Kayaking, what to consider and look for???

Kayaks seem affordable until you price the requisite Subaru and Yakima racks. Merrell boots ain’t cheap either. You can go retro and pick up an 80s Volvo wagon, but the repairs will still get you.

Then you have to factor in the downsides: Your wife will start dressing like Steve Irwin. Suddenly you can’t back out of the garage because the windows are covered in “life is good” stickers. You’ll get exiled by your friends because you don’t shut the f#ck up about the national park system. It’s a slippery slope.

 

Buy

 

A little advice from someone that lived in a kayak from the time i started driving through college.

I had a two person sit inside dagger that my dad bought for us to paddle the river. We had a blast and when I got old enough to drive i was in it fishing(admittedly not the best yo fish out of butnit worked) everyday after work.

Also, buddies and I would drop-in off route 50 and do overnight trips and get picked up in Harpers Ferry.

When it comes to whitewater I have very little experience but I did learn to roll in a pool. It’s not as easy as it seems, and I was eventually able to get righted in a lake and slow rivers, but never good enough to feel comfortable in fast water.

Sit on tops are nice but will be a really bitch to paddle against a current. If the kids are coordinated and like it they’ll ultimately want a sit inside. You can get touring sit insides that don’t flip that easily. I know my old dagger 2 person was almost impossible to flip.

Rent first but I’d be inclined to rent both styles. Also, don’t rent a whitewater one- they roll easily and aren’t the easiest to paddle if you’re inexperienced.

 

it's a kayak, not a ma

you do

no, its just a regular kayak, with the option of locking the mirage drive in, i will pull it up in shallow water or before hitting a beach. I don't work for the company but so saying its a pretty amazing design and having fished for 2 weeks in panama its legit

 

We tried several different types of them. I like the surf ski by preference. We found a local group that does it and we got to try out a lot of different boats to see what suited us. The narrow boats are fast but they get harder to stay on the narrower they get. The wife and I both agreed that the boat that suits us the best was the Epic V8 Pro. Easy to stay on and still reasonable easy to get through the water. I like the V10 boats as well but they were about double the effort to operate in terms of balance and paddling technique.

 

That's me the last time I tried that crap a few years ago.



Long story short- it ain't for everyone

 

Shoot for the v's, learn to j stroke, brace.


Keep your paddle in the water. Paddle paddle paddle paddle.

Goota learn to recognize eddies and catch them to setup for the next section.

 

Pro Tip:
Don't ever get into a whitewater kayak at the Oregon coast, and try to go out through the surf.
Also, make sure you get lessons on extracting yourself from said kayak prior to going out in the surf.

And the sharks and crocs thing still applies..

 

I don't know, some would consider that fun . First time I took my WW kayak out in the surf it was about 6 feet and by the time we got done playing it was over 10. I only know that as my kayak was about 10 feet long and went a several feet straight down the face before burying the nose and cartwheeling the boat. Nice thing about surf is that it's easy to roll up once you are getting pushed along by the pillow.
Here's a shot from disneyland for boaters, brush creek near Kernville Ca.

 

they make boats for people like you .. you should have stayed in the Whaler ...

 

@Newsshooter
The Oregon coast was my first time in a ww-kayak.
No training, nor education on how to roll (my fault for trusting my friends)
only "here's the tennis ball, use it to pull the cover if you flip..."

Subsequently: sit on top.

 

That's some good friends.

 

Assholes, Timmy. Assholes everywhere...

 

Sit ins have there place, in white water I would go short and fat. Rented this skinny thing in Belize, told them I don't want a guide, just drop me up river. Careful what you wish for , after 10 hours and 14 miles later made it back to town.. Looking back no it was awesome, at the time not so awesome, did not see one person, only cows

 

Why 10 hours? Did you do some fishing? Did you get lost? Did you encounter crocs, spill it?

 

Had my rod, there wasn't much life in the river except small fish. You can't get lost if you don't know where you are at to start with. By hour 8 and 9 started to paddle faster to make it back to somewhere before it got dark. Made it back to town, it was a long day

 

the wind was against me and the current not to strong, it was frustrating

 

That kayak is probably 20 years old, they don't make any WW kayaks that long anymore. That would be a good WW boat for that water though, faster and easier to track. One of the newer boats would have had you paddling in circles and zig zagging all day long.

 

Can you elaborate on the above boldface as well as the "J paddling" technique? I read about it in the manual but didnt understand

 

For just leisurely paddling around local calm waters, the Pelican line from Dicks is fine. We’ve got 2 10’ and 2 8’ boats for the family. Sit in type. They do just fine for what we do. Couple hour cruises along the creek by camp.