Kayak Size Type for the Cruiser?

[sailortjk1]

Next season we would like to be able to do some paddling.
MY wife and I have been doing some talking.

My first thought was to buy a Chesapeake Light Craft Kit and build a nice wooden kayak. That sounds like a lot of fun simply for the challenge of building our own boat. However, the model I would like to build is an 18' boat.

http://clcboats.com/boats/arctichawk.php

My neighbor kayaks and claims this is a great boat. I just don't see me ever being able to store it on my decks. Plus I would have to store two of them as my wife wants a pair, one for each of us.


My second thought was a smaller recreational Kayak from somebody like Old Town. Found this model in a web search.

http://www.oldtowncanoe.com/kayaks/r...irigo_106.html

At 10'6", it looks like I could store two on the decks of my 36' boat.

I know there are members out there that carry kayaks on board.
True Blue for one. Blue what do you and others recommend?

We are beginner paddlers.
Just want to be able to explore our inland lake by paddling.
Maybe a trip to the beach on the big lake in calm conditions.
No white water or fast moving river currents and would like to be able to lash them down on the deck of our 36' sailboat in calm conditions.

[AjariBonten]

For putzing around coves, the Dirigo in your second link would be my bet; but CLC makes fine plans/kits (I made one a while back) and that sure is a pretty kayak.......... Probably overkill, though. Not to mention the space issue

Fred

[T37Chef]

http://www.foldingkayak.com/kayaks.htm

I don't have direct experience with these folding kayaks, but a friend did and like them very much. The advantage IMO is its ability to be stowed away when on a long offshore cruise.

[JohnRPollard]

Sailor,

The Arctic Hawk 18' by CLC (the one to which you linked) is an outstanding sea kayak. HOWEVER, this is not the kayak for you!!!! (please note emphasis). To begin with, it is WAY too big to carry on your boat. For another, it requires a skill level that novices do not have. This is a kayak that in order to use safely you must know how to eskimo roll, which takes training and practice.

You could go with some of the other plastic-grade kayaks. We use them and they're okay. You basically have to choose between sit-on-top (SOT) versions, or sit-inside versions. We have SOTs because ours are primarily for our kids -- and SOTs are pretty much fail-safe as far as kids go. But they are not the greatest for speed/distance paddling. The sit-inside versions do not require skill at eskimo rolling because they have a great big cockpit opening that you would merely slip out of if you rolled over. Then you'd have to bail it out and climb back in (somewhat tricky). But they tend to be more stable in the first place than the SOTs because you are sitting lower (on the inside bottom of the yak). The sit-inside designs are usually faster and generally track better too.

If I were in your shoes, I would look at some of the other CLC offerings. It is fun and rewarding to build your own boat, and CLC really makes it about as straightforward as it possibly can be. The two CLC offerings I'd look at are the new Wood Duck (sit-inside) http://www.clcboats.com/boats/woodduck.php , or the Sea Island Sport (SOT) http://www.clcboats.com/boats/seaislandsport.php . Both of these are within the size and weight that are manageable aboard a boat of your size, and also for your skill level. Either would make a good platform for dabbling around at anchor.

If you choose quickly, CLC has a kit sale that ends on Oct. 31!!

[T37Chef]

Originally Posted by JohnRPollard

For another, it requires a skill level that novices do not have. This is a kayak that in order to use safely you must know how to eskimo roll, which takes training and practice.

Very good point John...the same applies to the Feathercraft...not for a beginner for sure

[chucklesR]

I have a 36 pound Alpha (10 ft) from Heritage, which is a sit in. My wife uses a Ocean Scambler II sit on, weighing in at 63 pounds (11 ft?) and in a pinch can take two. They don't make the Alpha anymore, they switched out to 'featherlites' - which weigh 3 pounds more.
Sit on's are steadier getting onto from most transoms - something you really need to consider (she flipped mine a few times and soaked herself pretty good). Also consider the weight issue for getting them on and off the boat.

She now prefers mine simply because it's faster, lighter etc. Of couse she doesn't have to drain mine if she flips it.

If money is not a concern, try the new Hobie pedal kayaks, I had one blow me away in a 'race' and I can put some speed on.

[TrueBlue]

tjk,
I bought a Perception 10 foot model for my wife two years ago. We selected it due to the compact stowing size for our foredeck and from our experience using two our daughter and her boyfriend own (I bought her's as a gift 5 years ago). We only own one now - my wife's, but usually take two along on extended trips.

It's a good boat and is fast and stable, in spite of the waterline length. Forget the weight, but think it's about 40 lbs - a convenience when hauling over the rails of a high freeboard boat like mine. I was going to buy another to match, so borrowing my daughters wouldn't be necessary, but Perception discontinued that model (companies seem to change models quite often).

I'll stick with Perception - great quality, but I'm looking at a longer size for myself for two reasons - 1). better for open ocean, 2). more in proportion to my bodies' bulk.

[thedudeistoocool]

My father and I spent about 7 months building a seventeen foot cedar strip kayak in his garage this year - it was a great project and loads of fun and it even floats

Extremely labor intensive although fiberglassing it turned out to be the easiest part

It's probably one of the prettiest kayaks I've ever seen (course I got a lot of sweat equity into it so I may be biased)

I say build one just to build one it'll be too big to haul around on the deck of your boat

For the boat you might want to look at a tandem kayak - takes up a little more space than one kayak but not as much space as two separate kayaks and besides you can out wifey up fron and let her do all the work
hobiecat has some interesting tandems

also as far as $$ wise my brother bought 2 9 foot el cheapo grandes kayaks for something like $300 for the both of em and they work just as good as any of the pricier models

have fun

[Jeff_H]

A lot of this depends on what you want to do with the kayaks. I recently bought a pair of inflatable 10'-6" Advanced Frame Kayaks and have been extremely pleased with them. It has been reasonably easy to paddle 3 or more miles round trip on them. They are nicely detailed. They handle a reasonable chop (powerboat variety). They are reasonably rigid and take on a nice shape for a small kayak. Any less than a 15 foot kayak has limits in terms of carry between strokes and tracking but if care is taken when inflating them to the right pressures and laying out the tubes, these are surprisingly good for their length, pretty much what you would expect from a rigid kayak of this length. They have good stability and are beginner friendly.

There is a 10'-6" 35 lb version that you can buy from West Marine or REI and there is a larger 16 foot version which has more range which is available from REI. (See links below)

The nice thing about the 10'-6" model is that it folds into a bag that is roughly 2 feet or so long and perhaps 16" thick that stows out fo the way easy. They take less than 6 minutes to assemble and inflate (actually timed from in the bag and on the deck to over the side with a bow painter tied on).


http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs...0&classNum=804

http://www.rei.com/product/736945?vcat=REI_SEARCH

http://www.rei.com/product/751788?vcat=REI_SEARCH

Regards,
Jeff

[Johnrb]

I've met several people, including experienced paddlers, who have Feathercraft kayaks. There are a variety of designs and some are touring oriented and stable, others designed more for performance and less stable. The biggest drawback to Feathercraft is quality costs and they are expensive.