A Kayak question for Randall

Carl · Post by **Carl** » Aug 13th, '07, 08:51

Randall,
I see from numerous posts you are the kayak guru of the board.

So when the wife decided she wants a kayak I figured fine I'll just find a moderate priced one for her to play with. Yeah right... there are a ton of choices and the more I learned the less sure I became of which to purchase.

She is looking for something to play around the harbor in, maybe a bit outside the harbor, she'd like a tandam for kids but not a major concern. Anything to avoid or look for in a beginner Kayak?

Thanks for any insight.
Carl

Charlie J · Post by **Charlie J** » Aug 13th, '07, 09:08

sim
randall makes his own from oak trees. lol

randall · Post by **randall** » Aug 13th, '07, 09:44

sim...there are two basic types of yaks....sit in and sit on....and a lot of variations on those themes....the sit ons are mostly cheaper (as in less expensive....not worse construction).....my opinion is that sit ons are easier for the newbie......much easier to get back into from the water....but obviously wetter and better used in hot weather for most folks.....kayaks are not as tippy as most think because of the very low center of gravity.............but sit ins are a bit more stable and generally faster.....the classic (like the eskimos)kayak design is the one i personally prefer...once i left two 25 year old tour .de france bike racers in the dust paddling into the wind....they were in my canoe.....a very efficient hydro dynamic craft...that said andre and i paddled a few (quite a few) miles kayak fishing in panama with sit on tops....i even tried to surf it ..but that didnt work out so well...so i would recomend a medium length sit on top just to get her feet wet.....if she really likes it and gets some experiene you can go from there you can get tandems in any variation

Carl · Post by **Carl** » Aug 13th, '07, 10:28

Great info, much appreciated.
I had pretty much ruled out the sit on tops as they where... just cheaper as you mentioned. Plus the higher center of gravity along with some bad experiences at the resorts, mostly due to lack of back support.
I'll definetely take another look at them, some did look a whole lot better then the ones we used at the resorts, but I just ruled them out.

Thanks again!
Carl

Dug · Post by **Dug** » Aug 13th, '07, 11:01

SIM,

A friend of mine just did exhaustive research (and I mean crazy!) and bought a sit on top. He loves it. It is 14' long, and I saw it this weekend. Nice ride. He is a newbie, but it doesn't matter. Actually everyone I know right now prefers the sit, unless they do it often and really go touring or hard core. I don't have a kayak at this point. Just wanted to make that clear!

Good luck!

D

scot · Post by **scot** » Aug 13th, '07, 12:59

Randall that picture should be titled "Polar bear bait"

randall · Post by **randall** » Aug 13th, '07, 13:57

scot...how about this one...polar bears were the least of my concerns

Carl · Post by **Carl** » Aug 13th, '07, 17:37

Appreciate the help and insight. Saw a few that really look like they may fit the bill for her. We will do a bit more looking, paying special attention to the sit on's.

14' is a bit long as we may take to beach on the 31', but will not rule out.

randall · Post by **randall** » Aug 13th, '07, 19:54

sim...i throw the 16 foot pictured in my 25 all the time (does hang over the transom a bit)...another thing is you can get the sit ons with sophisticated seats that offer pretty good back support....another difference is that most sit ons are molded plastic...more expensive sit ins are glass...not really sure which is lighter....you can also get the sit ons totally tricked out for fishing...which is a very fun thing to do with it.....you might want to look at this site :

http://kfs.infopop.cc/eve/forums

CaptPatrick · Post by **CaptPatrick** » Aug 13th, '07, 21:18

The kayaks that have always held a fasination to me are the custom stitch & glue beauts on the Guillemont Site...

Carl · Post by **Carl** » Aug 14th, '07, 07:06

Sorry should have mentioned I'd also wind up leaving it inside the cabin when leaving at night. I thought of the fabric lined inflatables for that reason.
NYC is not a place to leave anything outside, that is if you wish to keep it. Hell...a 175 or 225 Merc Outbourd was stollen right off a boat a few weeks ago and the boat was in the water. Thats the guys story anyway and he is sticking to it.
We will look again over the weekend. Some web search has resulted in finding the back supports mentioned. That was the biggest drawback in my opinion, although it's for the other half. Fishing in one is not on the list of importance, I've done the canoe, raft sit in tube fish thing years ago. Then again I won't rule it out.
Capt Pat, those are some awsome crafts, but if I had that much time on my hands My wife would have me doing a whole lot of other things. Nothing coming close to making a Kayak.

randall · Post by **randall** » Aug 14th, '07, 07:36

patrick......those are beautiful.....but i'm way to abusive to want one....if i knew you were interested i would have taken you right next door....my neighbor who makes costum furniture built a wooden kayak for his son......not quite like the one in the picture but a thing of beauty and a joy forever none the less........the son now 30 has been my partner in kayak and canoe crime since he was a kid......he's a great surfer and fisherman also......i tried to be as bad an influence as i could but he went to medical school and became a doctor anyway

bertram31.com

A Kayak question for Randall

A Kayak question for Randall

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