Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire So, My Wife Thinks She Wants a Kayak....

Now let's not get carried away....

I have a small aluminum semi-v with a 15 hp outboard and an electric trolling motor for times when I want to hit the local lakes and rivers to do some fishing. My wife has never been in it, either, and I'm not looking for a new kayaking hobby...or a new fishing partner.

My family has three of the 10 foot plastic ones, 2 sit in and 1 sit on. I prefer the sit on one myself, especially when its hot. Dunham's around here probably has the best selection of any store around. Make sure your wife picks her own life vest. She must try it on. Buy light weight paddles. Have a plan on how she will shlepp it to the lake or river, including the tie down hardware. Lots of females don't have the upper body strength to put them on car top carriers. The fancy car top carriers that are easy for women to use are pretty expensive. We cart ours around in a utility trailer. Have a plan for winter storage.

Even if it gets used three times a summer they are so cheap who cares

if you wait a month or two i'll bet dunhams has the regular vapor for $299. i bought mine in may two years ago for that from them,

Ok. I'm going to ask a stupid question, or three. It seems to me that if she rolled a sit-on-top kayak, she would just fall into the water and need to figure out a way to either get back on top or swim to shore. If she rolls a sit-in kayak, will she be trapped under the water until she either rolls it upright or figures how to extricate herself from inside the kayak? If so, how difficult is it to get your legs out from inside the boat and bob to the surface?

We're talking about a middle-aged woman who is not going to be taking many technical kayak lessons. For an inexperienced recreational boater, is a sit-in kayak a potential drowning machine?

I'm assuming she won't be doing any of this except during the warm summer months and on flat water.

Maybe you got me on ignore so fuggit

Need to learn that technique. Its important.

Ask someone that kayaks to show you in a pool, heated ir indoor pool now or soon. and practice it.

If youre not any good at it and cant master it. I probably wouldnt have a splash curtain on my boat.

First look at width (stability), weight (getting it on and off the roof rack).
A comfortable seat is a requirement, not a consideration.
PFD Worn or tied to the paddler
Good paddle of the right length (mine (canoe) are tied to the boat)
Yes, one does drop it overboard once in a while
Dry storage
Gonna fish out of it?

I think that takes care of the sit-in or on-top question. On-top it is....

She's not gonna let someone roll her over, under water, upside down and figure out how to roll it back over. She'd view that the same as being waterboarded.

No if she rolls a sit in kayak she will not be trapped in the thing. Forget the eskimo roll thing and all that jazz that's for fancy pants ocean touring and such. Some will be along to argue that and that's fine but 90% of anyone who kayaks can't do the roll thing and nor do they need to. When you flip over you will go under water and then just push yourself out of the boat. Your legs are in a bit of a tight spot but northing that a little push and wiggle won't get you out of. And actually a lot of the modern designs on the shorter boats have a pretty big cock pit you'd be out of there as soon as it flipped. Something to keep in mind when looking at designs.


There's ways to get back in to the thing from the water basically you use a paddle float system. If you look up kayak paddle float rescue or something like that you should find more info. Or, you use a buddy rescue same type of deal but with the aid of another person in a kayak. Lessons are a very good idea, and practicing dumping the thing in warm conditions is a very good idea.

sit ons are easy to get back on if go over, i've done it in heavy surf.

Not stupid questions at all. Life and death questions. It IS critical that she practice tipping her kayak over and getting back on it/in it before she ventures very far from shore. Critical. Whether through a class or somebody who knows kayaking, she needs to have someone show her how and have her actually flip a kayak while he watches. In warm summer water it is fun.

Sit on tops are fairly easy to get back on, though she should practice in calm safe water, right by shore, but too deep to touch bottom.

Sit insides, which I prefer for my kind of kayaking, keep the paddler dry and warm if she uses a spray skirt. But that adds a difficulty in getting out of the boat. A spray skirt is a waterproof cloth “deck” that fits with elastic around the paddler's waist and also around the rim of the open cockpit. It keeps water out of the boat. It has a handle or strap right in front of the paddler that MUST be kept handy to reach. When the boat flips upside down, grab the handle/strap, pull the spray skirt off of the kayak cockpit and get out. Otherwise the fairly strong elastic bungee type rim holds you in the boat.

