I fancy getting into Kayaking
Discussion
So, as you've probably guessed, I'm tempted to buy a Kayak.
Mainly wide open rivers slowly flowing to the sea here. I'd probably go as far as the river mouth into the sea, but don't fancy the open sea much, rivers are more my thing. Not much white water local, so just wide open rivers to explore.
A lot of sit on Kayaks here, but I've always seen myself in a sit in kayak (not really knowing I could get two different types!), and upon reading up on them, I'm still thinking sit in.
Not as many on the local second hand market here, but here's two I've eye'd up and I'd like your some opinions.
Ideally second hand as new is quite pricey. These nudge the £400 barrier, so are not too bad.
Anyone know the manufactures?
http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/safety-beach/kayaks...
http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/nana-glen/kayaks-pa...
Being the wide open space that this country (Oz) is, things ideal have to be locallish in the big scheme.
The idea would be for two Kayaks, one for myself and then one for the partner. Being smaller, does this affect the choice for her. I'm assuming Kayaks are unisexed.
Also I notice that Kayaks can have rudders. I gather just to help toe a straight line.
Mainly wide open rivers slowly flowing to the sea here. I'd probably go as far as the river mouth into the sea, but don't fancy the open sea much, rivers are more my thing. Not much white water local, so just wide open rivers to explore.
A lot of sit on Kayaks here, but I've always seen myself in a sit in kayak (not really knowing I could get two different types!), and upon reading up on them, I'm still thinking sit in.
Not as many on the local second hand market here, but here's two I've eye'd up and I'd like your some opinions.
Ideally second hand as new is quite pricey. These nudge the £400 barrier, so are not too bad.
Anyone know the manufactures?
http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/safety-beach/kayaks...
http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/nana-glen/kayaks-pa...
Being the wide open space that this country (Oz) is, things ideal have to be locallish in the big scheme.
The idea would be for two Kayaks, one for myself and then one for the partner. Being smaller, does this affect the choice for her. I'm assuming Kayaks are unisexed.
Also I notice that Kayaks can have rudders. I gather just to help toe a straight line.
Edited by Gingerbread Man on Wednesday 10th December 22:04
Right, I read up earlier on rudders vs Skegs etc. Seem simple enough to understand and I get their being there. All in they seem very similar at the end of the day.
Mostly rivers here, no real current locally, but I know that would require a different boat, shorter, wider, more nimble.
Ideally we want some dry storage, so that's a must really. Those two are the only Gumtree ones that are local it seems. I'm looking into eBay and forums now.
I gather from these replies rhat these kayaks maybe fine for the sea and rivers??
Mostly rivers here, no real current locally, but I know that would require a different boat, shorter, wider, more nimble.
Ideally we want some dry storage, so that's a must really. Those two are the only Gumtree ones that are local it seems. I'm looking into eBay and forums now.
I gather from these replies rhat these kayaks maybe fine for the sea and rivers??
rhinochopig said:
I'd look at a sit on top tandem boat for your needs. You can rig them for either solo or tandem use and it's more sociable when there's two of you. It also a benefit when there is a disparity in technique / fitness with your padelling buddy.
Who said that I wanted to socialise! 
We both want seperate I'm afraid. One wants to go one way, one the other. Can't see it to be honest.
OpulentBob said:
I'm about to buy a pyranha fusion crossover for river and sea duties. Not sure if you can get them down under but they're a very usable and versatile boat, portable and would appear to tick all your boxes. £400 would get you a decent second hand jobber here.
Edit now I'm on a PC and not my phone...
My little boat club have got a collection of sit ons, sit-ins, sea kayaks, canadians etc. We're getting pretty good at choosing universal boats that are good for all uses.
The longer, more pointed boats are good for the sea but are possibly a little large for rivers. And you certainly wouldn't want to go over anything remotely white in one. They're designed for trackability, and really need the rudder to steer because they are so long.
