoe group made our boats available for a group of handicapped kids and young adults to expose them to the sport. Several Pungos were borrowed, due to their written reputation for stability. They dunked three kids! Most stable boat of the group turned out to be a six-foot creek boat. Of course, that one proved impossible to paddle in a straight line, and would wear you out on a fifty yard trip. The-sit-on top models are referred to as "concrete canoes," and I would recomend a Charles Atlas course before you attempt to car-top one.

I've read the ratings before trying boats, and lost all faith in them. Some of the better retailers offer trial floats, some of the livery boats are selected for qualities other than cheap and tough, but the best opportunities are some of the regional gatherings where all the builders have their boats in the water for testing. Almost any owner will twist your arm to get you to try his boat, and try to convince you it's the best. I wouldn't buy one without paddling it!