Kayak and Canoe Thread

Foler · Aug 15, 2020

Thread for all things kayak and canoe related!

Looking at getting two kayaks. Both will be used for river kayaking. Nothing crazy like rapids in colorado or anything.

First kayak I'd like to be single person sit in with storage. I'd like enough storage to pack some camping equipment.

Second kayak I'd like to ideally be convertible from tandem to single. I'll use it for when friends wanna come kayaking.

Only yak experience I have is with owning a wilderness systems like 15 years ago. Used to have canoes. Canoes are great but I feel like yaks are way more maneuverable and lighter. Not sure I see any advantage to going canoe route.

In early stages of research. Ideally I'd like to keep it under 1500 per yak which shouldn't be an issue.

For kayak #1 I'm looking at a wilderness systems tsunami, either 125 or 145.

WILDERNESS SYSTEMS | Tsunami 145 Day Touring Kayak | 9720458179

An icon is reimagined in the redesigned Tsunami 145 day touring kayak. The latest Tsunami design inspires performance and exploration with modern deck lines. A focus on improving the paddler’s experience sees new features incorporated into the design. 2 removable mesh deck storage bags are...

www.wildernesssystems.com

For kayak #2 I'm looking at a Wilderness Systems Pamlico 135T

WILDERNESS SYSTEMS | Pamlico 135T Recreational Kayak | 9730355142

The best-selling Pamlico series of tandem kayaks offer performance for pairs. Featuring a signature rounded hull that delivers swift acceleration, helping you paddle longer distances faster, as well as superb maneuverability for easy entry and exit. The Phase 3® AirPro tandem outfitting system...

www.wildernesssystems.com

If there's any experienced yakkers out there please give input.

Araysar · Aug 15, 2020

Get one with a pedal drive or a Russian baidarka

Furry · Aug 15, 2020

I know three type of yakkers. Those that yak to fish, those that yak for fun, and those that use a yak as small transport with motor. I only really have experience with the practical uses of yaks and motoring with them. So let me suggest don't worry about storage and other details that matter much, but aim for one that is a good fit for you. I've towed plastic tubs behind me with motor on a yak. If you're planning to use this thing for potentially a long run at once, comfort is really important. I'm sure the same sort of thing works great on a river without a motor as long as there aren't huge rapids.

Kalaar kururuc · Aug 15, 2020

I'll preface this by saying the vast majority of my experience is white water, but I've done some day trips in the type of kayak you linked first, what I'd term a sea kayak and it's on the sea I've used them most.

145: The ones with rudders (as per your link) are useful, unless you're going over very shallow stuff, in which case they can drag so you have to remember to raise them (as per the image). I prefer not to have them and vary stroke to steer, but better to have and not use than want and not have probably as after market ones aren't as well integrated. Decent storage in them, with good drysacks you can store plenty of crap in the bow and stern storage and lash other stuff to the deck for ready access (drink, snack etc). Polymer hulls aren't as light as the good composite ones but they're significantly cheaper and more robust, so probably good unless you have specific reasons to go composite.

135: I don't have much experience with these but my 2 cents: not as 'serious' a boat in my eyes. The major drawback is either no spray deck or a bloody enormous one (enormous spraydeck). In a true-2 sea kayak if person 1 goes overboard then #2 can often right the boat as he smaller opening limits water ingress enough to be right way up before the hull fills, with the 135 if 1 person goes in and out of the boat then the thing fills almost instantly with water and your shit floats away unless you've secured it somehow. The other benefit is that when using it 1-up you can close off the front seat with a blank spray deck. 180t is the same companies true-2 but is way above your stated budget, a quick search shows this one: polarity 165, apologies for UK link, I'm too lazy to do a US search.

Hateyou · Aug 15, 2020

I have a friend who wanted to kayak but didn’t really have good storage or transport for it. I sent him this kayak as a solution and he loves it. You can just fold it up and throw it in your trunk/apartment. Can also do short hikes to the water with it easier.

This was the first time I had seen one when they did their kickstarter, so there may be better options similar to this, I don’t really know. He kayaks a lot now with people with normal kayaks and he said it holds up to theirs, a couple other people have picked them up for specific uses as well. He gets a lot of questions about it from people he doesn’t know. Not sure if this fits what you’re doing but here ya go anyways.

Folding Kayaks That Go Anywhere | Oru Kayak

www.orukayak.com

Izo · Aug 15, 2020

Crystal meth worth £100m smuggled inside kayaks found by Sydney police

Australian customs discovered approximately 400lbs of crystal meth which had been contained in a shipment of kayaks from China to Sydney.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Kayaking is big business, folbro.

Borzak · Aug 15, 2020

Good luck. Heard from a number of people kayaks are hard to get ahold of now. People off work and stuck at home looking for something to do.

I have a Hobie Pro Angler. I use it for bass fishing on a number of lakes including the largest lake in Texas. I flew a red flag at the back about 8 feet tall to make sure boats saw me. Lot of night fishing. 6 rod holders, 3 on each side like a rod locker. Love it. Weight is a major drawback. I carry it in my truck and use one of those extender deals that go into the receiver hitch to hold it. I drive right to the water and sometimes back the truck down in the water. So not much carrying it around. I have some pics let me see...

