Any Kayakers (Non-whiewater) on the board?

stealthn · 08-11-2009, 09:29 PM

Hi,

We are at the stage of throwing everything at our twins to see what they like, and we just started to get serious about kayaking (rec/touring), and by getting serous I mean buying all the crap.

I kayaked and canoed quite a few times as a kid and loved it, and whenever I get the chance I love to kayak around a lake or down a stream. I find it one of the most relaxing things there is to do; no demands, no phones, no rush hour, just peace and nature.

I just picked up a Necky Manitou II (tandem) used and I have a new one on order so we can take the family of four out. The nice thing about this one is the rear seat moves forward so you can use it as a one man kayak.

I just picked up a rack for the pepper but was a little concerned with hauling two kayaks up there, but I see a lot of people doing it. The rack sure makes noise at speed though.

I just wanted to see if anyone else has the bug, and any good info, tricks, funny stories to share would be cool.

I'll post a picture of the pepper fully loaded when I get it all setup.

Cheers

Evans, Marv · 08-11-2009, 09:45 PM

I have one of those cheap, plastic sit-on kayaks. Probably not something you would relate to. I live reasonably near the coast, so I enjoy taking it out on the ocean sometimes. But the thing I really like doing with it is riding incoming waves. That really is a blast.

WilsonTC · 08-11-2009, 09:45 PM

I've been looking at plans to build one. Just might get to it over the winter...

jyl · jyl's Garage

We have two Feathercraft folding kayaks and used to take trips in Baja. We have recently taken them out of storage and done a paddle in sheltered water. Setup is not ideal since these are two singles and we are now a family of four. So, still renting a double for the kids. I am pretty wary though. Back in the day we used to go out of sight of land, in the open ocean. Not something I am likely to do at this stage of life with kids. It will be bays and lakes for us. Taking the boats down to Tahoe for a week this month. Two 17 foot kayaks and a roof pod on the Prius, that will hurt the MPG.

stealthn · 08-11-2009, 10:24 PM

That clear one is cool!

I always wondered how the fold-up ones are....

I would like a solo, but we want the kids to appreciate it; they are 6 and usually about an hour in they are getting tired so we just let them coast. I wonder what the weight limit is on top of a 911?

cantdrv55 · 08-11-2009, 10:28 PM

Here I am at Whiskeytown Lake, CA.

jyl · jyl's Garage

I guess the main thing I would say is find a kayak place and get trained in wet re-entry. We used to practice that regularly. I like sea socks as the boat doesn't fill up with water when flipped. Don't know if your boat takes them. If no sock then install flotation in the boat. This is probably stuff you know already.

My favorite story is, we paddled out to San Martin Is, a group of us, got started late and winds were up, a 10 mile paddle turned into 8 hours in decent swells. One person capsized. On the way back a couple days later the sea was like glass and we moved effortlessly. Intercepted, or were intercepted by, a migrating whale. We sat motionless in the boats watching the spouts come closer. A pair of huge flukes appeared 60 feet away and the whale glided under my wife. The water lifted her as he passed. It was a blue whale, the only one I've ever seen.

The guy we took these trips with is the only man who has paddled from California to Hawaii solo. It took him 60 some days, I think. In a double modified so that he could lay down and sleep. He hit some storms where he couldn't sleep for days, had to keep paddling to stay upright. Navigated by sextant. Went through some dead zones where he couldn't catch any fish, ate his toothpaste. Met a Navy ship and asked them to tell his family that he was alive, they refused. (Edit: about the ship, that is what he remembers but he was hallucinating for some of the trip.) He was a great and a special guy. Last I heard he had gotten burned out on leading trips, and is teaching high school in SoCal.

cantdrv55 · 08-11-2009, 10:44 PM

This is how I carried my kayaks. I sold the Xterra but I use the same set up on top of my Dodge Caravan.

Before we bought our boats, we took lessons (rollover and wet re-entry) in Monterey, CA. Decided on sit-on-tops because I thought they're more versatile and waay more stable.

billybek · billybek's Garage

I have an older Seaward Tyee. It is a pretty good old boat, easy to stay upright, but not much of a handler.
I tried a Current Designs Sirocco last week. It was a nice little low volume skeg boat and it handled very well. It was plastic though so it was very heavy...
The second time I tried kayaking was in Baja at The Bay of Conception. Within 15 min of leaving the beach, we had a 30' whale shark directly under our boats. The dorsal fin slapped the sides of my paddling partners boat.
My heart was in my throat, I didn't know if I should be afraid or excited so I was a bit of both!
I was lucky to be in the right place at the right time. I guess you could say the hook was set on that trip!

TimT · 08-11-2009, 11:18 PM

I have some sort of kayak at my Vermont house... don't know the brand it came with the house.. Also have a big old Grumman canoe...

Some days Ill get some worms, pack a light lunch and a few beer in a cooler... paddle out to the middle of the lake and take a nice nap...

After a good sunburn I paddle back in... toss the worms in the garden, eat my sandwich and drink the beers..

total relaxation..

look 171 · 08-12-2009, 12:57 AM

Bob, can you kayak down the Bow River? I can wait for my boys to get a little older so they can do those out door things. 6 is perfect to get started in with water rafting.

