Kayak advice needed...

[SEA3PO]

Sue had such a great time at Catalina renting a kayak, that we have been talking about buying 2 for us to carry with us on the boat.

!. Does any one have experience with Kelpper folding kayaks ? We want single boats... easy to carry.. easy to use ?? as good as plastic kayaks?

2. If we go with plastic kayaks... It looks like most sea-kayaks are 15-18' long and I wonder about hauling them on the top of the dory...

3. Does anyone have experience with any of the inflatable ones ? I worry because I can't keep a air mattress inflated all night...much less half way down the Sacramento River....

I need advise.... our plans are doing some river camping, paddling the Channel Islands...and some in the San Juans ... mostly ocean stuff..no surf or whitewater kayaking...(kids stuff)..


Thanks

Joel
SEA3PO

[thataway]

Joel,
We have owned a 16 foot Ultra light/stitch and glue which I built, and several of the cheap inflatables. (not recommended) This last summer we picked up the Hobie Mirage Revolution and the 9 foot inflatable. The mirage drive units are so much easier to "paddle" with the foot drive. (We have back problems which magnifies the problems with paddling) The use of kayaks became more of a joy with this drive. We had considered the double boats, but they were too heavy for use to easily handle. A 13.5' Revolution mirage drive will outpace a longer paddled boat, because of the effeciency of the drive unit vs the paddle.

There are several models of the plastic boats, but for our use the Revolution fit best. The inflatable does not go as fast, but is more convient to carry (39lbs). At the same peddling cadence, the inflatable will go about 3/4 knot slower (4.25 vs 5)--at slower cadences, the difference is less. These boats both have sails (small, but will be easily driven. They are also good for fishing and we are fitting a fish finder on the Revolution.

You will probably get as many opinions as there are owners of the various boats. We have never owned a Keppler, but have friends who have, and have observed others. Generally they take longer to put together than an inflatable, and are not as durable as a plastic boat.

The plastic boat will do better on barnacles, and sharp rocks. We prefer the sit on top type of boats--but there are advantages to the sit inside boats.

Things to consider: weight of the boat, ease of getting into the boat from the C Dory, room for your frame, knees, and behind...., how you will use them.

Good luck--they are great fun!

[B~C]

we use a pair of kayaks, works great... we have a couple of Old Town Loons and one of these- http://www.hurricaneaquasports.com/santee-100.html

I like the two boat concept, I'd much rather hork two light items on the roof than one heavy....the photo album has some kayak hauling ideas.

let me check with the spousal unit before I officially make the offer of their use to you....but I would have no problem with ya's borrowing them if you want

[20dauntless]

We have a couple of Ocean Kayak Frenzy's. They are short (9 feet) but fairly wide and very stable and paddle easily. We use them for paddling around the cabin and I plan to take them with me to the Broughtons this summer. I haven't worked out exactly how yet, but I'm thinking I'll mount the Thule J racks directly to the pilothouse roof on each side of the high top. I will through bolt them and use starboard as a backing. That way I'll be able to take 2 kayaks on the pilothouse roof. Does anyone know if this will affect radar performance?

These 2 kayaks will replace the inflatable I took last year. They are much more fun to paddle around in and will be a lot more conducive to exploring. And they are unbreakable...don't ask me how I know.

[B~C]

Our radar doesn't seem to care about the kayaks mounted on the roof...I suppose if they had much metal in them..or..if I was trying to spot vessels many miles away they would be a hinderance.....I suspect that big blob O' plastic on the roof would effect the range

[Professional Hobbyist]

You are correct in that most "sea" kayaks start around 15' in length, but some are shorter and recreation kayaks come as short as 7-8'. With all the brands available you can find a kayak that fits you (cockpit opening plus leg and feet room), your paddling style/activity (recreation/sea kayak), construction material (hard shell, folding, inflatable), and your budget.

I prefer kayaks to the conventinal dinghy. Hardshell kayaks are really only practical for two people on a 22 cruiser because of space, but if you go with inflatables you can carry 3 or 4 or more.

I would not recommend a folding kayak. They are great for their intended uses, but are hard to assemble (relatively speaking) and require a large flat surface so you need them assembled before leaving shore. Once you do that you might as well have hard shell boats.

I recommend you look at inflatables from Advanced Elements or the high end Sevvlor (Sevytex models) to name just two companies. These boats are rugged. They store in bags/backpacks, can be inflated and deflated onboard a C-Dory, and paddle pretty well. You can store them on the roof or put them back in the bags when finished paddling. These are not pool or kid's toys.

I carry a pair of sea kayaks on top my 22 Cruiser (14.5' and 15.5') with a combined weight approaching 150 lbs including all the kayak gear inside the kayaks with no trouble at all. I also carry a Sevylor in a bag. Loading the boats on to the roof from the water is fairly easy for two people. I must bring them on over the bow because of the radar arch. I find inflatables to be a little easier to handle than hardshells and easier on the boat.

