Cheapest 'Real' Sea Kayak?

"performance"
It isn’t clear what you mean by that. A forgiving kayak for beginner/intermediate/guests in a range of conditions will not be a kayak that requires a lot of skill to control in wind and waves. I’d be more inclined to pick kayaks with a well rounded handling envelope than ones that require rolling as a base skill. Maybe a Manitou 14 or the Easky 15.

I’ll be very specific
Go to nckayaks.com and have a look at what they are offering in their “in stock” boats. They are having a terrific sale right now. Their boats are as good

as it gets and some of the in stock boats are cheaper than some plastic boats.



Since you say that you are also looking for a new boat for yourself, you might as well do some comparing while you’re there.

Nice try, NewbTastic
You tried to craft an OP question that would avoid, obviate and preempt the various and sundry generalities, evasions, diversions, tangents, diverticulations, cul de sacs, and random walk-abouts that often snake like kudzu through pnet threads.



You failed. (Says he good naturedly, but nevertheless donning Kevlar and Nomex body armor.)



If you are on the Pacific, a reasonable answer would be to seek out a used Mariner Coaster with a sliding seat – reportedly both a good entry and expert storm boat.


there are plenty of good boats
a used plastic Tempest 170, for example, will run you about $700-$900.

Yeah Man
I sold a used plastic Tempest 165 for $600. It had a nice compass and I think I threw in a paddle. The guy got a deal.

Cheap Coaster … where?

now, now, G_M…
…don’t get those Nomex knickers in a twist. The OP did not clarify “not used boats” in his initial post so the responses regarding those are understandable.



And stating “in case (family and friends) really get into it (sea kayaking)” delivers nothing about the actual skill level of people who might use the boat. And none of us is psychic (at least that would admit it) so we don’t know where he’s paddling or what size the people are.



It was not a scrupulously concise question, so the slight randomness of answers is a perfectly reasonable result. Am I wrong?



Some of us post from work, by the way. I don’t always have time to carefully read EVERY other post response before hastily posting my own – we even have an exasperating security time-out here that interrupts my connection every 5 minutes, forcing me to request another block of time (and voiding anything I have been typing) so I have to constantly hilite/copy as I type to avoid losing the text.



This is a casual forum, not a journalism class.

No answer’s perfect. Count me as kudzu

NDK Explorer or Romany
These are not my choices for a boat but they are good boats, worth keeping around if you move on to sportier boats, and are comparatively stable. They can also be found used. The Explorer will probably be too large for some guests so getting both might be reasonable.

lost cause
First of all, what size(s) are your “friends/guest”?



What’s “forgiving” yet "perfomance’ for a 5’ 100lb girl will be terribly unstable and unforgiving for a 6’ 200lb guy. But what works for the big guy will be “too forgiving” and totally non-performance for the light weight woman!



Not to mention half of the population probably doesn’t even fit into majority of what we consider typical “performance” boats.



The main thing being, if such friend/guest took serious interest in the sport, they would want their own boat anyway. So I just don’t think your choice would be theirs.



As long as the boat isn’t prohibiting the learning of most skills, it’ll be ok

Not the Romany
I know very few people who are comfortable in it. If you are going that route for a “cheap sea kayak” the explorer will fit more people and conditions.



For actual cheap you must go with plastic. Given that you wanted Sea Kayak recommendations and not just any rough water boat recommendations. that means boats over 16 feet and less than 24 inches wide.



In that range there is are a bunch of boats that are good all arounders:



Tempest 170 - will fit everyone, some will need extra hip pads.



Zephyr 160



P&H Capella



P&H Soltice - the standard one can be padded out and adjusted for smaller paddlers the LV model cannot be made bigger.



There are also lots of rec boats that would fit the conditions you suggest:



P&H Delphin - slow and short but very capable. The Mariner coaster is not fast but it has all sorts of Legends written about it so length is not everything.



WS Alchemy - Nice all around 14 footer that it rock bashing capable and easy to control on waves. I would not want to use it to keep up with a fast group in flat water though.



Venture Easky 15 - another wonderful and capable rec boat that is ony a bit shorter and wider than what the experts tell me a sea kayak must be.

re: Nice try
"You tried to craft an OP question that would avoid, obviate and preempt the various and sundry generalities, evasions, diversions, tangents, diverticulations, cul de sacs, and random walk-abouts that often snake like kudzu through pnet threads.



You failed. (Says he good naturedly)"





Indeed. But with this crowd, you sort of have to expect to. :wink:



Oh well… I think it’s gonna be either an Easky, Alchemy, or Atlantic. Those seem to fit the bill.




Peter-CA hit it
and String and a few others alluded to it. If you do not have a single specific person in mind for the second boat then get two different boats for yourself. Say longer glass boat for touring and shorter plastic for surfing and rocks. Used glass should be found for 1K to 1.5K and used plastic for less than 1K. Take anyone else out in quiet water in either boat. Have fun.

I’ve not tried one
But I’ve always been impressed by the pricing on the Perception essence 17 for the bigger guy.



http://www.perceptionkayaks.com/product/index/products/sea_kayaking/essence/essence_17/



That said the end of season sales I see for poly Tempests in the USA make me jealous.


"very few people"
Actually the Romany is a very widely used boat. I don’t particularly care for it but not because it is not comfortable. It is one of the boats used commonly by instructors.

Debatable
I know that the Conduit, which I speak of very much, is not a very fancy boat. I have not taken it in the ocean. I have not taken it on large lakes with real waves. I feel, though, from its performance in comparison to rec boats, and from comments on the Dagger Catalyst (its former name) it wold do well in mild ocean conditions.



I don’t think that I personally will ever outgrow the boat, and if i want, I can add a rudder kit for $200 from Amazon.

Percep…what?
Ok, so the words “Perception” and “real sea kayak” didn’t come to mind initially. But all this talk of 14 and 15 footers brings to mind:



Perception Expression 15

Brand new $999



2 bulkheads, skeg, adjustable thigh braces, full deck rigging. Fits a wide range of paddlers. Beginner freiendly stability, but an advanced paddler can have a lot of fun with this boat due to the rocker and responsiveness to edging. (high seat back can be easily removed if so desired by said advanced user)



So right now its reasonable to find one for $800 new!

there ya go… thanks!

Where you at?
I know CCK in Oakland has a pretty dynamite sale going on, and there are Easkys and Easky LVs in the lot, some as cheap as $650.



But if you’re not a West Coast person, ah well…


Clone
I got a glass Northwest Sportee for $550 this past summer and there was another listed for $400 right after I snagged mine. Really like that boat alot.