Lot of shit but I could go all day fishing or all night. I normally didn't carry this much shit I was just putting it all on the kayak to see if it would fit. 2 tackle boxes, ice chest etc...wound up moving all my soft plastics and tackle to the tackkle box right in front of the seat.

Pedaling along and using both hands to fish is super nice. For shallow water the pedals you just push them forward and they pull up against the kayak.

lurkingdirk · Aug 15, 2020

It totally depends on what you want to do. Honestly, I have a couple cheapy ones that I go down rivers with and are a lot of fun. They're short, light, and cheap. Grab one, and you'll figure out what you want. I don't remember where I got them, but I think they were about $250 a piece. They're easy to transport, too.

Borzak · Aug 15, 2020

The larger kayak places have demo days, at least around here they do. I got my Hobie from Austin Canoe and Kayak in Austin and they had demo days at a couple of nearby lakes.

TheBeagle · Aug 15, 2020

Borzak said:
Good luck. Heard from a number of people kayaks are hard to get ahold of now. People off work and stuck at home looking for something to do.

I have a Hobie Pro Angler. I use it for bass fishing on a number of lakes including the largest lake in Texas. I flew a red flag at the back about 8 feet tall to make sure boats saw me. Lot of night fishing. 6 rod holders, 3 on each side like a rod locker. Love it. Weight is a major drawback. I carry it in my truck and use one of those extender deals that go into the receiver hitch to hold it. I drive right to the water and sometimes back the truck down in the water. So not much carrying it around. I have some pics let me see...

Lot of shit but I could go all day fishing or all night. I normally didn't carry this much shit I was just putting it all on the kayak to see if it would fit. 2 tackle boxes, ice chest etc...wound up moving all my soft plastics and tackle to the tackkle box right in front of the seat.

Pedaling along and using both hands to fish is super nice. For shallow water the pedals you just push them forward and they pull up against the kayak.

View attachment 293528

View attachment 293529

That's nice man. Exactly the set up I'm working towards.

*Except for more rod holders on the rails.

Borzak · Aug 15, 2020

I only bass fish with it so using 1 rod at a time, the 6 that store horizontally are all I need.

Since that pic was taken added an anchor line down one side to move the anchor fore and aft for the few times I sit still and flip a tree or a couple of stumps, can position the boat the right direction.

lurkingdirk · Aug 16, 2020

I can't imaging fishing out of a kayak. That sounds terrible to me. It must be way more stable than the ones I have. I think water would slop in if I were to cast in it.

Araysar · Aug 16, 2020

lurkingdirk said:
I can't imaging fishing out of a kayak. That sounds terrible to me. It must be way more stable than the ones I have. I think water would slop in if I were to cast in it.

I fished out of a Kayak here in California ocean harbors, never had any problems. Was pulling out 12-16 inch spotted bay bass.

Oldbased · Aug 16, 2020

Borzak said:
Good luck. Heard from a number of people kayaks are hard to get ahold of now. People off work and stuck at home looking for something to do.

I have a Hobie Pro Angler. I use it for bass fishing on a number of lakes including the largest lake in Texas. I flew a red flag at the back about 8 feet tall to make sure boats saw me. Lot of night fishing. 6 rod holders, 3 on each side like a rod locker. Love it. Weight is a major drawback. I carry it in my truck and use one of those extender deals that go into the receiver hitch to hold it. I drive right to the water and sometimes back the truck down in the water. So not much carrying it around. I have some pics let me see...

Lot of shit but I could go all day fishing or all night. I normally didn't carry this much shit I was just putting it all on the kayak to see if it would fit. 2 tackle boxes, ice chest etc...wound up moving all my soft plastics and tackle to the tackkle box right in front of the seat.

Pedaling along and using both hands to fish is super nice. For shallow water the pedals you just push them forward and they pull up against the kayak.

View attachment 293528

View attachment 293529

I was all interested until I saw $4000.
Fuck for that I can get a 30 foot ocean boat used with a bedroom/kitchen and live on the damn thing.

Borzak · Aug 16, 2020

I paid $3,000 for it new. I got the very first one out of the mold. Hence the yellow color and not the tan one they did a little later.

Fishing in the pro angler is as stable as anything really. Lot of videos of guys standing and fishing with it. They make a brace you can lean against while standing. Things 3 feet wide at the bottom. Lot of guys use it for coastal fishing or offshore for that matter. When I lived in San Antonio there was a guy in Corpus that used his to go out and use it for catching sharks.

Plus with the pedal power kayaks you have full control with your feet to move forward and backup while fishing and not have to use a paddle.

The mirage drive patent expired for Hobie I think. So should be lot of other pedal power kayaks out probably cheaper now. Assuming you can find one for sale. Things are nearly as bad as ammo now.

