Canoe or Kayak

brewerpaul · Post by **brewerpaul** » Sat Aug 06, 2005 6:52 am

My wife and I bought two kayaks about 2 yr ago, and it was one of the best purchases we've ever made.

These are "recreational" kayaks, which some people here have been discussing as "lake kayaks". They're Pungo Classics, the older version of the Pungo 120. These are VERY stable with wide, open cockpits which make them easy to get into and out of. Haven't tipped them over yet, except once intentionally. NOT suitable for rapids of any real size, but the're perfect for calm lakes and rivers. We paddle on the Hudson and Mohawk rivers, a local reservoir etc. Tomorrow, we're taking them for a 6 hr trip on the Battenkill in Vt/NY.

Learning to paddle is very easy and the basics should take you all of about 10 minutes.

By all means, find a good dealer that does demos and paddle lots of boats of all sorts. Once you have a bit of a feel for what you're looking for, keep an eye out for used kayaks.

I was in Dick's Sporting Goods the other day, and they had some decent kayaks for less than you might think. The brand Victory is a low-end line from the same company that made ours.

Keep in mind that you will need to transport your kayaks, and unfortunately racks are not cheap. We have a basic Thule rack (bar and feet-- no kayak cradles) which works fine for our particular kayaks, and ran nearly $200. Still, for about $1000 we got ourselves out and on the water and have been having a blast with it.

djm · Post by **djm** » Sat Aug 06, 2005 8:54 am

SteveShaw wrote:What he meant was "Have you managed a number two?"

For a while there in the cheapo detective genre, the term "kacked" was bandied about as supposed gangster slang for having murdered someone, i.e "Joey kacked the basmati".

Consider how you feel dragging yourself out of the water sodden, exhausted and half-drowned after pulling a particularly stupid stunt in the kayak, and I think you'll find "kacked" combines elements of both feeling murdered and a wet turd at the same time.

djm

SteveShaw · Post by **SteveShaw** » Sat Aug 06, 2005 5:11 pm

djm wrote:
SteveShaw wrote:What he meant was "Have you managed a number two?"
For a while there in the cheapo detective genre, the term "kacked" was bandied about as supposed gangster slang for having murdered someone, i.e "Joey kacked the basmati".

Consider how you feel dragging yourself out of the water sodden, exhausted and half-drowned after pulling a particularly stupid stunt in the kayak, and I think you'll find "kacked" combines elements of both feeling murdered and a wet turd at the same time.

djm

It's just that I like palindromes. Is a kayak just a powered boat that's been derotored?

Steve (date of birth 15-6-51...honest!)

dwinterfield · Post by **dwinterfield** » Sat Aug 06, 2005 6:36 pm

Tom
Definately kayaks. I'm older than you and my wife's older than me.

There are two basic types of kayaks "sit on top" and "sit in side". Sit on tops are purely receational, slow and very stable. If you do go over, you'll just fall in the water. My wife has a very light weight Lincoln "Little Quoddy". She loves the water and is probably out every weekend and some evenings all summer. I have an Old Town Loon 136. Comfortable, heavier (60lbs) and stable. I'm content to go out 3-4 times a year. We do both fresh water and ocean, but always calm, almost flat water.

The biggest concern will probably be the folks in power boats. I've never actually been in danger, but seeing them flying around takes a bit of getting use to. Their wakes can be fun.

Rolling is much less of a concern. yrs ago kayaks had very smooth bottoms and were very tippy. Learning to roll was important, but I've only been kayaking for a few years and never learned. The are lots of very stable kayaks out there and you'll probably never roll unless you want to.

Here's the web page to a dealer near me. He has links to many manufactures.
http://billingtonseakayak.com/manufacturers.html

Have fun

BTW as with most hobbies it can get expensive. Personal floatation devices (pfds) are essential. Good paddles are $100 or so. Car carrier adds more cost.

brianormond · Post by **brianormond** » Sat Aug 06, 2005 9:40 pm

-I recommend kayaks as two can have a ball in separate, responsive craft paddled together yet have a fine time if alone. Do learn & practice self-rescue techniques and equip yourself for them as the ability to right & re-enter the boat away from shore is basic safety on rivers, lakes and seas.
Its good to know how to roll a kayak but prudent as well to know how to re-enter it when a roll fails.

