6' kayak

I’m looking for a 6’ sit-on-top kayak that can hold 180 lbs. Any suggestions? I need something that will fit inside my Honda Civic (I’d prefer to not tie it down on top), and an 8 footer was about 2 feet too long. I’d like a sit-on-top because I don’t know how to roll, though I’m open to any suggestions.

Also…
As a side note, I want to use it on flat water like oceans, sounds, etc…not whitewater/rapids

nope
Archimedes says you need more volume You will sink.

An imflatable 12 foot kayak is ideal for you



I take it you have never put a kayak in the car. I can relate several serious injuries suffered by inhabitants of cars trying to coexist with kayaks inside.

I don’t know…
A neighbor of mine crossed the Atlantic twice in boats less than 6ft.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_Vihlen

Go the inflatable route.

Oceans are not necessarily flat
despite how WW folks characterize it. Waves can be significant.



Rest of it as others have said - you are asking the impossible of a hard shell boat. Better luck with something that you assemble or blow up.

Have you every car-topped a boat?
If you haven’t, my first guess is that once you do, you’ll wonder why you ever thought it was something to avoid. A friend of mine carries a 13-foot kayak, a 13-foot canoe, and sometimes even a 16-foot tandem canoe on…



…a Honda Civic.



As to what others have said, a six-foot boat could certainly support you (some whitewater boats are about that short), but it would be terribly impractical to paddle, which is why there probably isn’t such a model in existence. Even 8- and 10-foot kayaks are slugs, especially when carrying someone as big as you.

Yeah, get an Inflatable

– Last Updated: Mar-10-15 10:09 PM EST –

My vote, unsurprisingly, would also be for an inflatable.

They're not fast, but a 6 footer wouldn't be either, and you'll have a lot more boat to work with. Also, rolling would not be an issue.

Name a price range, and I could make some recommendations if you want.

Your neighbor is nutters!

– Last Updated: Mar-10-15 10:20 PM EST –

That said, it is pretty amazing that he made it across the Atlantic twice in those tiny boats.

Saw a Swift
Kipawa ( over 16 feet I believe)

On a Toyota Yaris.



Friends of mine regularly car top a 15 foot canoe

On a Volkswagen Beetle.



My neighbor put his 9 foot kayak through the front windshield doing the inside carry thing. He was lucky

Also no roof racks
Which would cost about $300

not a kayak

– Last Updated: Mar-10-15 11:17 PM EST –

Even kayaks for children are usually longer than 6'. In order to support your weight and gear a boat 6' long would have to be at least 4' wide and impossible to paddle. A certain area of displacement is necessary to float a given weight. Something that short wouldn't even vaguely resemble a kayak.

It also would be far too short to take in open water especially the ocean, for what your competence level and type of paddling would be. The only people who use short boats in the ocean are people who surf specialized boats similar to whitewater kayaks, and you had better believe those folks know how to roll because they are underwater a lot. For somebody your size, the minimum length for a seaworthy touring kayak is going to start at 14'. Anything less will be too wide (to provide the needed displacement) and will be horribly slow and not track well (both tiring and dangerous in open water). Like Guideboatguy said -- "a slug".

The ocean is not really "flat" water anyway, it always has some kind of waves and currents and usually some wind -- even the calmest day can change within seconds. It is also deep and can easily draw any boat offshore, In a short flat craft your chances of being able to paddle back to shore are slim to none in such instances.

I think you need to do some research on what kayaks are and what they are designed to do. They are also quite easy to carry on top of cars and that is where they belong, not inside a vehicle. I have a friend with a tiny SmartCar who hauls an 18' sea kayak on it, so vehicle type is irrelevant. And my e and I used to regularly haul an 80 lb 16' canoe on his Honda Civic. You do NOT have to pay $300 for a roof rack. I got all the components for my Thule rack (on which I often haul three 15' to 18' kayaks) for my Subaru for less than $120 on Ebay. And you can get a $40 foam block and strap carrying kit that works on any car.

If you absolutely believe you have to haul in the car, you need either an inflatable or a folding kayak that you can pack down into a duffel bag. Look at boats by Innova, Advanced Elements, Folboat, Orukayak and Pakboat.

BTW, you don't have to know how to roll to paddle a sit inside kayak, you just need to have practiced self rescue (you automatically fall out of the boat if you capsize anyway unless you fight to stay in it so you can roll.) Even with a sit on top you can capsize and have to have the strength and practice to climb back in. And sit on tops are heavy and are a wet ride, that might not be practical if you paddle in colder waters like the Pacific or North Atlantic coastal areas.

Have you kayaked before? It would be worthwhile to take a class and get some seat time in various models so you understand what to look for.

Renting
Have you tried renting a kayak close to the length you want to see how you like it on “flat water”? Sounds like you are just assuming all kayaks will be the same and finding one that will fit with your vehicle.

Of course there are
http://www.maloneautoracks.com/roof-racks.php



Less than $100 gets the kayak out of range of your head.

second this
I second this as an option. The manufacturer is Point 65. It gets around the issue of carrying inside a car (the Tequila was designed to fit inside a Prius), but also gets around the physics requiring a larger boat.