I wouldn’t get rid of the Looksha yet. Take it out a few times and see if she gets used to how it feels. I have had boats that felt unstable at first, but were wonderful boats once I got used to them.
Agree with all the comments
My first sea kayak was a Zoar.
I was wallowing in the cockpit and am 6’5" /230.
I also second the responses on the “tippiness” of the Looksha. I started out kayaking in a fairly flat-bottomed, soft chined kayak – 14’ 6" long but 25" wide. I loved it but it was slow and I really had to work to keep up with other paddlers.
Then I acquired two additional boats, both of them hard-chined and much narrower (one 18’ long and 21" wide and the other 15’ long and 22" wide). Both of these felt really “tippy” to me the first few times I used them and I know I was overcompensating by reacting too abruptly when they would slip onto the hull surface between the keel and first chine when I was turning or leaning. But a more savvy kayaking buddy explained to me how hard chines work and how both my boats had excellent secondary stability and were not going to capsize easily.
One thing that helped was that the friend stood alongside me in one of the kayaks in shallow water and encouraged me to lean and try to capsize it and just to rock from side to side in it. Actually feeling that the boat would sit solidly on the planes of the hull taught me to trust the kayak and relax. Once I was no longer fearful and fighting the lateral movement of the boat it suddenly felt really stable and safe and the “tippy” sensation vanished. The boat had not changed but my perception of it and my behavior in it had. I have had both boats in very rough and choppy conditions countless times in the years since and they always perform brilliantly and I trust them completely. They are very relaxing for me to paddle now and I love their speed and ease of handling.
So just give it some time.
Too lazy to read all of that but if the boats are “tippy” remember that when you learned to ride a bicycle it too was tippy, at first.
2 of my fiberglass kayaks both lack front bulkheads, one is bulkheadless as are my folding kayaks. I use float bags. Rhat Looksha is probably an awesome kayak.
You might also try a cheap and easy modification: bring a couple of empty gallon water jugs and fill them at the launch and put them in the front and rear hatches. Your wife may be a bit light for the volume of the Looksha. With more weight, the boat will sink lower, submerging more of the plane between the first and second hard chines and making the boat feel more stable.
Experimenting with ballast can really help modify the performance of a kayak. I was on a long day trip where the paddler amongst us who should have been the strongest, a 22 year old athletic guy, was struggling to keep up because his 12’ rec boat was windcocking so badly (the rest of us were “old” ladies in 15’ touring kayaks). Despite my coaching him on paddling technique (he was actually pretty good) and trading my better spare paddle to him, the boat was zigzagging horribly. Watching how it behaved I suspected the seat (which we could not move) was too far forward so that the stern was too lightly loaded. When we pulled ashore at one point for a stretch stop I filled the small rear hatch with flat rocks. That sank the stern just enough to straighten out the tracking and he was able to keep up and enjoy the trip.
@willowleaf said:
You might also try a cheap and easy modification: bring a couple of empty gallon water jugs and fill them at the launch and put them in the front and rear hatches. Your wife may be a bit light for the volume of the Looksha. With more weight, the boat will sink lower, submerging more of the plane between the first and second hard chines and making the boat feel more stable.
This topic came up the other day, not because my boat has any stability issues but because my weight combined with the light weight of the kayak isn’t enough to overcome the puffball effect of strong winds. The suggestion was to add sandbags for additional weight as they won’t slide around as easily as water jugs. I can get a set of four photographic sandbags used to anchor tripods, etc. for about $15. They can carry up to 20# of sand each, so I might give that a try…and use them for draft stoppers in the winter.
Wet sand sinks
@string said:
Wet sand sinks
Why would it be wet? The sand is packed in a couple of ziplock plastic bags then placed inside the sandbags (which have double zippers). My hatches are dry (so far). I guess pea gravel would work as well but sand is nicer…
I put a thermos in a hatch once. It rolled left and right and left repeat repeat repeat for the next five miles. Put a towel or something with round stuff.
