Good afternoon. I want to buy a sit on top kayak for playing in the surf, but I also want to be able to fish in rivers and creeks.I am a beginner, so I do not want to spend big bucks. Does anyone have any suggestions on a kayak I should look at? Thanks in advance for your help.
dual purpose?
Let me paraphrase your request: “I’m looking for a car that I can load up with camping gear and drive into the woods off-road. But I also want it to be fast and nimble and handle like a sports car. Oh, and I need it to be cheap.”
I think you catch my drift. Boats for playing in the surf have either a maneuverable planing hull like a whitewater boat or they are long, vee-hulled and super thin, like surf skis. The characteristics that make a good fishing boat are a wide flat hull, with lots of deck storage that will stay put in calm water and make a stable platform. A boat like that will tend to flip over in waves.
And neither kind is cheap, unless you have the patience to find the right used ones. And I say “ones”, because, like most of us that get into kayaking, you will probably end up with a different boat for each purpose. Any single kayak you try to get to be a compromise is going to not be very functional for either purpose.
Check out Ocean Kayak Frenzy
Theres a big difference between riding some waves and high performance surfing where you trim down the line and can cut back, hit the lip etc . To do that you would need a wave ski or surf kayak. Cobra Strike is a pretty decent kayak for starting to play in the surf, but it’s not stable enough for fishing. The Ocean Kayak Frenzy will let you ride waves and play in the surf and you can use it on rivers and large creeks for fishing. It has a a rounded keel which may be an issue in shallow creeks.
I own lots of kayaks and I keep my son’s Frenzy around to take beginners out surfing. It’s a decent place to get started. The Scrambler will also work and will work for fishing. Chances are you will soon buy two different boats or a more specific boat once you decide what you do the most.
Maybe
Maybe and old ocean kayak yahoo? Not going to be too fun on the flats and there are certainly better choices for surf but if you must do both that’s the only one I can think of.
thank you
Thank you all for the advice. I really appreciate it.
Ocean
Kayak. I bought a used Solstice for keeps. I was living at Canaveral Inlet wanting surf practice so I looked for an Ocean kayak , everyone recommended OK…there was not one Ocean Kayak in stock in Florida. All sold.
However if you have a rockered or curved hull, usually the boat is very slow on still water.