Dr.Retarded · Aug 21, 2020

Foler

I've got two boats mainly for fishing or to just paddle with my woman. A Nucanoe Frontier 12 and a Jackson Kilroy. Both are different animals. The Nucanoe is a mix between a sit-on-top and a canoe, and the Kilroy is a sit-inside with SOT seating.

Nucanoe:

Kilroy (not my boat)

The Frontier 12 is a barge, but with a 42" beam, more stable than most boats out there, other then maybe a Hobie PA or Native Titan. I've got one of the stand up assist bars and it's great for sight fishing, plus I can fly fish out of it easily. It's got a built-in transom so you can easily mount a trolling motor or a small gas motor. I think nucanoe has come out with a pedal drive that you simply retrofit on top of the deck. I've taken it on a pretty lengthy River float and it did the job. It's not very nimble but it's got the stability to pretty much roll through anything. It's not as heavy as a Hobie PA but it's not light, so portaging is a pain unless you can pull up to the ramp, or have a good dolly.

The Kilroy is my woman's boat, and I got it because it's much faster and lighter for her. It's still great to fish out of and has plenty of room for storage on a longer float. I believe it's maybe a little over 30" wide, but the stability is good because you're sitting below the waterline. Length might be 13' if I remember. They make a tandem version (Kilroy DT) at maybe 14 or 14.5. it has a very large cockpit and you can always remove the a seat and turn it into a single.

Both Nucanoe and Jackson make quality boats. I've been extremely pleased with both of mine and they don't break the bank. Think I got the Jackson purple over a grand when they were phasing out the previous year's models. The Frontier 12 at the time was maybe 1300.

You could look at a Jackson Big Tuna. My brother has one of those and it's a true sit on top but it's also tandem.

Also go check out Headwaters Kayaks on YouTube. That guy has a ton of review videos and discusses options and price points on a variety of boats. Does on the water testing. Really helpful channel.

Hope that helps at least....

Foler · Aug 21, 2020

Dr.Retarded said:
Foler

I've got two boats mainly for fishing or to just paddle with my woman. A Nucanoe Frontier 12 and a Jackson Kilroy. Both are different animals. The Nucanoe is a mix between a sit-on-top and a canoe, and the Kilroy is a sit-inside with SOT seating.

Nucanoe:
View attachment 295335

Kilroy (not my boat)
View attachment 295336

The Frontier 12 is a barge, but with a 42" beam, more stable than most boats out there, other then maybe a Hobie PA or Native Titan. I've got one of the stand up assist bars and it's great for sight fishing, plus I can fly fish out of it easily. It's got a built-in transom so you can easily mount a trolling motor or a small gas motor. I think nucanoe has come out with a pedal drive that you simply retrofit on top of the deck. I've taken it on a pretty lengthy River float and it did the job. It's not very nimble but it's got the stability to pretty much roll through anything. It's not as heavy as a Hobie PA but it's not light, so portaging is a pain unless you can pull up to the ramp, or have a good dolly.

The Kilroy is my woman's boat, and I got it because it's much faster and lighter for her. It's still great to fish out of and has plenty of room for storage on a longer float. I believe it's maybe a little over 30" wide, but the stability is good because you're sitting below the waterline. Length might be 13' if I remember. They make a tandem version (Kilroy DT) at maybe 14 or 14.5. it has a very large cockpit and you can always remove the a seat and turn it into a single.

Both Nucanoe and Jackson make quality boats. I've been extremely pleased with both of mine and they don't break the bank. Think I got the Jackson purple over a grand when they were phasing out the previous year's models. The Frontier 12 at the time was maybe 1300.

You could look at a Jackson Big Tuna. My brother has one of those and it's a true sit on top but it's also tandem.

Also go check out Headwaters Kayaks on YouTube. That guy has a ton of review videos and discusses options and price points on a variety of boats. Does on the water testing. Really helpful channel.

Hope that helps at least....

Thanks. Went to local outdoor store a few days ago. Only thing they had in stock were hobies and hurricanes. I just need single sit on top kayaks for river kayaking so im hesitant to drop big $ on hobie even tho pedal system seems solid.

Wilderness systems seems solid but also sold out everywhere. I'll research your advice once i get more free time next week. Hoping kayak suppliers can catch up with demand in the coming months

Foler · Aug 21, 2020

Also you've restored my faith that transporting a 12 ft yak in a 6 ft truck bed is possible.

Foler · Aug 21, 2020

lurkingdirk said:
I can't imaging fishing out of a kayak. That sounds terrible to me. It must be way more stable than the ones I have. I think water would slop in if I were to cast in it.

Check out hobies and you'll understand. Those fishing kayaks are beastly.

Dr.Retarded · Aug 21, 2020

Foler said:
Check out hobies and you'll understand. Those fishing kayaks are beastly.

There's tons of boats out there now that are geared towards fishing an offer lots of stability. Just depends on the types of features you want and what you find to be most important. If you want more stability you're going to sacrifice speed and agility.

lurkingdirk as long as you're not floating around in a Lifetime or cheaper Pelican, there's plenty of boats out there that are easy enough to fish out of. Just don't go to Walmart to buy your boat.

Kayak and Canoe Thread

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