Your handle differs from…
…the venues you list as wanting to paddle in.
Besides renting kayaks at first, maybe add folding kayaks to your candidate list. Although fairly expensive, they’re light and can be disassembled right at the beach and transported in any vehicle, no rack needed. Feathercraft Wisper is a good example of one suitable for where you want to paddle.
You are in luck…
…with that Mazda 3 as it has fitting on the roof for screwing in a roof rack. Check out the Thule 887Xt. You load the kayak on from the rear and it’s really easy. Just watch out for that little fake spoiler on the trunk as it’s easy to scrape it up with the keel of your (future) kayak while loading.
There are also anchor points under the car for bow and stern lines.
As someone else mentioned, you might want to seek out the Kayak Academy. I’m in Ohio but order stuff via the KA as they provide great service and know their stuff. They also have an excellent line of kayaks.
Happy hunting.
Big water
Instead of picking a design, perhaps some things to find in a boat. If the ends are short (doesn’t have long overhangs rather a more plumb, vertical, bow and stern) a 14 footer will be ok, otherwise something like a 16 - 17 foot boat will be better. Look for one with bulkheads on each end best with hatches. If you end up in the water, and eventually you will, trying to empty a 16’ boat completely end to end full of water won’t be fun and is potentially life threatening. The smaller area between the bulkheads holds considerably less water, and the ends float, makes it much easier to empty.
Bill H.
right
on. Met paddlers on the water in this mode. Read Randy Washburnes guide book to the San Juans.
A full wetsuit is mandatory. Try Campmor: Booties, helmet, gloves.
Carbon
So you’re looking for a $4500+ kayak.
If you do not have basic self-rescue skills or know how to roll
may I suggest you budget $750 in instruction THEN solicit opinions on the boat to get.
Get thee to
Leon and Shawna at Body Boat Blade (Orcas Island). They are among the best coaches in the U.S., if not the world.
Even if you have no greater ambitions then puttering around in mellow water, there’s no substitute for learning the necessary skills correctly at the outset. Plus, they can give you advice about gear/etc. personalized to your individual skill set and paddling goals.
the goal is not to scare people away
– Last Updated: Jan-22-15 11:35 AM EST –
Rack: used +/- $150 with foam pads. He has a mazda 3 which is one of the most common cars on the planet. Why here's a Thule fit kit for the Mazda 3 on Ebay for under $50:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/THULE-FIT-KIT-2135-FITS-MAZDA-3-5DR-HB-MAZDA-6-4-5DR-SEDAN-HATCHBACK-/251800847858?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3aa08005f2&vxp=mtr
Towers @ $65:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Thule-400XT-Aero-Foot-Pack-Bike-Roof-Rack-400-XT-480-Traverse-/321644201210?pt=US_Car_Truck_Racks&hash=item4ae37d04fa
Plenty of bars for sale on Ebay.
Used kayak: $2k tops (yes, that's a light boat)
Drysuit, if you must: $500 used tops. Sometimes budget dictates acceptable conditions and safety clothing.
I'm not sure seadart is the guy to whom you should go making blanket statements about wetsuits.
thanks
– Last Updated: Jan-22-15 11:53 AM EST –
Hi all,
Thanks for your replies as most of them have been helpful for me. I will definitely be taking some kayaking courses, already found a local, well respected place (one of you mentioned it) and I'll be doing at least 3 of their courses including a self rescue course.
As far as what kayak to get, I'll probably have an okay idea and I'll ask the guy when I get done with the training.
I remember when I asked what "real bike" I should buy last year, I amazingly got similar responses of " oh you need to pay $4,000 to get a real bike" but I ended up getting one new for $400 and it has done an awesome job for me. I'm not spending $4k on a kayak... I am 24 and have other things I can do with money like that.
super deals are rare, but do happen
– Last Updated: Jan-22-15 12:43 PM EST –
If eager, after your lessons, you can purchase an adequate kayak to scratch the itch. As time goes on, your idea of what boat you really need/want will evolve. That process continues forever. You can then lie in wait on Craigslist until a super deal comes along.
