Big Guy First SOT Kayak??

Hi all,



I am a big guy looking to get my first kayak.

I went kayaking a few times as a kid, but now im in my 30’s and weigh about 330# / 150kg.



I want to try and get into kayaking as a way to change my low activity life style by doing something I think I will enjoy.



I brought a kayak off of ebay without knowing anything at all about weight capacities, took the thing down the river and it just rolled over and dunked me in the drink lol. So I sold that and forgot about it.

But I still have the bug to get out on the water if possible.



I have a friend who goes sea fishing in his kayak around the coastal waters here in the UK, no more than a mile or 2 from shore I dont think, so I have been looking at fishing kayaks to join in with him.

Also I notice the fishing kayaks have a larger weight capacity (obviously in order to carry your gear).



About a week ago I was absolutely convinced I wanted to buy a malibukayaks xfactor after reading so many good reviews and recommendations, but then I spent all last week trying to find one for sale in the UK without success. I understand they no longer ship them to the UK after they had a few issues with them.



So now I started looking at other models and have looked at so many I am now confusing myself. I am not totally convinced I want a fishing barge as I want to go off and explore the coastline a little bit as well, because I know I will get bored with fishing. It would also be nice to be able to use it on lakes and rivers as well seeing as im about 100 miles from the coast.



So with that in mind I started also looking at the speed of fishing kayaks, but I noticed that you trade off speed for stability and stability for speed.



I mentioned earlier that I took a dunk in my first attempt to buy a kayak as an adult, and to be honest it kinda scared me a little tiny bit. I am not scared of being in the water, but as a big guy, I am going to struggle to haul myself back up onto a kayak if im out on the sea and can’t easily get back to somewhere I can put my feet down and relaunch.

Obviously that is no good and sounds dangerous, but I can get back on if I have to with some considerable effort, I just mean I would like a kayak that won’t roll over under my weight all the time.



I have come across a fishing kayak while browsing that a lot of people seem to rate as a fast kayak but also seems to be within my weight range. The Kaskazi Dorado II http://kayak.co.za/the-kayak-shop/kaskazi-kayaks/kaskazi-dorado-ii/. I have read people think it feels a little tippy compared to other fishing kayaks at first, but when they get used to it and realise it has great 2nd stage stability (or whatever the terminology is) they find it is actually very stable.

Kaskazi list it as having a capacity of 190kg(418#) I weigh 145-150kg(319-330#).

Is this ok for me? or am I too close to the weight limit and it will be unstable?? I don’t know.



any advice and experiences that people can share is greatfully received.

Thanks everyone for takign the time to read and help me out.

I’d get that barge as soon as you can
Forget about speed. Forget about whether or not you’ll get bored with fishing. Try local boats and buy whatever you can that is stable for your weight, then buy a cart/trolley that fits your boat and start getting out there!

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Thanks



my m8 has an OK prowler 13 and an OK malibu 2 XL.

He is going to let me have a go on both and sell me one if any are suitable.


XL 2 is a tandem
You probably don’t want a tandem because your weight will be off center and make the boat hard to handle. The Prowler is a solo and a better choice. Of course once you’ve tried both out you’ll get the feel for that.

Try a Tarpon 160. It is a lot of boat.

– Last Updated: Aug-04-14 11:21 PM EST –

Also , Native makes a good SOT that rides high with my 240 lbs. Both of these are not barges.
http://www.wildernesssystems.com/kayaks/tarpon/tarpon-160
http://www.nativewatercraft.com/boat.cfm?id=27

Kaskazi

– Last Updated: Aug-05-14 9:21 AM EST –

The Kaskazi Dorado II you mentioned is a great kayak that is both fast and stable but I'm not sure would be a good fit for you. Over time I have cut back on what I carry on the water and probably have an additional 50\60 lbs of gear including a sonar battery and 2 bottles of water. I'm 205 lbs and will have about a half inch of water coming through the scupper holes in my Dorrado II if at a standstill. One of the things that gives the boat such great secondary stability is that you are sitting very low compared to other SOTs.and in fact are about the same distance off the bottom of the hull as a SINK with a internal seat pad..This means the scupper holes are also closer to the water in the foot wells. With the stability gained from the low seat the hull can be more slender and sleek to glide through the water. It's a fabulous fishing or day touring kayak but I think it will sit too low in the water at your weight. You would end up with a pretty wet ride and loose most of the performance. The longer Wilderness Ride, Tarpons or one of the older long Prowler Tridents might be a better match for you. It's easy to say try before you buy but the Kaskazi's are so rare it's hard to do. It really is important to get a boat that will handle your weight gracefully. If you end up with a boat that is too small you will be less stable than every one else and have to work much harder to cover the same distance. Hope this helps.

longer is better
I’m always puzzled why so many fishing kayaks are so short (12’ to 13’) That’s awfully short for any style boat for even an average sized person hauling a substantial load of gear like tackle and bait. You just can’t get all that much displacement at those lengths without making up for it in extra width that makes them bargelike and a pain to paddle (unless you’ve got really long arms). I hope you get a chance to try one of the 16’ SOT’s so you can see what I mean.