kayaks? cheap kayaks?

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kayaking interests me. i'm tempted to go down to wally-world and get a cheap rotomolded kayak so i can go paddling on the local lakes and rivers after it cools off a bit. i know nothing about kayaks except that eskimos (or is it aleuts?) use them, and an older friend and i built one out of wood strips and canvas when i was 14. rotomolded plastic looks much sturdier. you guys know anything about kayaks?

eta: weird. i remember the friend's name like it was yesterday. just searched and found his obituary, from 2006.
Last edited by lurker on Fri Oct 04, 2019 11:22 am, edited 1 time in total.
i'm retired. what's your excuse?

Re: kayaks? cheap kayaks?

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I've got 2 kayaks. One is an Ocean EXP2--it's long, about 16 feet, heavy at 75 lbs, and it goes over the water like it's Teflon! The other is an inflatable, Advanced Elements, which is a good boat, but nothing like the Ocean.

The molded ones range from cheap to pricey--the Ocean was VERY pricey but worth every cent.

Usually, the longer, the more stable they are. Deeper keels also help. But they are pretty simple. You'll just want a good, inflexible double-ended paddle. Learn to paddle with longer, slower strokes so it doesn't kill you, holding it as close to the paddles as is comfortable, and put your whole body into it, not just your arms. You go faster and longer.

Sit-in, vs Sit-on, is a matter of preference, but most Sit-ons are self-draining and virtually maintenance-free. Cheap inflatables tend to be mostly that: Cheap, nothing more than big pool floats.
"Even if the bee could explain to the fly why pollen is better than shit, the fly could never understand."

Re: kayaks? cheap kayaks?

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Mason wrote: Fri Sep 27, 2019 9:18 am Sit on tops are much safer and easier than sit ins.

The Perception Pescador 12 is a good value but you probably won’t find it a WalMarf.
i would think sit-ons would be tippy with the higher cg.
it's not that i'm attached to wal-mart, it's that they exemplify cheap low-end everything. since i no longer drive a minivan, there's no real incentive to keep it at or under 8 ft. it's got to go on the rooftop.
i'm retired. what's your excuse?

Re: kayaks? cheap kayaks?

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lurker wrote: Fri Sep 27, 2019 9:46 am
Mason wrote: Fri Sep 27, 2019 9:18 am Sit on tops are much safer and easier than sit ins.

The Perception Pescador 12 is a good value but you probably won’t find it a WalMarf.
i would think sit-ons would be tippy with the higher cg.
it's not that i'm attached to wal-mart, it's that they exemplify cheap low-end everything. since i no longer drive a minivan, there's no real incentive to keep it at or under 8 ft. it's got to go on the rooftop.
Not at all. They are incredibly stable--and unsinkable. This is an image I found of one like ours. The second image is exactly like ours--16 feet long, stable, and we use it at our beach house. In the ocean (albeit a protected bay)

Image


Image
Last edited by YankeeTarheel on Fri Sep 27, 2019 10:06 am, edited 1 time in total.
"Even if the bee could explain to the fly why pollen is better than shit, the fly could never understand."

Re: kayaks? cheap kayaks?

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I love flat water kayaking. I used to have land on the Kentucky River. I bought a small kayak to paddle around. I could paddle down river a half mile to visit a neighbor. I would paddle at night during the full moon, or in the dead of winter with it's deep spiritual stillness. I would go out during floods and capture what the river washed down. I got a boat dock that way one time.

With respect to Mason, I prefer sit-in style kayaks to sit-on style. The lower your butt is, the more stable you are. I have never turned over in my kayak. On the other hand, it is a bitch to get in and out of. (When I bought it 18 years, and 50 pounds ago, it was easy to get in and out of)
Sit on top kayaks have drain holes in them. These holes allow water to drain out, they also allow water to come up in the boat. I prefer to stay dry.

May I suggest you do the same thing with kayaks that we always recommend to people buying their first gun. Rent one first! Find a place that rents kayaks and go try one. Try the sit-in vs the sit-on.

Here is the boat I have. I have an older fiberglass model that weighs 18 pounds and will fit in the back of a Honda CRV:
https://www.aquacruisers.com/kayaks-pro ... -poke-boat

Here is the boat I lust after:
https://www.hobie.com/kayaks/mirage-passport/
All religions united with government are more or less inimical to liberty. All, separated from government, are compatible with liberty.-Henry Clay
Both oligarch and tyrant mistrust the people, and therefore deprive them of their arms.—Aristotle

Re: kayaks? cheap kayaks?

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I've never found the sit-on kayaks to be unstable, from Monterrey Bay to the Sea of Abaco. As for the drain holes, you CAN get plugs for them if you don't want water to get in.

