I know this isn’t a new topic of discussion so I’ll be brief:
I’m 6’4" with a 34" inseam and size 12 shoes
Weight fluctuates anywhere between 190 and 220
Budget of no more than $1000 for the kayak (exclusive of life jacket, paddle, etc)
Interested in a sit-in kayak
Will use primarily on lakes and rivers with occasional use in the bay (very calm)
Planning on 3-5 hour excursions plus possible over-nighting
I’ve been looking at a few models but I have concerns regarding my size. Mostly my height and my shoe size.
The Wilderness Aspire 105 has a 51.5"x23.5" cockpit and a deck height of 15.5". Seems like it may fit the bill. The same can be said for Perception Prodigy 12 (51"x23" cockpit and 15.25" deck height).
Any tall paddlers with experience on either of those two setups? Or other suggestions that might work? I am going to end up having to drive a good distance to test-fit these and I’d rather not completely waste my time.
I am very close to your size. You are too big for any boat under 14’. You can certainly fit in the ones on your list but you will have something you will learn to dislike.
If you want a rec kayak, look at a WS Pungo 140.
@string said:
I am very close to your size. You are too big for any boat under 14’. You can certainly fit in the ones on your list but you will have something you will learn to dislike.
If you want a rec kayak, look at a WS Pungo 140.
I have seen this recommended for guys my size in the past. I guess my only complaint is the weight. I’m going to have to throw this thing on the roof of a Nissan Xterra and at 58 pounds it’s getting beefy. But you aren’t the first person to suggest this.
Help educate me: what sorts of things would I begin to dislike on something smaller like the ones I mentioned. At this point, I don’t know what I don’t know.
Another consideration is that a rec boat with an enormous cockpit will limit your ability to learn many paddling skills. Considering that you plan to do some coastal paddling, I would suggest looking for a used sea kayak in the 15’-18’ range, rather than buying a rec boat that you’ll likely outgrow. There are many that will fit you comfortably and allow you to develop the skills you need for coastal paddling. Once you get out on the ocean, it’s addictive and you may find that you don’t spend as much time on fresh water as you plan to currently.
Regardless, Craigslist may be your best source for a used boat, but you can also check the classified ads here.
I am with the others that you will generally need to look at longer boats. the cockpit opening size is just the size of the hole you get in and out of, but doesn’t say how large the insides are. For that, you need to sit in each boat and try it out. A longer boat is more likely to have more space inside the cockpit, which you will need.
These questions do come up, and you can search the archives on this site for how people have answered in the past.
Here is info I got from a paddling instructor friend of mine who is 6’7" and has had the chance to paddle many different boats, so figured out what works for him. All sea kayaks, so perhaps not helpful if you want a recreational class boat:
I don’t think there is a kayak greater than 17’4" that I’m not able to fit into.
I would be able to fit into a fair amount of kayaks in the 16’-17’ range IF I drilled and re-mounted the footrails/ footpegs further away from the seat.
Here is a list of kayaks, shorter than 17’, that I can fit into WITHOUT any modifications:
Current Designs Sirocco
P&H Delphin 155
NorthShore Atlantic LV
Valley Gemini SP
P&H(?) Hammer, the big one (I forget if there are multiple sizes or not)
Dagger Alchemy (biggest)
Dagger Stratos (the biggest one)_
Regardless of the boat, you don’t need to throw it anywhere. With saddles you can slide it on from the back of whatever vehicle.
Things to dislike about short boats:
They are SLOW. That may not mean anything now, but it will. You apparently want to get somewhere .
They don’t track (go straight) well.
When I paddled a 120, if I paddled hard , It bogged down. I weigh 230.
I rented a 10’ once. Only time in a kayak that left a wake.
Regardless of the boat, buy the best paddle you can afford. Don’t even look at any with aluminum shafts.
There are some recent good discussions about paddles.
I have seen this recommended for guys my size in the past. I guess my only complaint is the weight. I’m going to have to throw this thing on the roof of a Nissan Xterra and at 58 pounds it’s getting beefy. But you aren’t the first person to suggest this.
Help educate me: what sorts of things would I begin to dislike on something smaller like the ones I mentioned. At this point, I don’t know what I don’t know.