[kennharriet]

We do not even have a C-Dory yet and I am already worrying over the same question. Seems to me a pair of quality inflatable kayaks are the way to go, but not speaking from experience. Check out http://www.inflatablekayaks.org

[JamesTXSD]

Hi Joel,

We have the Advanced Elements double kayak made for West Marine. I bought it last year and have to say I'm not particularly crazy about it. With two of us, the forward cockpit is too narrow for normal size people. When I use it by myself, the bow of the kayak raises up and moves hither and yon (and how often do you get to use that in a conversation?), wasting effort. I'm going to try to sell it at our "Trash to Treasures" sale this weekend.

I like the idea of the inflatable for space and portability. Dr. Bob let me try out his Hobie (hardside) with the peddles - very nice!

Best wishes,
Jim

[marvin4239]

I bought my daughter one of the 2 seater Sea Eagle 330 Kayaks for Christmas and for what she and her boyfriend use it for it's perfect. It's light enough they can easily carry it to the end of the dock and lower it. It's fairly durable but an oyster or barnacle would probably puncture it. For protected sandy beaches it's fine but I certainly wouldn't use it in waters where a dunk could be fatal. She had a West Marine plastic kayak before and it was just to heavy for her.

[1TUBERIDER]

I usually like to toss in an option to the kayak.

Look into sup stand up paddle board. They will do all you wanted to do in your list but imho is way more fun, the best workout since highschool wind sprints in football, totally fun because if it wasn't I would not enjoy it. They do all the kayaking stuff from a standing position, some can be used for windsurfing and of course surfing. They will cost more board, paddle, wet gear but oh the benefit. Oh and did I say fun fun fun.

Plus they are lighter than a kayak. But if you want a kayak you want a kayak. I have 2 sitting around never being used since I sup.

[Robbi]

Boy, This really depends on how you want to use the kayaks, and how you want to store them. I agree with the comment about the folding kayak. But then you may want to pull up a sandbar, put the kayaks together and go for a long paddle. For inflatable kayaks, you will not get the performance out of them that you will with a hard shell, but that may not be a priority for you. I have a Advanced Elements StraitEdge for a tender and I like it for that purpose. When I get into my 17 1/2 foot Current Designs sea kayak, it's like getting into a sports car compared to the StraitEdge. The StraitEdge is a bit bulky packed up because of the semi bow and stern frame, but I usually leave it on top of the C-Dory. Some of the new high pressure floor inflatables are nice, this technology is producing some higher performance kayaks in the speed and tracking areas. Most inflatable kayaks are designed for river use and have more of a rocker, but their are some good flat water kayaks from Advanced Elements and Aire to name just two.
For a hard shell kayak, again, new technology is adding many new choices. The older rotomold polyethylene is giving way to plastic laminates, and most kayak builders have their own proprietary name for this process. EddyLine may have been the first with a material called Carbonlite. I had two kayaks made out of this material and it is superior to both rotomolding and fiberglass in some areas. It is very strong and durable, and light weight. A 13 1/2 foot Eddyline Merlin weighs 42 pounds. A lighter material would be glass/kevlar. My Current Design 17 1/2 foot kayak weighs about 47 pounds. More expensive, and you need to be more careful with the boat on rocks etc. I just looked up the price of this boat, and they have gone way up! $3400.
Wood is another good alternative. A 14 foot Pygmy weighs 42 pounds. I saw the new Hobie inflatable at the Seattle Boat show and that looked very cool. Very rigid high pressure design.

If you ever get over towards the coast, I would recommend going to Monterey Bay Kayaks in Monterey, or a similar kayak store in Santa Cruz. They have all kinds of kayaks, and are extremely helpful and informative. Take them for a test drive. If you are going to get into and out of the kayak at the C-Dory, how much stability do they have?

Right now, I think that I would look at the new plastic laminates.

Robbi

[Camamity]

I just purchased an aire sawtooth (flat water inflatable with skeg).

I have only ice/snow to try it now, but I am hoping to use it as a tender after the melt.

see at:
http://www.aire.com/aire/products/default.aspx?id=224

P McC

[starcrafttom]

We have the two seat model of the inflatable sevylor (sp) colorado. It works great except that Susan and I dont paddle well together. So I'm thinking of picking up a single. At the boat show we looked at some singles that had a clear bottom plate between you legs with a cup holder over it. The salesman said to set a flash light at night in the cup holder facing down. You will get a great show of fish. I think it would be a lot of fun looking thru the window.

[DaveS]

[quote="starcrafttom" It works great except that Susan and I dont paddle well together. [/quote]

Hmm, let me guess.....is it because Susan paddles and you don't?

[Golerud]

You might want to check out the Native Watercraft Kayaks. They have the most comfortable seat in a kayak I've ever been in. Go to: www.nativewatercraft.com I have two kayaks, a Heritage 12 Redfish and a Native Watercraft 11' Manta ray. If I had it to do over, I would have two of the Ultimate 12 boats set up for fishing instead of what I have.