Do any others of you bother to actually weigh your own kayaks? If so, I’d like to know your results.
I have a stand up scale with the sliding weights at chest level. Once I have the boat balanced on the footpad and subtract the tare of whatever I use to help the balance, it is easy to get an accurate reading. Here are results of four boats I’ve owned:(advertised weight) vs. my reading:
Eddyline Raven Carbonlite (52) vs 54.25
Eddyline Rio Carbonlite (35) vs 35.75
P&H Capella 160 tricore rotomold (54) vs 56.25
Wilderness Systems Tsunami 135 (48) vs 48
I used to carry a scale when shopping for boats. I became very aware of weight after building a few S&Gs.
I once ordered a new carbon/Kevlar Valley and spec’d the max weight I would accept (43lbs.)… It came in one pound under… Of course you have to wait for it to be built shipped and delivered but the boat was perfect
Manufacturers have gotten better with this. At one time some of them would give the weight of a bare hull. No seat, no hatches, no hardware, etc. Given that for many manufacturers there are still a lot of manual steps in manufacturing a kayak, I wouldn’t sweat a pound or so either way.
I worked in manufacturing for 40 years. It can be difficult to hit spec on small objects, let alone large flexible ones. That is why specs have tolerances.
A good manufacturer keeps variables like weight as close to tolerance center as possible. You don’t want to waste $ on excess material nor bad customer results.
I use a digital luggage scale. Just hang the kayak off the scale from the bow or stern lifting toggle while someone else lifts the kayak from the toggle at the other end. Then, swap ends and add the two weights together. For my three bigger kayaks, I got:
1996 Necky Looksha IVs fiberglass with rudder) - 55 lb
Pygmy Coho stitch & glue with bulkheads, hatches and deck compass - 43.5 lb
2002 Seaward Luna Grande fiberglass with rudder - 52 lb
I also looked at an old (1998!) Necky Arluk III 19 foot kevlar boat the other day and weighed it with the seller. It was 49 lb. He had done a beautiful job of refinishing the hull with marine epoxy paint that may have added a couple of pounds to the weight. A little too tippy for my needs, so that one is still for sale on Maine Craig’s List.
I weighed a couple of 40 lb bags of softener salt to check the accuracy of my scale. I don’t remember the result, but it was quite good. Sorry, my fleet is old so I don’t have any newer kayaks to report on.
" Just hang the kayak off the scale from the bow or stern lifting toggle while someone else lifts the kayak from the toggle at the other end. Then, swap ends and add the two weights together."
That is an interesting way to weigh a kayak. I guess it is accurate? Seems easiest way is to use bathroom scale (weight holding kayak and subtract your weight), but harder to take to a location.
Does anyone have a method to weigh a kayak at the point of sale?
All 6 of my 7 Current Designs that I have weighed are very accurate a pound or less. Last one I am restoring a Titan I haven’t weighed it yet. Wish I did because I had to repair the bottom. I’ll see when it’s done what it weighs.
Easiest just to set it on a bathroom scale. Could just add a couple of wood blocks if needed to make the kayak fit and the scale readable. Just subtract the extra weight.
My custom P&H Cetus arrived about 4 months after my original post. It was close to advertised weight if I subtracted the 3 3/4 pounds of the hatch covers. The build sheet confirmed that there were two separate weights - one with, and the other without hatch covers.
When I tried to balance a couple of my boats on a bathroom scale, I couldn’t see the readings because the boat’s balance point is also it’s widest point (or nearly so) . Instead, I placed one end on the scale and blocked the other with foam or wood so the keel line was parallel to the (level) ground. I also kept the scale and the block about the same distance from their respective ends. My assumption was that each reading would be half the weight of the boat. Is there any reason this method wouldn’t give a reasonably accurate result?
A more accurate way, if weighing each side separately, is to hang one end by handle (what to hang on is question) and lift other end with luggage scale by handle to same level?
That would work too I think.
I can also envision hanging a spring scale from an overhead beam (or similar).
Then attach a line between the boat’s bow and stern grab handles (with a bit of slack) and hang it on the scale. Might take a bit of trial and error to find the balance point, but it seems doable … interesting, but probably more trouble than it’s worth.
That should work reasonably well as long as the contact points for the scale and second support are exchanged exactly (i.e., put a speck of masking tape at the two contact spots, then when you exchange scale and support make sure those contact at the marked spots). No need for the two contacts to be at exactly equal distances from the ends. The drawback is you can get some sideways loading at the contacts, similar to not pulling straight up with the hanging method.