I know I'd like to try a pedal kayak, too.
"Even if the bee could explain to the fly why pollen is better than shit, the fly could never understand."

Re: kayaks? cheap kayaks?

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I have three sit ins. A pelican tandem, a pelican single seat and a sun dolphin. The single piece sun dolphin is not for grown men. Way too unstable. My 11 year old drives it. The tandem is real stable but heavy as hell.

The single seat pelican is stable enough. You want to avoid really light ones for adults.

I have not tried masons advice on the sit on tops. They look neat.

We also have a canoe but you didn’t ask about that :)

Re: kayaks? cheap kayaks?

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I grew up canoeing. If you can "drive" a canoe, a kayak is a piece of cake! But we never had one. I loved it, though!
Funny--my wife is phobic about canoes, but loves kayaking! I think a snake got on her paddle as a kid...
"Even if the bee could explain to the fly why pollen is better than shit, the fly could never understand."

Re: kayaks? cheap kayaks?

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Modern recreational kayaks have huge cockpits so I’m not sure where the “SOTs are safer” idea comes from. Personally I’d avoid a Big Box store boat and look for better quality used. A Wilderness Systems Pungo 100 would be my first choice for a first boat. Or something similar from one of the other reputable makers.

Re: kayaks? cheap kayaks?

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wth? what's the 2nd word of the title? what is this, the liberal gun and kayak snob club? you're dealing with a guy who owns 2, count them, 2 phoenix hp22s. some of you guys have WAY too much money. come the revolution, we'll have to fix that.
i'm retired. what's your excuse?

Re: kayaks? cheap kayaks?

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lurker wrote: Fri Sep 27, 2019 4:55 pm wth? what's the 2nd word of the title? what is this, the liberal gun and kayak snob club? you're dealing with a guy who owns 2, count them, 2 phoenix hp22s. some of you guys have WAY too much money. come the revolution, we'll have to fix that.
Gotta be something similar in Spencer, NC

Martinsville, NJ. Ocean Kayak. $125. Can't get a better deal than that. Ocean is a quality brand, awesome price. Done.

I found at least 8 kayaks for $300 or less in the Charlotte, NC Craig's List.

Image
"Even if the bee could explain to the fly why pollen is better than shit, the fly could never understand."

Re: kayaks? cheap kayaks?

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lurker wrote: Fri Sep 27, 2019 4:55 pm wth? what's the 2nd word of the title? what is this, the liberal gun and kayak snob club? you're dealing with a guy who owns 2, count them, 2 phoenix hp22s. some of you guys have WAY too much money. come the revolution, we'll have to fix that.
People in blue states have more money, access to healthcare, better kayaks, etc. We have guns, disease, and poverty, lurker. :lol:

Don't worry. NC will become blue soon. You'll have your fancy kayak.
It is an unfortunate human failing that a full pocketbook often groans more loudly than an empty stomach.

- Franklin D. Roosevelt

Re: kayaks? cheap kayaks?

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lurker wrote: Fri Sep 27, 2019 7:32 pm k9s, on those terms, not sure i want one anymore. good thing i didnt spend a lot of money on a fancy boat. maybe i'll go see what kind of scraps i have in the woodpile.
I was just kidding around... mostly.

Get what you want. I spend money frivolously on guns and ammo. Get yerself a fancy boat. I bet there are some really good deals out there if you look. :)
It is an unfortunate human failing that a full pocketbook often groans more loudly than an empty stomach.

- Franklin D. Roosevelt

Re: kayaks? cheap kayaks?

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the problem here is i don't want fancy, nor know enough about kayaks to tell a good one from a bad one, irrespective of price. i think the molded plastic ones are better than anything i could build so i'll just minimize my risk and go find a cheap plastic one and learn how to do better next time, if there is a next time. thanks for all the advice!
i'm retired. what's your excuse?

Re: kayaks? cheap kayaks?

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lurker wrote: Fri Sep 27, 2019 8:03 pm the problem here is i don't want fancy, nor know enough about kayaks to tell a good one from a bad one, irrespective of price. i think the molded plastic ones are better than anything i could build so i'll just minimize my risk and go find a cheap plastic one and learn how to do better next time, if there is a next time. thanks for all the advice!
Remember: When you don't know, read everything you can. Reviews, user reviews, etc., and replace money with knowledge. And consider used.
"Even if the bee could explain to the fly why pollen is better than shit, the fly could never understand."

Re: kayaks? cheap kayaks?

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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.
"...just smash your piano, and invoke the glory-beaming banjo!" ~Mark Twain

Re: kayaks? cheap kayaks?

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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!
"Even if the bee could explain to the fly why pollen is better than shit, the fly could never understand."

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