My own buying sequence is informative. My first purchase was a demo Seaward Endeavor from the factory at ~$2000. I've traded and purchased various boats since. The most recent was a kevlar Boreal Design Ellesmere for ~$1300. It is the perfect kayak for me ... at this point in time.
You will notice that many experienced kayakers have multiple kayaks - at an expense most never envisioned at the start. Some even have their original (incredibly patient and generous) spouses.
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Unsolicited Advice
– Last Updated: Jan-22-15 1:47 PM EST –
I just saw where you are 24 and just getting into seakayaking. I think you will find even in the Pacific Northwest seakayaking is an old folks past time. You will find very few folks your own age participating in the sport and the adrenaline level is pretty low, and the cost to participate is pretty high. One of my sons graduated from Evergreen State and is now in Portland so I have made many trips up to the Seatle Portland area. There is a lot of flat water paddling, but from your screen name, I get the feeling that you might actually want to get into coastal paddling. Learn skills from the seakayaking class and then you might want to look into surfkayaking, waveskiing, or rock garden play. Lot's of groups who participate in that near Pugent Sound but most of it happens on the coast. Look into boats like the Jackson Karma that you can use to play in the coastal waters. There is a lot of coastal paddling going on with younger folks, and not the group that posts here, most are well past 50.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1aLHlwerkE&list=tDLRBQGvjWdpWQMU5XoYRhpUfT-7ySkR&index=1&feature=plcp
http://jacksonkayak.com/blog/2014/08/08/karma-rg-at-work-and-play/
look up neptune rangers on youtube ...a california group, I have run into a similar group in Oregon ... will try to find their contact info. There is also a similar group that paddles near La Push.
Unsolicited Response
I’m 31 (older than OP but not decrepit) and quite love flat water paddling in Puget Sound! I take a bit of umbrage at the insinuation that you have to be old to enjoy it. There’s a lot to be said for just taking in natural beauty. Not everything has to be a roller coaster.
For the OP - there’s wiggle room as to your first kayak, but the big emphasis should be on your skills and your gear. That water is cold. COLD. Were you planning on paddling alone? If so, drysuit is a necessity. Skills too - don’t skimp. Take lessons, build confidence. Re-entry, rolling, bracing, turning - even if you think you’ll be on flat water most of the time - if you get caught in a current, if a boat comes by too fast and close, if a transient orca decides to give you a nudge lol - you never know when you’ll find yourself getting wet.
Odd
I’ve never heard the term “sea kayaking” defined as synonymous with “flatwater paddling” and exclusive of surfing, rock gardening and “coastal paddling.” Seems like a fairly specious distinction to me.
Likewise the attempt to neatly pigeonhole the young thrill seekers versus the old fuddy-duddies who post here. Off the top of my head, I can name at least half a dozen regular p.net posters who paddle some variety of rivers/coastal conditions.
I have heard SK equated with FW
That was the loud (and ignorant) claim of a few WW boaters I overheard in Colorado. And the word flatwater was usually said in a a voice dripping with disdain. For all the googling and binging people do, if they only look in a restricted realm, they’ll continue to be ignorant.
They also thought that a rec kayak was a sea kayak, among other things. Also, if it was longer than about 8 ft, people would call it a sea kayak. Like I said, ignorance.
The thing that is absolutely hilarious to me is that more than a few people around here (WA–not other sea kayakers, though) have asked what the purpose of my WW kayak is. They are used to seeing sea kayaks around, not WW kayaks.
Cost of buying the kayak
As with bikes, the advice about going straight to a high-priced kayak is coming from people who’ve been “through” a lot of other boats already and know (maybe) what they want.
Most did not buy an expensive boat or bike to start with.
Same for me with bikes and kayaks both. Start with what’s good enough, not “perfect”, because at this point you don’t know what perfect even IS. You are buying it to become a good paddler, not to flaunt expensive toys.
