Hello, I am looking to start a kayaking tour business and am interested in the clear kayaks. I’m sure they are kind of cheesy to you hard-core kayakers or professionals out there, but they look kind of cool for the average person and I like the fact they are a little wider than a standard kayak. Any comments are greatly appreciated
My understanding is that the material they use scratches easily. So if you are in an area with barnacles, mussels, sharp rocks, the part of he kayak that hits those will get scratched.
Th ones I have seen are big open cockpit kayaks with no flotation - hard to flip, but if flipped, be very difficult to get someone back in. Be good to train any guides well on how to rescue these boats. A float bag front and stern likely would help.
2 Likes
A transparent kayak would be great in clear water, but offers little advamtage in turbid bodies of water. There are plenty of rec boats that Most recreation boats are wide enough, so wider really offers no advantage. Wide make the boat slower and harder ti paddle. It isnt about hard core paddling. It’s typically just not necessary.
If the clear hull offers an advantage, go for it.
1 Like
They do scratch easily inside and out. Any rough surface or sand will cause the crystal-clear plastic to become cloudy with scratches if it is the same ones I have seen. In fact, you can see that in the photo Peter-CA posted. I agree on clear water they can be amazing for places like Silver Springs. That is where I have seen them but was told by some of the renters, that they were disappointing, and they wished they had rented a canoe or regular kayak.
My father used a glass bottom bucket when fishing in the FL Keys. He could locate fish he wanted and try to keep small fish from stealing the bait. That might be an option.
3 Likes
There’s a marketplace listing for a bunch of them in Kentucky near red river gorge right now
Most of the underground fleet at the flooded limestone mine in ky are not acrylic. While they appear in photos I didn’t see them actually using them when I visited.
Don’t worry about what the hardcore kayakers think. If the clear kayaks appeal to the average person and they’re stable, that’s what matters for your tour business.
1 Like
Most people aren’t hard core kayakers, and they already own hard core kayaks.
1 Like
Have you any experience with these kayaks? I don’t. I have seen them used at a rental in FL and talked to a couple different folks about renting one. Both were unimpressed and regretted the extra cost and would have preferred just getting a kayak or canoe. I don’t know why the rental was more for them, but it may be because they have to be replaced more often than their other rentals when they are no longer clear enough.
It’s not my money being invested and I don’t care what the OP ends up deciding. I’m just passing on what I have been told by people who actually rented them. They might have felt differently if the bottoms weren’t all scratched up.
I do like the concept. The “glass” bottom boats at Silver Springs are popular. The downside to the plastic is it easily scratches, and sand is the big culprit both inside and out. If you look at the photo you can see this on the bottom of the clear boat. This makes it harder to see than just looking over the side through the clear water. Also, reflection and glare can be a problem. On the glass bottom boats there is a roof on the boat and no glare on the glass.
3 Likes
I paddled a cave in one of these, clear boats.
They were kind of neat and you can easily add flotation bags to them (White Water Canoe flotation bags work well. )
However as for tracking they don’t unless you have mad skills from doing whitewater in 3m or squirt boats and getting them to go straight you’re going to have some issues.
the group I was with had quite a few touring boat kayakers and they had the most trouble. mostly because they were used to the long lines helping them to go straight so their technique kind of to be blunt here sucked.
The guys who paddled canoes, paddled them like a canoe making all their strokes on one side and had no issues
I used the same corrective strokes you use in whitewater with a feathered paddle and had no issues.
but the long and short is if you have any issues making a touring boat go straight without skeg or rudder you’re going to have a bad day in one of these as they are about 9ft long and have no keel so they really want to pivot. Also be aware they are not a speed demon by any stretch of the imagination maybe 3 mph tops.
1 Like