What you will dislike about both of these boats is how slow they are and how poorly they track. What you’ll also dislike is that the first time you capsize either of them their lack of a forward sealed compartment, and lack of perimeter lines, will mean that it will be almost impossible for you to get back into them and you’ll probably be faced with swimming them back to shore. How far out into that calm bay do you plan to go?
And those two boats weigh 48 and 53lbs, not that much different from a 58lb Pungo 140. Talking of which, the Pungo has watertight compartments fore and aft so it is much safer. And at 14’ it will be faster and track better. It’s still a little on the wide side and has a huge cockpit so it’s really still a rec boat. I think most people here would recommend a true sea kayak - a used one to keep the price within your budget - to you especially at your size.
What you need to understand is that longer kayaks don’t necessarily get heavier than shorter ones. A kayak has to have displacement volume so it will float – the weight of water the hull displaces is directly related to the weight of the paddler. So a shorter boat has to be wider than a longer one to provide enough volume for the displacement. So it can take the same amount of plastic to make a 10’ x 34" wide rec boat as a 15’ long by 22" touring kayak. In fact, my 15’ x 22" plastic kayak weighs 2 pounds LESS than that Aspire 105 you are considering and I can take it in any waters including the ocean.
Longer boats are less difficult to load than short wide ones because you can lever them onto the car roof and shove them forward much more easily. I’m a 67 year old woman and I solo load kayaks up to 18’ long onto my small (but still above my eye level) SUV wagon all the time.
I have picked up larger touring kayaks used over the years for various friends and to use as “boyfriend boats”. Depending on where you live, if you keep your eyes peeled you can generally find such boats in decent shape for under $500, often including a paddle and PFD.
Fifty-eight pounds is heavy if you have to lift it over your head to get it on the roof, but you don’t have to lift that entire weight over your head, and I don’t care how tall your car is. Also, realize that the longer the boat, the easier it is to load because of the reduced awkwardness of longer boats when using any of the most common effort-saving methods.
I’ve lost count of the number of discussions where all this has been mentioned before (and not just by me, but it’s a pet topic of mine because I see so many people straining themselves so much more than necessary because they don’t bother to think about the fact that they are loading/uloading their boat in the hardest possible way), but start by getting yourself a rubber-backed bathmat, OR, get Thule or Yakima cross bars so that you can add a bar extender that sticks out to the side from just one cross bar. If you are handy with building stuff, you can come up with something on your own.
Carrying the boat waist high with both hands, tilt one end up and rest it either against the bathmat which is laying at the back of the roof and the top of the rear window, or onto a bar extender. Now set it down so the boat is leaning there with the other end on the ground. Pick up the end from the ground, slide the boat forward until the end you are holding doesn’t weigh very much, then lift that end. If you are using the bathmat method. simply walk forward while pushing the boat. If you are using the bar-extender method, set “your end” off to the side a bit so that it’s on the main cross bar, and then do the same with the end that’s on the bar extender. When it comes to overhead lifting, you’ll most likely be lifting less than 20 pounds at this point, and adjusting where the boat is positioned prior to lifting can make it even less than that.
So, just concentrate on getting a boat that fits you, and don’t be worried that it will be harder to load.
@willowleaf said:
So a shorter boat has to be wider than a longer one to provide enough volume for the displacement. So it can take the same amount of plastic to make a 10’ x 34" wide rec boat as a 15’ long by 22" touring kayak. In fact, my 15’ x 22" plastic kayak weighs 2 pounds LESS than that Aspire 105 you are considering and I can take it in any waters including the ocean.
This was a very helpful description of what is going on with longer vs shorter setups. Thank you!
Mike, I had to go back and correct a typo in my first response – my 15’ kayak is 2 pounds lighter than your Aspire – not 12 (i had typed “1” then realized it was actually 2 pounds and didn’t overwrite the 1 when I went to change it).
Though I do have an 18’ kayak that is only 31 pounds. It’s made of a wooden frame with epoxy coated ballistic nylon “skin” sewn over it. And I have a 12’ folding kayak that weighs 25 pounds less than the Aspire. Different materials can make for lighter boats, but the lighter ones do come at a cost (unless you build your own.)