I would go for a skegged boat. A rudder, whilst useful, is potentially a little overkill on a shorter kayak. You can steer effectively enough with just the paddle. If touring, drop the skeg and forget about it. They're generally hinged so it's quite hard to damage one in the real world.
A sit in has the potentail to fill u with water if you topple it, and can be a little trickier to get back in to when in waves/rougher water. A sit-on (SOT) kayak is extremely easy to use, and to right, and re-enter. You can get SOTs for not a lot of money, and most have a dry storage area. TBH, a decent dry bag can be better than a supposed dry "hatch" on a boat.
This is similar to my first boat - a great learner tool and did me 5 years of universal use, from sea to touring to playing.
This is a crossover type, that will do pretty much anything you ask of it. Easier to carry and load than a longer sea kayak.
This is what I'm going for. Like I say, £400 should get you a second hand one here, not sure about prices down under.
I bloody love kayaking.
I long to use a PC again. Been surfing from a phone for over 6 weeks now, the container arriving will be a blessing.Edit now I'm on a PC and not my phone...
My little boat club have got a collection of sit ons, sit-ins, sea kayaks, canadians etc. We're getting pretty good at choosing universal boats that are good for all uses.
The longer, more pointed boats are good for the sea but are possibly a little large for rivers. And you certainly wouldn't want to go over anything remotely white in one. They're designed for trackability, and really need the rudder to steer because they are so long.
I would go for a skegged boat. A rudder, whilst useful, is potentially a little overkill on a shorter kayak. You can steer effectively enough with just the paddle. If touring, drop the skeg and forget about it. They're generally hinged so it's quite hard to damage one in the real world.
A sit in has the potentail to fill u with water if you topple it, and can be a little trickier to get back in to when in waves/rougher water. A sit-on (SOT) kayak is extremely easy to use, and to right, and re-enter. You can get SOTs for not a lot of money, and most have a dry storage area. TBH, a decent dry bag can be better than a supposed dry "hatch" on a boat.
This is similar to my first boat - a great learner tool and did me 5 years of universal use, from sea to touring to playing.
This is a crossover type, that will do pretty much anything you ask of it. Easier to carry and load than a longer sea kayak.
This is what I'm going for. Like I say, £400 should get you a second hand one here, not sure about prices down under.
I bloody love kayaking.
Edited by OpulentBob on Thursday 11th December 09:30
Anyhow! The ones above are roughly 4m's long. Good to know I could jump into the sea with them, but it'll be slow rivers really. I guess adding a spray cover/ skirt will see me fine in the sea?
No real white water this close to shore. A few hours drive to the good stuff I hear.
I've read the phrase for a both open sit on tops and sit ins. I still think the sit in tickles my fancy.
Kayaking does look a good time.
If it helps, I believe the Azul is a rebranded Riot Enduro 13.
Asking a shop the pro/ cons of sit on vs sit in Kayaks today, she told me that Sit UN's cab sink if a bail out goes wrong. Without a spray skirt, I'm sure some water would splash in even on gentle waters.
If I Eskimo rolled it, would it gather too much water? Google surgests adding floatation to the kayak so if all goes tits up, it doesn't sink at least!
Is it a real problem?
Asking a shop the pro/ cons of sit on vs sit in Kayaks today, she told me that Sit UN's cab sink if a bail out goes wrong. Without a spray skirt, I'm sure some water would splash in even on gentle waters.
If I Eskimo rolled it, would it gather too much water? Google surgests adding floatation to the kayak so if all goes tits up, it doesn't sink at least!
Is it a real problem?
Edited by Gingerbread Man on Friday 12th December 10:36
I believe you can go up and down with the tide slightly. I'm basically on the coast but there are a few river mouths into the sea around here.
Would live White Water but I know that's a different boat, maybe in the future depending on what's local.
I have some expirence but little so will obviously take it slow. Will Kayak with the girlfriend mostly, of not always.
Seen the air bags on tinternet so I'm already there. A lanyard from kayak to paddle seemed wise.
Would live White Water but I know that's a different boat, maybe in the future depending on what's local.
