Kayaking

[charliez]

I wouldn't ever take it out in the ocean or surf. Mostly I'd take it to the Guadalupe river or maybe the Frio river. Any whitewater will be shallow enough to just stand up. Mostly I'd bee tooling around the shores and edges of a lake or the river. I wouldn't pack it full of gear. Maybe a small ice chest, a fishing pole and a small tackle box at the most. Sun screen maybe.

[ewolin]

Nice video, nice ice!

[VoiceNinja]

Originally Posted by charliez

Any whitewater will be shallow enough to just stand up.

That's the kind of thing that a lesson would be good for. Trying to stand up in a shallow rapid or even flat but fast-moving water is a leg entrapment hazard. I'm not trying to be fatalistic or dramatic. The reality is that most people encounter and survive hazards just fine, but they'd have a much better, more comfortable experience if they had a bit more knowledge and understanding about paddling skills, the paddling environment, and paddling hazards.

An instructor could give you valuable and important tips for paddling in the places you're interested in going that often seem counter-intuitive.

[TriMoot]

Originally Posted by jarata

How about the inflatables

I too am interesting in inflatables. I have 3 of the older sit-ins, and have used them for over 20 years, but don't have any easy way to take them in the RV. Once we did 'weave them' through the side door and finally into the bedroom but it was just too much work.

I've come up with a design to carry them on my bike rack but just haven't taken the time to build it (requires welding and I'm not setup for that).

So...has anyone tried any of the inflatables? If so, can you compare them with old style kayaks?

I'm going to guess the inflatables are not as fast as the solid ones but I believe I've been told they 'flow' over rapids much easier than the hardbodied ones. True?

Any info is appreciated.

Thanks.

[coupevilleDF]

We have a collection of paddle boats. We have a good quality canoe that we really like. The advantage of a canoe is capacity but your center of gravity is higher. I've only rolled once caused by a wave from a ski boat.

The wife and I each built plywood stitch and glue kayaks. The problem with them is you can't try them on before it's too late. I never was very comfortable in mine but my wife put many miles and days on hers. They have now been passed to the kids.

I also bought a sit on top for the reasons mentioned previously. My wife has had knee replacement and wants to try mine for easier ingress egress. I like the stability and the ease of hanging a leg over the side when I get uncomfortable. It is a Wilderness with the rod holder for fishing and a big back deck which we have used to transfer camp gear from a cruiser and to carry crab pots.

AND, we have a two person inflatable (they say 3, but I don't think so). We got it to fit in the basement of the class A. We have hauled it a lot of miles but seldom actually used it. It is not very efficient but adequate for getting out on a lake. It's for sale.

[TCollins]

DW and I bought a Sea Eagle inflatable kayak two years ago. Wanted a two person model so if the ship went down we would both go at once. We bought the 380 model with the upgraded seats and oars.

It was easy to inflate although somewhat heavy on land for a couple old farts. You can put the seats about anywhere in the vessel since they are basically just pushed in.

We enjoyed using it..........once. We have canoed in the past but just didn't seem to hit our stride with the kayak.

Our biggest problem was when it came time to get out of the kayak. With the soft bottom and being all scrunched inches off the bottom up we found it very difficult to get out. We basically kind of rolled out of the thing into the water.

That was the maiden, and only, voyage. It sits all cozy in its carrying bag in the garage. I will probably sell it and look for one of the one person inflatable fishing pontoons.

Just didn't work out for us. Might be perfect for someone else.


Any Questions?

[plasma800]

Originally Posted by charliez

I wouldn't ever take it out in the ocean or surf. Mostly I'd take it to the Guadalupe river or maybe the Frio river. Any whitewater will be shallow enough to just stand up. Mostly I'd bee tooling around the shores and edges of a lake or the river. I wouldn't pack it full of gear. Maybe a small ice chest, a fishing pole and a small tackle box at the most. Sun screen maybe.

and always a life vest.

