Rental kayak comfort tips for big paddler?

Hey all! My significant other has finally agreed to go kayaking with me. He’s a very big guy (6’1", 350), and not a sportsman really, so this is a bit of a stretch for him. He’s renting a West Marine Abaco sit-on-top 13.5 (convertible tandem, he’ll be using it solo) for a 3 day camping trip. I’m looking for suggestions on how to customize a rental kayak for the trip to make him as comfortable as possible. For example, if I took an old yoga mat and cut it up on site to cushion various pressure points, how can I affix it in a non-permanent way? Any specific recs from bigger guys for sit-on-top comfort?

The yoga mat may work fine but I do not suggest going paddling for three days to start off. Take him out for a close-to-shore trip for a couple hours to see how he does. Going from nothing to a multi-day trip may end up going very poorly. Not only for his safety but for his enjoyment of the sport. A bad experience may keep him away from it for the rest of his life.

I agree. I love kayaking and can do 20-25 miles like a breeze in 8 hr. and less… Not sure if I would even like one over night trip .

Looking at picture of kayak not sure I’d be comfortable for 3 days in it and I’m 6’ 230 lb. Like anything you need to ramp up slowly to learn.

Oh, yeah, I definitely did not phrase that correctly. We are camping in one spot for three days. Kayaking from (not to!) that spot. It will not be three straight days of kayaking. If we spend a couple hours on the kayak each day, I will be thrilled. Good thought about sticking pretty close to shore, though. Mostly I am trying to make this the most relaxing, comfortable experience I can for him.

@PaddleDog52 said:
I agree. I love kayaking and can do 20-25 miles like a breeze in 8 hr. and less… Not sure if I would even like one over night trip .

If you like camping at all, it’s pretty amazing, although I generally prefer a longer stay, where you kayak to your spot, then make camp there for a few nights and do trips out from that spot. Another way to do it is hotel based tours (kayak from one to the next), which I haven’t done because I am not MoneyBags McGee, but if I ever win the lottery…

Campings ok but GF will never go camping. I prefer hotels with showers. One night I could do may be two. Weeks not me!

If you want him to go out with you again, I suggest a limited time in the kayak. Are you staying in one place or moving between camp sites?

One spot camping and making kayak trips from there is called “base camping”.

I wouldn’t go out of my way to try to make the kayak comfortable. I would however question whether a 13 foot kayak could even stay above the water with the intended load. To tell you the truth, I would doubt your guy would have a good experience. I’m completely at a loss as to whether, or not there exists a kayak that can carry a 350# paddler. One of my boats is rated to handle 450 lbs., but not in the cockpit–no way.

Specs on that boat are a maximum load of 550 (it’s a tandem and a 34" wide is more of a barge than a kayak.) So it should support him OK. (see third paragraph about balancing load).

For comfort just get an Ensolite pad or yoga mat and cut it in half, then cut one of the halves in 2 so you have one half piece and two quarter pieces. I use folded pads like that in several of my kayaks, folded under my thighs or rolled up and tucked behind my back. You don’t need to attach them but you could bring a couple of bungee cords to make sure that one behind the seat back doesn’t slide around. Try not to put too much padding on the seat – he is already tall and you don’t want to raise his center of gravity too much. Even a half inch can make a big difference.

I also suggest bringing a half dozen or so empty gallon plastic jugs (milk or water type). He may need to add some ballast in the front of the boat to compensate for his weight in the back seat – that is pretty important when you try to solo a tandem. It will track poorly with the bow underweighted. You can fill the jugs with river water and stash them in that front well until you get a better waterline. I was paddling with a guy whose borrowed boat was wandering all over the place because he was too heavy and sitting too far back. You could see that the bow was riding high and the stern was too low in the water. We couldn’t adjust the seat so at a rest stop we filled the front hatch with flat rocks! Straightened the boat right out,

@magooch said:
I wouldn’t go out of my way to try to make the kayak comfortable. I would however question whether a 13 foot kayak could even stay above the water with the intended load. To tell you the truth, I would doubt your guy would have a good experience. I’m completely at a loss as to whether, or not there exists a kayak that can carry a 350# paddler. One of my boats is rated to handle 450 lbs., but not in the cockpit–no way.
Specs for kayak are on REI 350 is well covered.

@Celia said:
If you want him to go out with you again, I suggest a limited time in the kayak. Are you staying in one place or moving between camp sites?

Staying in one spot. I’m way too lazy to make camp twice in three days. Yeah, I probably needed to hear the reminder a few times…this can’t be an all-day kayaking affair if I want him to like it!

@willowleaf said:

For comfort just get an Ensolite pad or yoga mat …
I also suggest bringing a half dozen or so empty gallon plastic jugs (milk or water type). He may need to add some ballast in the front of the boat to compensate for his weight in the back seat…

Great suggestions, thank you! This particular boat has a third ‘middle’ seat for solo paddlers, but it is still a bit back from boat center - being able to tweak the balance is a wonderful idea.

Well maybe there is a kayak for just about every “body.” Moving this thing through the water should provide a decent amount of exercise. Go for it.