Tandem WS Pamlico T135
I have 5 brothers and sisters. We have around 17 kayaks total with one Wilderness Systems Pamlico T135 which would be a recreational tandem. It was bought to take young children out on the water. To get those without the confidence to try it themselves, out paddling. To get those no longer physically able out and about for long periods of time. It is an absolute bear to paddle by yourself with an adult not paddling wtih you, but doable, just very low on the fun factor for the paddler. Very seldom do I ever see any two accomplished paddlers grab this one instead of a single. There is a reason for that.
http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/2660173090044524327FcUZLJ?vhost=outdoors
Big difference in that tandem vs…
…the tandem I’m looking at.
Whisper CL - 18’6", 28" beam, 73 lbs.
Pamlico 135T - 13’6", 31" beam, 74 lbs.
Of course, compared to the kayak we used for the adventure race, the Pamlico is a race machine:
Malibu 2 XL - 13’4", 34" beam, 61 lbs.
used
Buying used, IMO, is the best way to go for most people. You get it relatively cheap and if you decide later on you don’t want it anymore you can usually get your money back out of it.
Alan
bought used and upgraded
…with a better used boat.
It gave me a chance to decide what type of kayaking I wanted to do most. Then to develop my skills a bit.
Quick plug for used boats: they don’t apply to every situation. If you want a specific make, live in a rural or extremely landbound area, for example. But if you can, it makes too much sense not to buy used kayaks.
Good used tandems…
… are hard to find. Otherwise I would go that route. I figured the Whisper CL for $2K (retail $3K) and the Merlin LT for $1K (retail $2.1K) seemed like a pretty good deal. The Whisper is still under warranty too. Then all the rest of the gear (2 racks, 3 PFD’s, 3 paddles) and tax for $700ish was pretty good too.
its a moot point
just as in cycling you will continue to upgrade no matter where you start… currently saving up to “UPGRADE” my old Bianchi with new Sram stuff…
Hey I’ve got a Moots… 
Agreed - knowing my personality style I will end up wanting more/better. However, in looking at my needs currently and for the foreseeable future, I think these two boats would be all I will need. It is still up in the air that this will be the family activity that I hope it will be…
Yes, that is what we all thought;)
It Depends
When you say upgrade, it seems you already want something different than you are prepared to buy. That’s okay if you want to get on the water quickly for less money than it would take to buy what you really want if you can’t afford it right now.
If you know what you want and can afford it now, why not get it? Off hand, I’d question if whoever is in the tandem will enjoy that kind of kayak, and will the single person kayak & tandem be equally as fast or will one person have to always go slower to compensate for the other kayak?
If you’re getting a really good deal, you could buy the used ones now and wait for a sale on what you may really want if you can sell the used ones for what you paid for them. Maybe you could attend a kayak symposium during that time where they let you demo kayaks.
I knew what I wanted, so I bought mine new and on sale. That was over 2 years ago. I’m happy w/what I bought. My husband bought his years earlier to use to drop crab traps so his is slower, which is a reason for him to want a different one. Sometimes it isn’t a case of buying the wrong kayak, you buy what serves your purpose at that time.
-Capri
Well, if money were no object…
…I would get the Seaward Passat G3 tandem. But since that is $5K alone, it won’t be happening (not to mention where on earth do you store a 22’ kayak?).
It is really tough to try to figure out how best to accomodate the entire family with differing skill and fitness levels. On longer trips, I see tethering the two together with me paddling us when my wife and daughter get tired. Or maybe as my daughter is learning, we pull her while my wife and I are in the tandem.
But I think those Eddylines are good quality kayaks and would suit my needs for quite awhile. If we get really involved in this maybe we do all get single kayaks. But the tandem fills a couple of needs currently and should for awhile. I doubt I would ever upgrade the tandem but getting additional singles would be more likely. Since we’d have one single if I want to go out alone or with friends that’ll be covered.
Eddylines are sweet.
Top grade stuff. You seem like you really want a tandem. I often just run a tow line back to the wife’s kayak. That solves the fitness problem and the noise problem too. It works for me.
