I am trying to find the best kayak for my husband who is quite overweight and who feels unsteady in a typical kayak.
I don’t mind going out on my own but would enjoy his company now and then.
Well, once he gets that kayak, he is going to be a lean, mean paddlin machine in no time. Will you be able to handle it?
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I suggest a Sit on Top kayak. They are easy to get in and out of. They are heavy so a bit difficult to move out of the water. Something like a Wilderness Systems Tarpon is a good place to start looking.
A boat with a large cockpit might also work and there are several .
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I have no experience with the Feelfree brand but have been hearing good things about the quality and design of their new models. Their Juntos model sit on top has a 397 pound capacity and at 30" wide should be very stable and comfortable for him, as well as easy to get onto. Great price point and they apparently ship them (from North Carolina) if you live east of the Mississippi – they do apparently have a few western dealers. Several reviews posted by buyers say they had good experiences having them shipped without damage.
At 60 pounds it is not too bad for a sit on top – I notice they have a “wheel in the keel” recessed roller in the stern so you can lift it by the front grab handle and tow it to and from the water.
On the capacity, if he is closer to 300 pounds than 250, he might need a higher capacity than 397. If the paddler is more than 60% of the weight capacity it can lead to instability.
For very heavy people, a canoe can be a better option. The Mad River Adventure 14 is sort of a sit-on-top like molded plastic canoe that has molded seats and a 600 pound + capacity. It can be solo paddled from the stern seat by putting some weight in the bow to correct the tracking (a heavy duty trash bag with 4 or 5 gallon jugs of water is an easy ballast set up). The company stopped producing them 3 years ago but they come up for sale used all the time.
I got a slightly larger used Adventure 16 on Craigslist for $400 ten years ago and had some great outings in it. You can even add a small electric trolling motor to the stern on these. Kind of heavy (75 pounds), but with two people it is not hard to load on a roof rack. Don’t know where you are located but I see that West Marine in Cleveland, Ohio has a new one on clearance sale for $300 and there is a used one for $250 near me in Pittsburgh (photo of the tan boat below). If you go to Facebook Marketplace you can do a search for the model. I expanded my search field on there to 500 miles and found over a dozen for sale from Maine to North Carolina, all under $500.
And advantage of one of the canoes would be that both of you might be able to paddle it together. if you think you might do that, the Adventure 16 would be better - I think the capacity is over 800 pounds in that one.
@LittleSureShot , we could sit here and prognosticate and analyze until the cows come home, but your husband sitting in a kayak and paddling it a little bit will provide 10X the information and feeling for a Kayak. Try and see and demo as many different kayaks as you can through friends, demos, clubs, symposiums, outings whatever. His instincts will tell him what he likes. If it is a sit inside, it must have Bulkheads and/or Flotation.
Look at the Pungo 125.
425 lbs means around 297 lb safe capacity. The Pungo is a thoroughly tested product. There are others out there, but the Pungo should satisfy your needs without sacrificing comfort and reasonable performance.
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2nd The Pungo. I’ve owned a couple and my 140 is my go to boat. It is no longer made but the 125 should meet the need.
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Without knowing the specifics (are we talking 220 pounds here or 340 pounds?), a well designed SOT offers some advantages that make them more appealing to people who have not only weight but mobility issues (the two often go hand in hand). If he isn’t comfortable or able to do squat thrusts, then the ease of mounting and getting out of a sit on top will be an advantage. If he’s larger, but still has average to good core strength and flexibilty, then by all means, a Pungo 125 or Loon 126 might be good ways to go.
Get him in to a kayak shop (not a big box) and have him try on some boats for size, since it’s the only way to find out.
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Sit in some boats.
He is 250 lbs and about 5’ 10’. Bad knees and hips and not very flexible. Little core strength. One of his issues is a large midsection that makes him want to lean back .
Definitely not a big box purchase. We live in Key West and have limited options. May have to drive up the Keys.
Sit on Tops will be very popular there.
Soon he will be built like a Greek God.
Sit on top might be a good start.
Warning
Make sure he can easily exit the boat in case of a capsize. Sometimes people wedge themselves in small kayaks. If they go over, they may not be able to wet exit. Without a roll that is a dangerous position to be in. Upside down in a kayak you cannot exit and get you dead.
Big mistake dropping that 140, but I guess they didnt sell enough. I found the 145 Tsunami (and the 175 as well at 24 inches wide) is just as stable, despite being 4 inches narrower, but just a bit faster and much more seaworthy. The main drawback is the weight (that was the benefit of the lighter Duralite model).
