Anyone here into kayaking?

[TominMO]

Spent all day today researching kayaks, about which I am a total noob. I have a friend who has a couple, and I think it would be fun to go out onto the water together this summer.

Definitely want a sit-on-top, probably a 12 footer, and have about $1K-ish to spend, to include a good paddle.

Anyone here doing kayaking? Thoughts, advice?

[2LZ]

Not me. No motor! Besides, if I got in the water, Captain Ahab would be called back into service. ;-)

[Sport Rider]

why sit-on-top? I like the sit-in for better stability. 12 ft should be plenty. I have a 10 and it does fine on our big lake.

[TominMO]

Biggest reason is that sit-on-tops have scuppers. It is impossible to flood them unless you seriously overload the kayak or are in heavy seas. They are easier to flip upright and climb back into, and do this all alone. With sit-insides if you capsize it is a far more difficult proposition to right it and then bail it out (unless you are using a skirt to keep the water out, and have the ability to right it while still inside). And often you need help to right it, or have to try to either swim back to shore or tow a waterlogged kayak. To save your life you might have to abandon the kayak and all your gear. Much more depends on the strength and skill of the individual kayaker. The idea here is to have a versatile yak you can use far from shore with minimal risk/issues. Everything from rivers, streams and lakes to bays and oceans.

There are very stable sit-on-tops used for fishing, where you can even stand up safely to flycast. There are lots of different kayak designs, for different intended uses. Just like cars, motorcycles, bicycles.

Ideally I want a 14-footer. Here are some of the best (I am interested in the two on the right in the video, and the first ones reviewed):

[AJ22_ChinaRider]

my club does it. they forcefully made me buy one. a total of a dozen people got excited and bought basic Intex stuff, light enough to be carried on a motorcycle.

3 of them went kayaking, precisely twice in the last year .

[wheelbender6]

At one time, I had 4 kayaks for the whole family. We sold them after the kids grew up and moved away. We mainly paddled the bays between the barrier islands and mainland.

[GypsyR]

Last year I picked up one of those Intex two person inflatables for a $100. Convinced wife to get in it and we enjoyed paddling around a local lake. Relaxing with some upper body workout at the same time. I take a grandson or two out. I've no doubt there is some snobbery where people with "real" kayaks probably look down on the cheap inflatables but I don't hang out with anyone and don't care. If I were younger and looking to go out with other people on rivers and such then no doubt I'd be looking at a hard shell one and not a "sit on".

[cheesy]

I have an 8.5' sit on. It is solely used for off shore fishing on our local ponds. Works for what I want.

[98 SNAKE EATER]

I have a Hobie Outback and Outfitter

Love them both, but prefer the single as my SO is lazy AF

[TominMO]

Originally Posted by 98 SNAKE EATER

I have a Hobie Outback and Outfitter

Love them both, but prefer the single as my SO is lazy AF

Are you planning on stocking the swimming pool, or do you use it somewhere else?

[AJ22_ChinaRider]

Originally Posted by 98 SNAKE EATER

I have a Hobie Outback and Outfitter

Love them both, but prefer the single as my SO is lazy AF

Nice! Love the Hobies!

[TominMO]

So I bought this kayak four days ago. It is a Walmart Ozark Trail Angler 10, which the paperwork shows is actually made by Sun Dolphin. Cost $355 OTD. Threw it into my small SUV and drove it the two miles home, then ordered a bunch of stuff for it on Amazon.

Pic 1 is how I got it. Pic 2 is how it is outfitted now. Pics 3 and 4 are detail shots.

Pic 3: The middle part. Paddle holders on the top rails; a dry box for wallet, phone etc which will get bungee for those two loops; and a paddle leash should I flip the boat.

Pic 4: The aft part. Added a carabiner for more bungee versatility; swapped out the two orange fishing pole holders for the black ones with covers. On both the fore and aft I replaced the chintzy carry handles with actual good ones. The storage area holds a milk crate, a 5-gallon bucket, or a 40L dry bag.

One more thing coming in the mail is pads for the SUV's roof rack crossbars. Also getting a floating seat pad, and of course a paddle. Since I am not blessed with padding in the sittage area, a thicker pad will be very handy to have.

Edit: Cat in pic 1 is of no use for paddling. No thumbs. So I got a single-seater.

[AJ22_ChinaRider]

Originally Posted by TominMO

So I bought this kayak four days ago. It is a Walmart Ozark Trail Angler 10, which the paperwork shows is actually made by Sun Dolphin. Cost $355 OTD. Threw it into my small SUV and drove it the two miles home, then ordered a bunch of stuff for it on Amazon.

Pic 1 is how I got it. Pic 2 is how it is outfitted now. Pics 3 and 4 are detail shots.

Pic 3: The middle part. Paddle holders on the top rails; a dry box for wallet, phone etc which will get bungee for those two loops; and a paddle leash should I flip the boat.

Pic 4: The aft part. Added a carabiner for more bungee versatility; swapped out the two orange fishing pole holders for the black ones with covers. On both the fore and aft I replaced the chintzy carry handles with actual good ones. The storage area holds a milk crate, a 5-gallon bucket, or a 40L dry bag.

One more thing coming in the mail is pads for the SUV's roof rack crossbars. Also getting a floating seat pad, and of course a paddle. Since I am not blessed with padding in the sittage area, a thicker pad will be very handy to have.

Edit: Cat in pic 1 is of no use for paddling. No thumbs. So I got a single-seater.

nice!
in the last pic i saw the orange handles and my first thought was 'why would anyone take a skipping rope on a kayak'