A guy here on Conroe flipped his the other day and drowned 50 feet from shore... with a life jacket strapped to the kayak...

[pt1655]

We couldn't find any place locally to rent various kayaks to try out so we inexpensively joined the sport by buying a 2 person inflatable Sea Eagle 370. We really enjoy the kayak and it is very easy to setup and transport. Since we tow a TT we especially like being able to store the kayak in it's transport bag in the back of the truck. Later on we may get a different kayak but for now this one is just fine. And here in northern Az. during this drought, we are lucky to have any lakes with water in them at all. Just have fun and be safe.

[okmunky]

Have you tried carrying your kayaks on your toad? You can see mine in my signature picture.

[Scottybdivin]

Originally Posted by okmunky

Have you tried carrying your kayaks on your toad? You can see mine in my signature picture.

Same here.

Since you mentioned New Braunfels, check out TG Canoes and Kayaks in San Marcos. They will put you on the San Marcos river in any of their kayaks for free. Austin Canoe and Kayak makes you rent them and will apply only the rental of the one you choose. Not too great if you wanted to try 3 or 4 Kayaks.

[mbridinger]

My first Kayak trip was in an inflatable, it was terrible. It was so much work to keep them going in the correct direction. We Kayak on rivers , lakes and the ocean in our 10' sit-on Yak's.We carry ours everywhere. I built this rack on the back:

[TriMoot]

mbridinger, I'm thinking we had the same experience once. I 'think' we rented or borrowed one and it was a two-seater and it was 100% NO FUN. But I thought perhaps by now they would have done something or added something that would help.

I like your rack for the hard kayaks. I have drawn up a plan to add something to our bike rack that would allow me to carry two or the three that I own but I haven't taken the time to buy the metal and take it somewhere to have them weld it.

Okay, I wasn't going to do this but it's slow here at work so here goes.

I'm going to add two pics and the 1st one is a picture of the Hollywood bike rack that can carry 5 bikes. On the top where there is a red circle, I'm thinking if I could find the same sized 2"x2" steel tube, I would build this cross kind of thing that could sit on top with an inside smaller tube that is bolted together. And then the black squares on the 2nd picture shows some sort of plates that are welded on at an angle. That's what that small picture is on the 2nd pic, the plates welded on an angle.

What I like about this, is I can add or remove it just by removing the bolts.

In the picture I said you could carry 4 kayaks, but my ladder would be in the way on the right side. But since this rack is so big there's room for two kayaks on the front side of the cross and one on the back left side of the cross. If that makes sense.

Weight's not an issue as the kayaks are less than 25 lbs apiece.

Let me know what you think (or anyone else).
Thanks!

[tande12506]

Originally Posted by TCollins

DW and I bought a Sea Eagle inflatable kayak two years ago. Wanted a two person model so if the ship went down we would both go at once. We bought the 380 model with the upgraded seats and oars.

It was easy to inflate although somewhat heavy on land for a couple old farts. You can put the seats about anywhere in the vessel since they are basically just pushed in.

We enjoyed using it..........once. We have canoed in the past but just didn't seem to hit our stride with the kayak.

Our biggest problem was when it came time to get out of the kayak. With the soft bottom and being all scrunched inches off the bottom up we found it very difficult to get out. We basically kind of rolled out of the thing into the water.

That was the maiden, and only, voyage. It sits all cozy in its carrying bag in the garage. I will probably sell it and look for one of the one person inflatable fishing pontoons.

Just didn't work out for us. Might be perfect for someone else.


Any Questions?

Would you like to sell the 380. If the price was right I would take it off your hands.

[Beyond]

If you have a way to carry a sit upon, consider a Hobie with the Mirage drive. They have fishing specific models to hold rods and other fishing gear. Paddles are available (strapped on) for shallow water, but most of the propulsion is with pedals...great to fish because your hands are free. Very stable ride too.