If you are racing the tandem, then I guess that would certainly justify owning a boat which has to race in a tandem class. I base my nose wrinkle at tandems based solely on my own experience of being able to communicate effectively and encourage cooperation from my wife when it often may be critical to our very survival that she respond appropriately, immediately and without question to my request. But she has control issues. She cannot simply do something without a justification, explanation, motivation and feel she made that choice on her own rather than have someone suggest, or God forbid, order that a brace or pry or power must be administered NOW in order to ensure we both live. So, I am biased. I would get in a tandem with you. But with her… brrrrrrr… makes me shiver to think of it.
It sounds like the
Whisper CL at 18 1/2 ft is probably long enough that the two paddlers do not have to paddle in synch to avoid “sword fighting” with the paddles. I assume it is rudder equipt. If so, in the conditions in which it sounds you will be using it, the bow paddler need not be that highly skilled.
They say some coordination…
…is needed. But my wife and I didn’t bang paddles at all (granted I paddled most of the time by myself). But knowing that the rear person is supposed to mimic the front person, I’ll nearly always be in the back. And yes, there is a rudder, and it works really well. I had no problem steering us.
Now, out in the ocean near rocks and all that other crazy stuff may be a different story. But that won’t be for a LONG time…
Nice to hear…
…the Eddylines are good stuff. I don’t know if in the long run the tandem is the way to go, but for the foreseeable future, I think it is. I didn’t think about tethering singles together, but that might be pretty crazy tethering three together. Of course, my daughter will probably end up being the best paddler, not much weight to move…
or…
get a canoe!!
Slower Kayak
I remember when I vacationed in CA and my husband thought bringing a rented inflatable kayak would cost less than renting for days. It was a tandem.
I’m kayaking and thinking an inflatable is slow. THEN, I look behind me as I was in front, and see hubby is not kayaking in sync with me and I’m pulling his 215 pound body:)
At home, my husband’s kayak is slower since he bought his to drop crap traps and is wider and shorter, so I don’t go full steam or he would be left behind and we do try to stay within view of each other. When on the Puget Sound, there are many coves that you can paddle thru and not be seen if you get too far ahead. So that’s how I solve the issue with my husband’s kayak being slower.
-Capri
Seems like you’re looking to
validate your decision rather than taking advice. I’ll be really surprised if you use this setup more than a half dozen times. It would be great to hear back from you in two years saying how much you use your boats and what great times you’ve had.
Wilh your chatter about all the chauffering you’ll be doing rather than your wife’s and daughter’s enthusiasm, I suggest you look into buying a 16 to 19 foot boat either outboard or I/O equipped.
Agreed
From your posts, it sounds like a) you really enjoying kayaking and b) your family hasn’t done much, if any, but you’d like them to
If that is indeed the case, why not get a kayak for yourself and do some rentals with your family until you’re sure that they’re actually into it?
Who Is On Board With Kayaking?
How old is your daughter, and what kind of feedback has she given you about kayaking? Does your wife share your enthusiasm?
Sometimes it’s tough to get everyone on board for any kind of outdoor fun. It’s not to say if one person did not LOVE kayaking that they couldn’t learn to like it. If a person feels they can master something, they tend to like it more and want to do it.
-Capri
Yes, taking a chance…
…that we’ll like this activity. I actually haven’t really kayaked much myself. But am looking at things we can do as a family, since we don’t have a lot of outdoor activities we can share. The nice thing about kayaks and this setup is that if they get tired, like I’ve said I can paddle them home. We were on a bike ride the other day and my daughter was fading hard but unfortunately we were a long ways away from the car. She had to suck it up and finished, but it was a bit painful with the whining.
So yeah, I’m trying to figure out if I should dump this kind of money into something that I’m not 100% sure we’ll like. But we did enjoy the last time we were out and there definitely seems to be some interest. My daughter is going to attend a 3-day kayak camp in July. The tandem will allow my wife to enjoy this too while she gets into better shape. Figure my daughter will be paddling the single sooner rather than later (she can still fit in the rear hatch if we just want to take one boat out).
Don’t plan on getting any type of powered boat. I think that the advice on here has been split, and as many have said, there is no right answer. My mind is fairly set but if there is some compelling reason why I should change it I’m all ears.