The thing you might have to adjust expectations for is boat weight. Unless you land a real deal on the used market, a light (AND seaworthy) kayak is going to cost more. You could buy a kayak cart ($89) and a Yakima Boatloader extension bar ($60) instead of spending $500 to $1000 extra to shave a few pounds off the boat. OR buy as short and narrow a boat as is reasonable for where you’ll paddle it. Point is, you will probably have to compromise on the weight.
Maybe if you shop long and hard on the used market you’d find a lightweight, sturdy, AND inexpensive kayak. But you’d have lost time shopping instead of just buying “good enough” and actually starting to PADDLE. Spring comes early here, and the water’s liquid all year 'round.
Sorry to offend Bignate
I only base my comments on my experience. Of local seakayakers I know here in San Diego, all of them are older than I am, and I am old.
Also there was a pretty good discussion on facebook lead by Sean Morely this summer about an industry study of the demographics of people buying seakayaks and entering the sport. It did not support any contention that there is any interest in the sport from young people. Seakayaking is in fact a dying sport.
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Careful
Sea kayaking participants might be diminishing but it’s not because “sea kayaking means flatwater.”
It probably has more to do with things such as lack of storage space for people who don’t own homes, which is usually the case with young people. More to do with overall lower physical activity and more time spent on sedentary activities such as ogling electronic devices.
Kids used to tear around on bikes and go swimming every day all summer long when I was a kid. Haven’t seen much of that in literally decades. The climbing obesity rate in kids matches this change.
A sea kayak is a tool, not the activity itself. You can use it in flatwater or not.
I’m not offended
About 95-99 percent of my paddling the past few years has been river boating, so I really don’t have much personal investment in the “sea kayaker” label however you want to slice it.
That said, I’m not really sure what point you’re attempting to get across here. If we’re just talking demographics, then I have no quarrel with the assertion that sea kayaking skews somewhat older on the whole than, say, rock climbing. My objection is that you seem to be attributing this to a) an overly narrow reading of what constitutes sea kayaking (i.e. only flatwater paddling) and b) an inaccurate assumption that young people are more interested in thrill seeking than older folks.
In my experience, the sea kayaking demographic is what it is mainly because of two factors: (1) it requires a significant financial outlay just to get started, which means less of an appeal to folks who’ve just begun their careers and don’t have a lot of disposable income (i.e. 20 somethings); and (2) it’s a relatively time-intensive hobby, which deters the late 20-late 30-somethings who even if they have the money, often don’t have the time due to the demands of career and young children. So, we’re left with the outliers in these age groups and the generally older folks with sufficient disposable income and a less burdensome combination of career and family obligations.
All of which is interesting, but I don’t see how it’s relevant to the OP, who presumably is an adult and capable of making his own decisions about what does or doesn’t interest him.
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Another thing
There’s a difference between buying a kayak and actually using a kayak. I’ve seen plenty of instances of folks taking a few lessons, getting really excited, and buying what ends up being an expensive clothes-hanger. This is true for both SK and WW.
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Meh, it’s just how it goes
I’m only 20 years old, but I’m fully immersed, up to my ears in receipts and the gear. I think before a certain age, 90% of people will have an “I can do it the cheap way, I’m fine” attitude.
Worked kayak retail (real boats and gear, not REI or something) and this was the general attitude for men and women almost across the board up to age 60. I think the thing that changed me was working around the gear and being immersed in it all the time, having the knowledge, and constantly selling people on stuff, I eventually sold to myself.
All said, I paddle with one other guy aged 20, and a bunch of 40-70 year olds…
Don’t be silly.
Either go hard or don’t. Don’t say “I wish I could go hard but I’m can’t” because you’re 24.
Take the advice of others and do some training in rented boats first, but then DO drop the money. Otherwise you’ll end up spending more when you ditch your shitty “budget” boat down the road.
Don’t know where you want to go, but there’s B/B/Blade, Kayak Accademy, and the Mountaineers. I’d suggest taking the Mountaineers’ spring rescue and basics class, in a rented boat and drysuit from KA. Best way to do it.