Entering the sport
Older people with disposable income enter sea kayaking by buying lots of shiny new equipment.
Younger, poorer people enter the sport by buying used kayaks, maybe even the cast-offs from older people who don’t stay with it. This crowd will not show up in the retail demographics of interest to manufacturers, right? But if they stay with it, they will buy shiny new equipment down the road when they have the money and know what they want.
okay…
So I dont really care what demographic thinks what is cool. At lot of people my age like things that I think are absolutely garbage (mueic by snoop Dogg and kanye west) I think its cool to kayak on flat water and maybe otherwise as I develop my skill set. To the person who said “go hard or dont go”… Wow. I’m not even going to respond to such an illogical comment.
I do plan on going alone (most of the time) and I will for get a quality wet suit.
As far as owning kayaks, I’m sure ad I get more experienced, have more money I’ll eventually shell out 4-5k for something fancy. That would be so irresponsible of me today.
Still happy to take suggestions on cheaper kayaks. 
I won’t be making a purchase until April/May so plenty of time to save a little extra if needed.
I think that was my point.
and somehow it has got twisted into an attack of flatwater paddlers. I don’t care how anyone paddles, I just wanted to alert the OP that there are other options than those that get presented here.
Paddling Wash
Dress for immersion.
Learn the ways of winds, currents and especially tides.
Learn to roll and self-rescue.
Learn to navigate.
Anyone that thinks that flat water paddling around P Sound is for old fogeys has obviously never paddled Deception Pass or gone out to Soucha IS.
whoa
I didn’t mean “go hard” as in start doing extreme kayaking of some sort, I was more saying to do things, by that I meant buy good, quality gear. You’re best off renting or demoing gear and then spending more (or deciding not to buy at all) than starting with something not so good and then upgrading shortly afterward.
If you do take classes then you’ll have good opportunity to get advice on it from your instructors.
cattle pass
Had some really nice wave train surfing when I was there a few years ago.
Ahhhhh
You said carbon so I assumed you knew what the cost of a carbon composite kayak was.
Next time you ask “which kayak?” it makes a difference where you are on the size range. If you’re 120 lbs 5’5" you’ll be in a different boat than if you’re 220lbs 6’4".
Ease up on the need for light weight or ease up on other features. Learning how to move a plastic kayak around that weighs 8lbs more than a composite kayak could save you $2000.
Manitou 13 or 14 could work once you have skills. $750 in lessons and rentals could easily save you $750 in picking a boat.
It’s a whitewater thing
I have been accused of being a flatwater paddler by whitewater folks. But honestly it has always been whitewater folks who have never tried surf, tidal races or being far enough away from shore that swimming to safety is rendered impossible by the distance alone, forget about the conditions between you and the shore.
This includes people who are very good at whitewater, and would likely be phenomenal in a sea kayak if they ever gave it a try in anything real. But narrowness can occur in otherwise well-educated people in all fields, paddling is one of them.
New Kayak
I live in Silverdale, across the sound from you and I’m getting ready to purchase a kayak soon. Things I’ve learnd:
- Join the Mountaineers. They have a website. They have many classes you can take. I’m signed up for their kayak class ($180) and its 9 hours of classroom time, a night at the swimming pool and a couple of days on the water.
- Join the local kayak club. Those members are a wealth of information.
- Wait until March when REI has their 20% off sale.
- Check out on the web, the Port Angeles Kayak and Film Festival in April. You’re close enough to go to that.
- I’m going to buy a Delta kayak because they’re light weight.
- When picking out your kayak, think about the weight capacity. Are you 200 pounds? Get a 330 pound one or so because you’ll need to carry supplies. If you gonisland hoping or camping, you’ll appreciate the 100 pounds you’ll be able to carry. Due to our salt water area, you’ll have to carry water with you everywhere.
For folks in Seattle//Tacoma area
For those who live around the Sound and are contemplating getting into sea kayaking, take a little drive down to Tacoma and visit NC Kayaks. They’re not hard to find; just go by the instructions on their website nckayaks.com. You can arrange for some demos and if you’re lucky you can visit with Doug Searls. You won’t be sorry.