@Rookie - water seems a whole lot less fuss than acquiring solid material for ballast. You can fill the bags and dump them out at the shoreline so you aren’t carrying that weight back and forth. Get some regular water bladders and a couple of float bags, one for each end, to keep them from moving around. All of it is useful if you and have a problem out there you aren’t carrying weighty things back and forth.Unless you want the water bags along the keel to include potable water, then you may have to fill them at home. I know you can launch from your place, but I assume you also travel to paddle with people at times.
Hey folks. Checking in.
Well, the Mrs. has spoken and the looksha needs to go bye-bye. She just doesn’t feel comfortable in it and I’m too big for it. So, back on CL it goes. I sincerely appreciate everybody’s experienced feedback and look forward to improving our skills to where such a kayak becomes a benefit rather than a source of her anxiety.
In addition, since I had no idea what i was doing when I bought it, there is some wear in the keel that needs to be addressed. I’ll post the pictures here and probably start a new thread as well (?).
thanks again.
the marks on the side are an old sticker. The keel looks like it’s worn through a layer of fiberglass. This is what happens when you buy a kayak when you have no idea what you’re doing and your friend who kayaks and goes with you has ADHD.
started a new thread, but this video looks roughly correct:
You really need to start by getting your wife and you into a basic class led by a coach. That is, a neutral environment. Unclear exactly what her interest level is, but it sounds like you are trying to drag her into something on which you have more interest.
@Celia said:
You really need to start by getting your wife and you into a basic class led by a coach. That is, a neutral environment. Unclear exactly what her interest level is, but it sounds like you are trying to drag her into something on which you have more interest.
I think it’s fair to say I have more interest, but she would say she’d love to do it, but with twins and managing life, recreation time is hard to come by. We hope that as the kids get older and more independent in our recreation choices, the ability to make time for same will be easier. We shall see.
I am by far not an expert kayaker however I am out on the water with my wife and kids every chance I get (2-4 times a month in season and whenever it’s safe and warm enough out of season). I paddle rec boats and light touring boats on flat rivers and up to class 2 waters. It seems you’ve received lots of advice on your boats so I will give you some advice on getting the kids on the water.
I have 2 boys (6 & 11) who both enjoy being on the water but this was not always the case with the oldest boy. I taught both boys to paddle in a Perception Prodigy 13.5 (later renamed Cove but now I think it’s discontinued). The boat was great because it allowed me to share my love of kayaking with my kids, teach them to paddle, read a river, water safety and many other things all while being safely in my boat only a few feet away. My oldest started with me when he was 5. By the time he was 7 he was in his own boat, a cheap big box stores floating 8’ bath tub of a boat. That was my first mistake. He quickly tired so I would end up towing him in that horrible boat that felt more like an anchor. When my wife upgraded her boat we let him paddle her old Pelican. Mistake #2. Yes it paddled better for him but it still wasn’t made for someone his size. Both of the boys are very small because their mother is 4’ 9". He quickly lost interest and we didn’t go kayaking as much because it was such a chore to get him to go.
This year everything changed. We got him a new boat, one his size. It too was a Perception Prodigy but it’s the XS model made for kids up to 150#. That has made all the difference in the world. He now loves to paddle and we are enjoying the water as a family again.
What about the 6 yr old? Well, most of the time he’s still in the boat with me but he has taken a couple of trips in the XS. He paddles quite well for his size and age. He will be in his own boat by the end of next summer. Of course we won’t be making the mistake of putting him in the old Pelican. We’ll be buying another XS.
I did promise you advice on getting the kids on the water so here it is. Take them early, take them often. Short trips are best, building up to longer trips whether they are in your boat or in their own boat. When they do progress and earn their own boat, make sure it’s the right boat for them and the water you are paddling. Teach your kids water safety early. Teach them what to do when they fall out. Teach them what to do when someone else falls out. My wife hates me for it, but once or twice a summer I make everyone flip their kayak so we can practice recoveries. Soon I will be teaching the boys to roll their kayak once I perfect it myself.
Above all keep it fun and safe for your kids and you will all enjoy a lifetime on the water together. My 62 yr old parents still kayak with us when they get the chance.