Cantdrive 55, I use to take my sit on top touring kayak out to the back bay at Newport Beach or Long Beach all the time. Newport was the best. When I got tired, I pulled up and have coffee and a bite to eat and look at the girls. I think a calm lake is the best. Good work out and come back relaxed.

MRM · 08-12-2009, 04:58 AM

Just finished an 80 mile, four day wilderness canoe/kayak trip with my son's boy scout troop in northern Minnesota. It was an incredible amount of work but a great experience. The slowest transportation possible for the maximum effort. If you have the means and the time, it's a great sport. They'll be outdoors and stong as young oxen. Next step is to intorduce them to outdoor and wildlife photography and you'll have ruined them for life.

jyl · jyl's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by stealthn

That clear one is cool!

I always wondered how the fold-up ones are....

I would like a solo, but we want the kids to appreciate it; they are 6 and usually about an hour in they are getting tired so we just let them coast. I wonder what the weight limit is on top of a 911?

There are many brands of folding kayaks.

The Feathercrafts are the Porsches of folding kayaks - sleek, fast, expensive. The hull is a very tough rubber-like material, welded to a waterproof top skin. The frame is aluminium tubing that slips together much like a tent frame or a light aircraft. It is all very well made, on Granville Island in B.C. A single weighs from 40 to 65 lbs depending on model, they make everything from small singles (Whisper) to narrow Greenland-style boat (Khatsalano) to large-volume expedition models (K1, K2). Ours are K-1s.

The kayak flexes like a traditional skin boat, so it sort of slips over waves rather than cresting and slapping down like a rigid boat. And they pack up into backpacks for air travel - although, toting around my boat as a 75 lb backpack is no fun.

They are very strong. One time I was landing on a rocky beach in Mexico, boat loaded with camping gear, food and water for 4 days, probably 380 pounds including boat, gear, and me. I misjudged, a wave picked me up, whooshed me in, and slammed the boat, hard and tip first, into a large boulder. I sat there, up-ended like a push-pin, then fell back in the water and paddled to shore. I thought I'd broken something, but the only damage was a dime-sized missing bit of the reinforcing strip of hull material, leaving the main hull intact. I've never even bothered to repair it. A fiberglass boat would have been cracked.

The disadvantage of Feathercrafts, besides the cost, is that they take time to assemble and disassemble. I used to be able to put my boat together in 45 minutes. Smaller models can take 20-30 minutes. You shouldn't leave them assembled indefinitely as you risk having the tubing joints seize up after a while, especially if lots of salt water in the boat.

They make the Klondike model now, which is really what I need. Open cockpit, can be configured as a single or a double with spray deck. I might buy a used one but they are $3K.

VincentVega · 08-12-2009, 06:34 AM

I build a CLC 17 and love it. The Thule adapter on my bmw works fine to hold them on the roof.

Always wear a life jacket and make sure you figure out wet entry just in case.

I'm usually out for 45min-1hr, great exercise and you're on the water.

gassy · 08-12-2009, 07:18 AM

I've got my eye on a used Betsie Bay kayak...they're sweet. Check out the site if you have time.
c

KevinP73 · 08-12-2009, 08:03 AM

I've got a CLC 17 also. I made it from a kit several years ago and love it. Tha kayaking bug bit me good and I can't imagine not being able to venture out onto the water when the stress of life builds up. MDR is the closest put in to me but I've put in at Long Beach and Venture Harbor and a couple other SoCal spots. I'm also producing my own line of accessories, paddle floats, storage racks, paddle leashes.

David McLaughlin · David McLaughlin's Garage

Just got back from Acadia National Park in Maine. We (wife, 2 boys and myself) did a little paddling around the sound. Saw a mother bald eagle fly in to feed her young, checked out a few mid sized sailboats and otherwise had a great time. I didn't even mind the tandem that I and my youngest shared even without the rudder. I'd really like to build a wooden boat sometime.

BRPORSCHE · 08-12-2009, 03:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MRM

Just finished an 80 mile, four day wilderness canoe/kayak trip with my son's boy scout troop in northern Minnesota. It was an incredible amount of work but a great experience. The slowest transportation possible for the maximum effort. If you have the means and the time, it's a great sport. They'll be outdoors and stong as young oxen. Next step is to intorduce them to outdoor and wildlife photography and you'll have ruined them for life.

Ahhh yes. Northern tier. I really wish I could of gone and done that, but instead I did philmont for a week.

I do a fair bit of kayaking just north of Galveston Island. Only problem is that the only time I have for it is also the same time everyone else goes out on their boats to try and swamp me! I miss being able to kayak on wendesday afternoons...

BRPORSCHE · 08-12-2009, 03:52 PM

Here I am out in my boat:

Buckterrier · 08-12-2009, 07:09 PM

I built a 17' sea kayak a few years ago. plywood hull with a cedar strip deck. They certainly are sea worthy crafts. If I were you I'd have them read a book, I have it but can't find right now. Basicaly it's the grim side of kayaking. Just to show Mother Nature is a tough lady. If I can find it I'll post the name.