Recently, my partner and I had the incredible opportunity to kayak for the very first time! We were placed in single sit-ins, Old Town Loon 126. We paddled the Rainbow River and spent 7 hours in the water and fell in love!!
We’ve since kayaked a couple more times (using sit-on-tops, which didn’t feel as comfortable).
I have since become fairly obsessed and I’ve already booked 2 more excursions to visit Florida’s rivers and springs. At the rate we are renting kayaks, it has occurred to me that maybe we should just buy a couple of used ones instead and see just how into this new hobby/sport we get!
We are looking for stable, easy to paddle, comfortable boats to use primarily in calm river, bay and springs.
I’m 5’3" and 150 lbs. My partner is 5’4" and 205 lbs.
I have found ads for an Old Town Cayuga 110 at $300 and an Old Town Voyager for $250.
Do you think these boats will fit the bill and are priced fairly or should I be looking for something entirely different!
Those are both good beginner , and beyond, flat water kayaks. Can you sit in them? At your heights, I’d be concerned about being swallowed.
Paddling ,to me, is about being able to relax and be comfortable.
Thank you for your response. I’m not sure what you mean about being swallowed, though? The Loon 126 was a 12-foot boat and these are both 11, I think. They have adjustable seats and foot braces as well. There’s also a pair of otters for $550, but they seem lacking in some of the “comforts” and I’ve read they don’t necessarily track as well. There’s also a Vapor 10 angler for $350, but that particular boat is about an hour from me to even go see it.
To clarify, can you reach over the sides enough to paddle comfortably? Probably a silly question because I can’t relate to being 5’4". I’m over a foot taller.
Personally, 10’ is too short for anything but a whitewater boat. 12’ ish should be fine.
I think that both the Catuga and Voyager are 11-feet. This is how I looked in a 12-foot Loon. I did get a lot of water on myself while paddling, but I felt pretty comfortable.
Here is the Catuga I’m considering… The owner writes in the listing that is 10.5,’ but on Old Town’s website it says, 11.’ It’s an older boat, from about 2008, but looks really well-kept.