-Its true sticking one's legs out in front gets old, but many kayaks have a large cockpit which permits a paddler to place legs on deck
to stretch if away from shore. This raises the center of gravity but affords relief when a better stretch is unavailable. Check a kayak for this before purchase. Some companies like Feathercraft offer models with an open top, wetter of course in rough water but a feature which helps avoid sore legs-tucked-under-the-deck-syndrome.

-You will appreciate a kayak which tracks well if your major use is at sea, on lazy rivers or on big lakes. Kayaks meant primarily for whitewater will turn very easily at the expense of straight-line tracking, a feature which is frustrating when trying to cover mileage in a straight line. (weak joke omitted re. paddling a "strait" line)

Here's a fairly diverse kayak site to check out:
http://www.sit-on-topkayaking.com/AhoyThere/index.html

Best to you,
Brian

Tommy · Post by **Tommy** » Sun Aug 07, 2005 10:22 pm

Pirogue is both.

Tommy · Post by **Tommy** » Sun Aug 07, 2005 10:23 pm

Tommy wrote:Pirogue is both.

and with a skeg it will perform well.

TomB · Post by **TomB** » Mon Aug 08, 2005 5:58 am

Thanks for the suggestions, folks. I appreciate it.

All the Best, Tom

mvhplank · Post by **mvhplank** » Mon Aug 08, 2005 7:18 am

djm wrote:
mvhplank wrote:How many of you can claim to be able to sleep overnight in a hammock? It's tricker than it sounds.
Don't they come with seat belts and air-bags now?

djm

They certainly didn't in the 1960s, when I was subjected to them.

This is the general idea, with a rain roof and mosquito netting:

Dad adapted it with a stretcher at either end of the "bed" part so it wasn't quite so much like sleeping in a drawstring bag. You zipped up the flap so if you rolled it over, you didn't hit the ground.

M

Cynth · Post by **Cynth** » Mon Aug 08, 2005 8:14 am

Wasn't it hot inside with the flap zipped up?

tansy · Post by **tansy** » Mon Aug 08, 2005 4:17 pm

i like a dry arse so i'd have to say canoe. i have a solo canoe that weighs 33 pounds, and i paddle it with a double kayak oar. i go in her mainly in the cool months.
as i said, a dry arse is important to me

Dazzle1 · Post by **Dazzle1** » Tue Aug 09, 2005 7:03 am

For an easier life look at this:

http://www.swallowboats.com/winsome.htm

D

TomB · Post by **TomB** » Tue Aug 09, 2005 7:12 am

Dazzle1 wrote:For an easier life look at this:

http://www.swallowboats.com/winsome.htm

D

They look great. However, they are rather pricey, and come in kit form, which does not suit my, uh, talents, so to speak.

Thanks for the link, though.

All the Best, Tom

Tyler · Post by **Tyler** » Tue Aug 09, 2005 7:14 am

TomB wrote:
Dazzle1 wrote:For an easier life look at this:

http://www.swallowboats.com/winsome.htm

D
They look great. However, they are rather pricey, and come in kit form, which does not suit my, uh, talents, so to speak.

Thanks for the link, though.

All the Best, Tom

Well if you can't build a boat, what tallents do you have Tom?
j/k

TomB · Post by **TomB** » Tue Aug 09, 2005 7:16 am

Tyler Morris wrote:
TomB wrote:
Dazzle1 wrote:For an easier life look at this:

http://www.swallowboats.com/winsome.htm

D
They look great. However, they are rather pricey, and come in kit form, which does not suit my, uh, talents, so to speak.

Thanks for the link, though.

All the Best, Tom
Well if you can't build a boat, what tallents do you have Tom?
j/k

Well, for one, I can spell "talents."

Tom