Re: kayaks? cheap kayaks?

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YankeeTarheel wrote:
GoldenRetrieversRule wrote: Sat Sep 28, 2019 8:13 pm I have the cheapest, lightest sit-in kayak I could find at Dick's about 15 years ago. Slow (very slow!), stable, and many fish have been landed in that thing. It's not pretty, not fancy, and has no bells and whistles, but I put a stadium pad in for a seat and off I go. I have dropped it off of my van, scraped it on rocks, gotten stuck under trees, and have never fallen out or even come near to having fallen out of it so far or had any kind of leak. I bolted a rope lashing doohicky to it a few years ago so I could use an anchor. I think it's a "Swifty" by Perception. Totally suited to flatwater. I wouldn't use it in any fast moving water though I have paddled it on the slow moving Nashua River. Save your money and invest in a good lightweight but strong paddle. Also sit-ins are a little warmer than sit on top if the weather is cool.
Another wise take.

But I REALLY agree on the paddle. A heavy or flimsy paddle will ruin it for you. You don't have to spend hundreds on a paddle, but a good one will make a cheap boat fun, and a flimsy one will make an expensive boat NOT fun!
I absolutely second this, a good paddle makes a world of difference. Also, sit-on kayak is the way to go. I've surfed choppy head-high waves on a sit-on ocean kayak and never felt unstable. I've also paddled calm canals along the Florida Intracoastal Waterway and explored many saltwater creeks throughout the Bahamas on sit-on ocean kayaks and I've never been worried about their stability. Hell, in Florida there are dudes who do some pretty serious deep water game fishing pretty far out into the Atlantic from sit-on ocean kayaks. The newer modern designs are honestly really awesome.

Re: kayaks? cheap kayaks?

29
I owned a very cheap sit on top Kayak I bought at Fred Meyers grocery/department store in the PNW for under $200. Based on personal experience remember that the flatter the bottom the slower and harder it will be to row/move across the water. (But it will also feel more stable when sitting still.) So it’s great if you are sitting there fishing or birding or whatever. Not so good if you are using it to paddle around and explore, especially near a large river or ocean shore with any sort of a current to fight against.
"It is better to be violent, if there is violence in our hearts, than to put on the cloak of non-violence to cover impotence. There is hope for a violent man to become non-violent. There is no such hope for the impotent." -Gandhi

Re: kayaks? cheap kayaks?

32
kronkmusic wrote: Sun Sep 29, 2019 12:11 am
YankeeTarheel wrote:
GoldenRetrieversRule wrote: Sat Sep 28, 2019 8:13 pm I have the cheapest, lightest sit-in kayak I could find at Dick's about 15 years ago. Slow (very slow!), stable, and many fish have been landed in that thing. It's not pretty, not fancy, and has no bells and whistles, but I put a stadium pad in for a seat and off I go. I have dropped it off of my van, scraped it on rocks, gotten stuck under trees, and have never fallen out or even come near to having fallen out of it so far or had any kind of leak. I bolted a rope lashing doohicky to it a few years ago so I could use an anchor. I think it's a "Swifty" by Perception. Totally suited to flatwater. I wouldn't use it in any fast moving water though I have paddled it on the slow moving Nashua River. Save your money and invest in a good lightweight but strong paddle. Also sit-ins are a little warmer than sit on top if the weather is cool.
Another wise take.

But I REALLY agree on the paddle. A heavy or flimsy paddle will ruin it for you. You don't have to spend hundreds on a paddle, but a good one will make a cheap boat fun, and a flimsy one will make an expensive boat NOT fun!
I absolutely second this, a good paddle makes a world of difference. Also, sit-on kayak is the way to go. I've surfed choppy head-high waves on a sit-on ocean kayak and never felt unstable. I've also paddled calm canals along the Florida Intracoastal Waterway and explored many saltwater creeks throughout the Bahamas on sit-on ocean kayaks and I've never been worried about their stability. Hell, in Florida there are dudes who do some pretty serious deep water game fishing pretty far out into the Atlantic from sit-on ocean kayaks. The newer modern designs are honestly really awesome.
Do you generically mean ocean kayaks or the brand, Ocean, like my Zest EXP 2? Heavy on land, light in the water. It seems to me the way to get both stability and ease of moving across the water, is good and deep skeg or keel design.
"Even if the bee could explain to the fly why pollen is better than shit, the fly could never understand."

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