I have some expirence but little so will obviously take it slow. Will Kayak with the girlfriend mostly, of not always.
Seen the air bags on tinternet so I'm already there. A lanyard from kayak to paddle seemed wise.
RobM77 said:
Looks good. 
Even if you don't want to join a club, make sure that you both learn and practise how to roll and also to get out if you do roll - it's not a nice to have, it's absolutely essential. I'd recommend regular practise too, especially in the UK where the water's often cold enough to initiate the cold shock response (an uncontrollable breath in). Learning good paddling technique can also work wonders for your endurance and make some longer distance trips possible - it's surprising how far you can paddle. If you're on a river then don't forget the current either - two miles in one direction can take a very different length of time to two miles in the other direction
I'm not trying to be bossy, just a bit of advice
The water was ~18 degrees Even if you don't want to join a club, make sure that you both learn and practise how to roll and also to get out if you do roll - it's not a nice to have, it's absolutely essential. I'd recommend regular practise too, especially in the UK where the water's often cold enough to initiate the cold shock response (an uncontrollable breath in). Learning good paddling technique can also work wonders for your endurance and make some longer distance trips possible - it's surprising how far you can paddle. If you're on a river then don't forget the current either - two miles in one direction can take a very different length of time to two miles in the other direction
I'm not trying to be bossy, just a bit of advice
last Friday but you speak wise words.Learn to roll over, over dieing. Roll from upright 360° or practice being under and popping up, kinda 180° roll?
Had our first blast out today.
One of our kayaks has a rudder, the other not. We swapped vessel throughout the day to get a feel of both. The rudder equipped boat wasn't really to my liking. The rudder was usefull to steer/ crab the back end while navigating the front around filled trees and the like.
But while trying to cruise along, I preferred the traditional use of the paddle myself.
The rudder seemed a little like cheating! Then some fishing chap came up the river motoring his kayak. Motor, rudder.....what next, just buying a boat?
So, the kayak that we bought with myself in mind seems to work fine for now. I even found a paddle holder to use while waiting for the missus to catch up.
The hardest part of the day was working out the best method of mounting them both on the roof of the car. There seem to be a few options out there, but they just about go on the cross bars alongside each other.
All in, looking good. Might get a spray skirt/ deck next to venture out into the sea. I hear a neoprene skirt is the most waterproof version. But nylon a warm weather choice. I guess you can get a combination of the two to find a warm weather happy medium?
One of our kayaks has a rudder, the other not. We swapped vessel throughout the day to get a feel of both. The rudder equipped boat wasn't really to my liking. The rudder was usefull to steer/ crab the back end while navigating the front around filled trees and the like.
But while trying to cruise along, I preferred the traditional use of the paddle myself.
The rudder seemed a little like cheating! Then some fishing chap came up the river motoring his kayak. Motor, rudder.....what next, just buying a boat?
So, the kayak that we bought with myself in mind seems to work fine for now. I even found a paddle holder to use while waiting for the missus to catch up.
The hardest part of the day was working out the best method of mounting them both on the roof of the car. There seem to be a few options out there, but they just about go on the cross bars alongside each other.
All in, looking good. Might get a spray skirt/ deck next to venture out into the sea. I hear a neoprene skirt is the most waterproof version. But nylon a warm weather choice. I guess you can get a combination of the two to find a warm weather happy medium?
RobM77 said:
I can recommend the standard Thule J bars. I ran a pair for a few years - now sold I'm afraid. I have a couple of vertical posts that I used to use which you'd be welcome to have, but to be honest I'd recommend the J bars.
We actually bought some vertical posts, but they're sat in their unopened box next to the receipt as we're thinking of returning them. Actually we thought about it before getting home from the shop!But thanks for the offer. Ironiclly it looks like I could have popped around to get them a short while back as I was a Hampshire (near Petersfield) lad myself, but I still have my Caterham VVC and have recent emigrated.
Looking at the J bars as an option as long as they're easily retractable or similar due to height restrictions.
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