I am developing an outfitter for kayak rental/retail and was looking for advice on what kinds of kayaks I buy to rent out. The experience of potential renters is going to be pretty diverse, so I guess I’m looking for a few different models of boats to be good for beginners and experts. Would be grateful for any kind of input.
Peace,
J
experience
Truthfully if you don’t have the experience to pick the boats you’ll rent, you also don’t have the experience to run an outfitter business.
Bill H.
I would go
with the most common brands that people of all skill levels will enjoy. Dagger, Perception, Old Town, Liquid Logic, Necky, and if there is a local mfg. close by include that. Combine user friendly rec boats with advanced touring boats. It’s always a good idea to do lots of reserch on the web, and personal experience always helps. If you’re just wanting to rent boats you shouldn’t have a problem, as long as you stick with a good quality line of boats.
ouch
But, I was thinking the same thing.
I considered trying to set up a rental. The biggest hurdles are securing a viable venue, and getting the business insured… much more daunting than selecting which boats to carry.
The outfitter at our local lake
uses Ocean Kayak sit on tops and Necky Manitou sit insides. The Manitou ix very user friendly and someone with skills won’t hate them.
Research time!
I think you should start by looking at what other outfitters are renting in your area of business. Suitable models and manufacturers will vary by your conditions as others have stated. Remember you want boats that are pretty popular as you’ll need to cycle your stock regularly and resale is an important revenue recovery stream.