My daughter is 10…
…and as I noted above, is going to take a 3-day kayak camp. She is very excited! I don’t think my wife is as gung ho as me, but I’m more of an obsessive type personality than her. But she likes the idea of having a family activity that we can do together. And like I said, she enjoyed the time we were out.
I guess really what I was thinking when I started this thread was whether I should spend more money on high quality boats which will no doubt make the experience more enjoyable for beginners, but then also have something that has some decent performance too (and that I can use in my adventure racing pursuits). I know that having raced mountain bikes for years that nice equipment makes a big difference.
Or do I go cheaper which would mean less risk involved financially but then also likely less performance and potentially tougher for beginners. It’s the egg vs. chicken argument really. Opinions seem split on what to do. I do value everyone’s feedback here, because no doubt y’all have more experience than me. Fortunately we can afford the boats we’re looking at. And I know the botas would for sure get use for my adventure races. So we’ll see. I could be totally wrong and will look back and say, guess I shoulda gone cheaper. Or maybe I’ll be right and this will be a great thing. Or somewhere in between (probably the most likely).
Cheaper first
Since you’re a cyclist, you probably already know that your first one is never really right. At that point you haven’t done it enough to know. You can rule out the obvious gross misfits, though.
Upgrading may be more expensive, so the question is really, “Ultimately, is getting something that really fits well more important than cost differences?” Also, how difficult is it to sell boats where you live? In my neck of the woods, cheaper boats are definitely easier to sell than expensive ones.
That’s a different question
You’re talking about style of boat vs. its cost.
Canoe
What about starting out with a nice used canoe? You should be able to find a relatively light composite used for under $1500. It would carry all 3 of you and all the gear you wanted, plus give everyone a bit more room to move around. Would be much easier to find than a used tandem kayak too.
Alan