The 125 is 6" longer, a few inches wider, but it has a big jump in maximum weiggt capacity. A great option is to buy a 140 Pungo used.
The Pungo 140 was popular with a couple shops here in the midwest, but was a non-starter in most other markets. Still wish they had it, but that was a decision two Confluence regimes ago.
A hard question for most folks to answer is whether the addition of a new form of exercise is going to really change the largest physical challenges the paddler has. If he’s not going to focus on dropping the 60 or so pounds that would get him into a more modest BMI, then go with a wide, stable kayak that tracks decently well, and call it a day. Invest in a better boat like a Tarpon 120 and that will be that. If the paddling would be the off-day exercise, with higher burn cardio and weight work on the other days, and he’s committed to getting the body reconditioned, than looking for a decent quality SOT now, with the goal of getting him into a higher quality sit in boat in the 14 or 16 foot range once he’s achieved weight goals would make sense.
For anyone thinking of paddling as a way to lose weight, the truth is that paddling only burns up 400-500 calories per hour at a moderate to brisk stroke rate, so it won’t have much effect on weight loss, though it is excellent for brain cleaning.
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120 or 125 Pungo would suit for 240 lbs as the open cockpit design facilitates getting into and out of the boat. While I wouldn’t rule it out, I do find it hard to imagine overtutning a Pungo. Harder still is the thought that a person woukd remain inside if the boat did overturn. Even with the tighter cockpit of the Tsunami, it’s hard to imagine not being able to slide out, unless they’re wearing a spray skirt. Being trapped in a typical kayak is a psychological issue more than reality (unless the spray skirt creates an issue). If a person has such limited dexterity that they cannot retain the composure to exit the typical sea kayak (not the super tight speciakty version of an ocean style kayak or a tight fitting whitecwater kayak) they should stick to canoes. Perhaps there are boats or human form combinationscwhere that coukd be an issue, I’ve been upside down in a tight kayak. I couldn’t bend my legs to slide out, but I had no problem getting the boat on the side with my head out of the water. @szihn explained to me that it’s unnatural for a kayak to remain upside down with a person wearing a PFD, because the tendency is for the boat to buoy on its side.
I’m not sure why kayakers suggest that a novice buy tippy kayaks, then tell them they might get trapped upside down. Reading between the lines of people insisting that I use a spray skirt, several threads later, I read about the pit falls of forgetting to keep the tab out, or water pressure keeping the skirt locked in place. Seems to me, a person should NEVER be told to wear a spray skirt unless they are properly trained to use it, or figure out how to use it under controlled conditions.
If being underwater is an overwhelming fear, or you’re probe to panic, maybe bicycling would be a better outdoor activity. You may disagree, but that’s what I think. Sorry if it offends anyone, but sometimes advice from the same individusls tend to sound conflicting or contradictory from post to post.
Brain Cleaning leads to Physical Cleaning, happens every time.
I agree with a sit on top as being kayak of choice.
250 and 5’10 shouldn’t be hard to work for. To make it feel more stable, I’d look for a kayak that says it has a capacity of around 400 lbs or greater. We use Trident 13s where I work as singles, which say a max load of 355. But if someone is 250 or above and less flexible/has less stability, they could find them to be a bit wobbly and maybe capsize. So in those cases, we move them to a Malibu 2XL set up as a single (490lb capacity, paddler sits in middle). I don’t think either of these are available, but gives you an idea of capacities to look for.
There are plenty of kayak rental/tour places in the Keys that should give him opportunities to paddle some kayaks and get a feel for whether he likes it or not, and some feel for what boats work.
The leaning back will be a issue to overcome. Getting one with a good seat could be helpful. Many are sold with stadium seats" which Likely would be better than the tall soft bands on less expensive kayaks. In long run, if he builds the muscles so he sits upright more, that would be useful.
Come June there will be a 39lb option from Stellar Kayaks called the Eider. That should be a shoo-in and light enough to pick up one handed by the cockpit handle.
See you on the water,
Marshall Seddon
The River Connection, Inc.
9 W. Market St.
Hyde Park, NY. 12538
845-229-0595 main
845-242-4731 mobile
Main: [www.the-river-connection.com]
Store: [www.the-river-connection.us]
Email: marshall@the-river-connection.com
Socials: linktr.ee/rivercxn
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Price…
Wait, let me sit down.