I used to lead wilderness kayak tours and the first hour of the first day before we left our launch place, everybody had to flip his or her kayak and get back in it, or we would not let them continue. To do that requires a little bit of gear like a paddle float attachment and a hand pump that go inside the cockpit or under bungee cords on deck, part of her safety gear.

Kayaking is addictive. You wear a good sit inside, move it with your hips and feel every ripple. People either love that sensation or fear/hate it.

Looks like some others posted similar stuff while I composed, but will leave this.

The first good wind blows in forming white caps or a strong wake of a motor boat, she will wish she had a sit-in. A sit-in is not a death trap if you can't perform a classic roll. With the buoyancy of a good PFD it does not take much to shed a tipped kayak. I have done it many times to satisfy myself and show others. If she can swim and is not afraid of being under water and getting her hairdo wet, she should be fine. If she is maybe a kayak is not for her.

Consider the size of the cockpit opening, if she is not very athletic she may have trouble getting in and out. For example a Perception Rhythm 11 cockpit is 38" x 21" compared to a Perception Prodigy 10 or 12 cockpit 51" x 23". I have all three. My wife loves the Prodigy 10.

Rhythm


Prodigy


My Perception Islander 11' has a 51" x 23" cockpit and is my favorite.

Probably make no difference but the police divers were through here yesterday on their way up river to find the body of a kayaker...buy her a floatation vest as well.

Some people learn how to roll a kayak upright immediately. Most don't learn it without a lot of effort. Middle aged woman newbie... I would not bother with learning to roll it, but merely show her how to do a wet exit, get out of the thing and get back in it. If she loves kayaking and keeps at it, then maybe learn the roll.

A sit on top is a warm, calm water, relatively heavy, relatively slow, fun barge. Any sit inside more advanced than the plastic kiddy tubs at Wal-Mart is comparatively a sleek, fast, dry riding, warmer sports car.

What do her friends have? They must know something about yaks by now.

Are you using the kayak to haul out baits for shark fishing? If so, my fat ass would be back on top of the kayak in record time....

This. It sounds like it's not necessary for the water they will be paddling. I suggest she try all of her friend's boats and see if any strike her fancy. See if there is a local kayak shop; they usually have demos. Some kayak clubs organize demo days where she could try out a lot of different models. The trick is to find something that feels stable to her, but isn't an absolute bathtub in the water. If she buys some short fat boat she'll want to upgrade pretty quick. Used kayaks can be had for a very large discount. My biggest issue with the really cheap boats is the lack of adequate flotation, so keep an eye on that.

I think your description of the sit on top nails it for her. Without having discussed it much yet, I think she views this as similar to floating around on a pool raft, but with a better view and a bit of paddling thrown in as exercise for good measure.

Most of the lakes in my area are relatively small state park lakes - 100 acres or less. Gas-powered watercraft, jet skis, etc. are prohibited in just about every one that I envision her visiting. I don't know what her friends use, but someone here mentioned getting her what they have. That might not be a bad idea. She would probably feel comfortable using what her friends are using - going with the flow, so to speak.

yes. i get back on pretty quick.....

ONe of my Old Town's is a Loon. That style of Kayak has a very wide open cockpit. If you roll it you will fall out. Both the Dirigio and Loon I have a foam layer that allows the kayaks to float full of water. The cheap plastic kayaks don't have that.

kwg

When you say adequate flotation, are you referring to load capacity? If so, what's considered good or bad? Obviously, I would assume it needs to carry at least her weight and gear, but is there some minimum number she should be looking for?

I'm about to hit the hay, so I would like to thank everyone for their advice and suggestions.

roundoak,

The Islander's cockpit looks nice and open. If she considers sit-ins, something relatively open like that would probably be more appealing to her.