Hey everyone im looking for some advice on my first kayak. I have been looking at prijon alot and found some used touryak and kodiak kayaks online. Does anyone have any experience with either of these? I am 5’9" 200lbs looking for mostly recreational kayaking in lake michigan, but I would like something that gives me the option for touring.
"Recreational kayaking in Lake Michigan"
Lake Michigan is big water kayaking (like sea kayaks) and big water skill sets for the paddler. What do you mean by “recreational paddling”? That term could mean not racing, but it also could indicate the category of boat you are looking at.
I have a kodiak
Just got it and learning how to use it. It has quite a bit of storage space for camping gear, food and water. It moves quickly through the water with little effort and will glide quite a ways if you stop paddling. I think it will work well for my plans to make multi day trips in the Ohio river and Kentucky Lake.
need advice as well
wanting to buy a kayak for my daughter, its her first one, she’s 16 and has some experience from camp
no idea and I don’t want to be pushed into buying something from a sports shop if I’m clueless and the sales person is as well
binabug
You’ll get some good advice here if you add a little more detail. What sorts of waters will your daughter be paddling in? What is her height and weight? What is your reasonable budget? Geographic location helps too as we can recommend good dealerships and also get a better idea of what sort of conditions she is likely to encounter on local waters.
Old Town Loon
You should look into Old Town Loons. Their a relatively cheap kayak but track very well and have plenty of storage. They even come in models up to 14ft.
not the Loon
I beg to differ with you on the Loon 138. It is classified (correctly) as a “recreational day tourer.” At nearly 30" wide, a gaping 43" cockpit, no bulkheads (I think some years may have had a small stern one), no skeg or rudder and no perimeter deck lines, it would really not be that good of a choice for kayaking on Lake Michigan, except perhaps in very sheltered bays close to shore.
The great lakes are seas, with the same dangers of waves, wind, clapotis, currents and rapidly changing conditions that characterize the ocean. All that is lacking are tides. I used to live on the eastern shore of LM, paddled there often and quickly recognized the limitations of my first kayak, which was 14’9", 25" wide and actually equipped for open water. Having something wide and flat bottomed can be a real struggle trying to get back to shore against wind and rip currents.
There are better craft for the OP purposes.
probably
Want to hit some smaller lakes first.
Ryan L.
Two different things
I agree the Great Lakes would be better with Sea Kayaks. Paddle your rec boats with the knowledge that you will be in sea conditions if that is all you have.
The water is always very cold by my standards so I would only go places I could shore-sneak unless I had a dry suit or other appropriate submersion clothing.
That said I have done an awful lot of in appropriate surfing in boats that can only be classified as Rec boats and had a lot of fun. Plan to swim, dress for swimming, join a club and have fun. It is not all about the boat. But it is definitely a lot about the clothing.
You should not go farther than you can easily swim from shore until your skill develop. Once your are skilled up with solid self rescues you’ll be able to do more.