Just wanted to make sure I’m getting my money’s worth on these. I’ve got them down to $650 for the pair. I’ve read all the reviews I can find on these and they sound like great general purpose yaks. Of course I’d rather see what the community thinks. The big thing that’s got me concerned is the large ding in the bottom of one of them. Though I’ve also read the material these are made of makes them indestructible and that ding might pop right out.
But them! Even if the ding (oil canning) doesn’t come out, it’s no big deal.
That was buy them.
Thank you! I’ve been anxiously sitting here most of the day waiting for someone to reply…lol
DEAL… get 'em
I think those seats will adjust so you can paddle it solo…
I took a similar oilcanning out of the bottom of an old poly kayak by laying the boat between two stacks of old tires so the “ding” was suspended in the middle, then put a sandbag in the hull over the bump and heated the plastic with a heat gun (gotta be careful not to get it too hot or touch the plastic – don’t want to melt or discolor it, just soften) until the plastic sagged just enough to be close to back in shape, at which point I sprayed it with water to cool it down.
When you car top them, carry them upside down, with the coamings resting on the rack, to keep that from happening again. And store them laying on their sides.
And don’t use ratchet straps.
1" web straps with cam buckles are just fine, but don’t get the cheap ones. Thule, Yakima, NRS, Malone, etc. are all good. Rafting/outdoor shops will have them.
Those are polylink 3 boats. They are a lot more rigid than regular PE. They usually don’t oil can. I would try leaving it in the sun for a few hours. Those boats have a foam core.
@naviathan@gmail.com said:
@string said:
And don’t use ratchet straps.Glad you said that. What should I use?
Ratchet straps can smash a hull. I use NRS CAM STRAPS.
@string said:
Ratchet straps can smash a hull. I use NRS CAM STRAPS.
Oh ok, we call those cinch straps. I’ll have to pick some up.
@shiraz627 said:
Those are polylink 3 boats. They are a lot more rigid than regular PE. They usually don’t oil can. I would try leaving it in the sun for a few hours. Those boats have a foam core.
They are polylink 3. I was thinking about boiling a pot of water and pouring it inside with the boat upright and see if it worked back out. The previous owner said it happened in storage, something was left on top of it.
We have the Kayaks! The previous owner was very nice. They bought them new on a vacation in Main about 15 years ago and said they just haven’t used them much anymore. One was for the kids and the other was theirs. This works out great because one set of paddles is shorter than the other so my boys will have a blast with that for a few years. We’re taking them out tomorrow with my mother so this should be interesting. I guess we’ll put the 2 and 7 year olds in the middle between the seat on each then cram the day packs and other gear in the bow and stern as evenly as possible. Really looking forward to taking these out. Thanks guys!
Ok, l am confused. You plan to have the 2 and 7 year olds not in a seat but on top of the boat? Or am l misreading between the seats?
Congrats on getting boats, just not quite understanding the seating plan.
@Celia said:
Ok, l am confused. You plan to have the 2 and 7 year olds not in a seat but on top of the boat? Or am l misreading between the seats?
Congrats on getting boats, just not quite understanding the seating plan.
The Loon has a cockpit. They would be between the front and rear seats.
Ah, thanks. I am on severely deficient internet access right now and pics ate not coming thru.
I assumed you hadn’t seen the pics otherwise it would have made more sense.
I bought one new about that long ago. I still have it. Most recently I used it to teach some middleschoolers some tandem kayaking basics. They learn quickly, and everyone always seems to have a nice time paddling it, including myself.
I’ll offer a little something to help you along. The heavier person sits in the back. For tandem kayaks in general, and this holds true in the Loon, if your bow is heavier than your stern, directional control will be difficult. If you have a 30 pound bag and a 7 pound bag, a 200 pound person and a 135 pound person, load the heavy bag in the stern, sit the 200 pound person in the stern, put the 7 pound bag in the bow in front of the 135 pound person. The kayak will handle fine like this. The point is, when in doubt, keep the stern a bit heavier loaded than the bow.
Next very important point for beginning tandem kayakers. As you’re paddling along, for directional control, the person in front should be the motor, that just continues a normal forward stroke, as the person in the stern handles directional control adjustments where necessary. Not only is the person in the bow not responsible for your direction, they should not participate in regular directional corrections or changes in general heading.
As you advance, you will discover that bow rudders are very effective from the bow of a tandem. And you can do some impressive maneuvering from the bow. It’s quite fun! But given all this, when my partner and I paddle tandem, I usually hear “I’m going to bow rudder!” when she wants me to support her maneuvering stroke in a given situation, or I’ll suggest it to her. And I’ll be responsible for maintaining momentum - being the motor - while she performs her magic! Otherwise, she just keeps her forward stroke in a rhythm, and ignores what I’m doing for directional control from the stern, other than maybe pointing and saying “Let’s go over there.” Bottom line, while in motion, water is pressured against the bow slicing through it, and turbulent surrounding the stern. The stern is the better place to manage general directional control. Try to turn yourself sideways with your paddle aligned parallel to the boat, and then gently move your submerged blade off-parallel to steer with your stern rudder. When it gets too perpendicular to your hull, you’re doing more braking than turning, and your motor up front might take a quick break to swat you with their paddle.
Have fun! Tandem paddling is very rewarding teamwork!
Thanks for the tips, CapeFear! I assume you are also a Coastal Carolina paddler?