Is this a good kayak for $250? For ocean kayaking. It’s a Gemini kayak, comes with paddles, seats, and anchor. Really want to use for ocean but can’t find any info on it.
http://imgur.com/l8z0w5n
It’s decent
It’s a basic, sit-on-top tandem kayak. Read the reviews on this website…
http://www.paddling.net/Reviews/showReviews.html?prod=1439
For warm water use (you’re probably going to get very wet paddling it) on not too choppy water it would be fine.
For $250 you could do a lot worse.
FeelFree?
It might be an older Feel Free Gemini. The forward hatch is throwing me as compared to the two hatch arrangement of the current production.
http://feelfreeus.com/kayaks/recreational-kayaks/gemini/
As to good, it’s a cheap price that it’s being offered for. Good? What do you expect it to do?
See you on the water,
Marshall
The River Connection, Inc.
Hyde Park, NY
www.the-river-connection.com
thanks for reply
I meant good as in is it good for the ocean? Or if it will flip me over in the ocean. But basically, I’m worried that I won’t be able to enjoy it for my intended use for it. That’s all
Thanks for reply.
Which ocean?
There are a few of them, and that doesn’t really tell us what your intended use is.
Sit On Tops like this are typically stable, slow and somewhat heavy. You may get pitched off in rough water, but getting back on these things is pretty easy - you’ll be wearing a PFD, right?
Again, I probably wouldn’t want to be out in much chop, but in a quiet bay to do some fishing or general paddling around I think you’d be fine.
Its a tandem…
Are you going solo with a dog or something that requires that much room?
Boats don’t flip. Unskilled people do. We all started out unskilled. We worked our way up to bigger waves and it took time.
Its between your ears what counts more than what is under your butt. Make sure you know how to get back in if it does flip you. Yes that is possible… again there is a learning curve. Plenty of people use SOTs for ocean surfing in warm water.
My other concern is that its cheap. Poly kayaks in the sun do not fare well. Check closely for leaks before you buy… make sure there is no water in the hull.
Intended use.
If you rent kayaks at a beach, that’s the type of kayak you usually find. The intended use is to use for an hour and paddle about just off the beach in a warm ocean. It’s really best for paddlers not looking to skill up - just looking to paddle about for an hour or two now and then. I’ve rented the like on vacations and enjoyed myself. It makes me really appreciate what I have at home, but if it gets me on the water…
I’m talking about what it’s good for given other options, not what is possible. For what is possible, refer to stories of refugees crossing the sea to Greece, and other such adventures. You don’t have to have the best to do the most.
Share what you’re figuring you might want to do on the water, and folks will give you suggestions. If it’s as above, or paddling about on a warm lake or something somewhere just to enjoy an hour or two every once in a while, it might be a good way to go.
I used something similar just floating down the Missouri River in SD this summer, casting a line here and there. You can bet I was a happy guy out there with my brothers.
It would be fun in warm water…but
if is your first and only kayak, and you want to do long off shore paddles in the ocean you would do better in a sit in kayak.
Jack L
thanks for reply
Thanks for reply.
Basically intercoastal and the beach out where I can still see land. Not farther than that.
two person
Me and another person would be going. Not my dog. Lol gf most likely.
would you trust
Would you trust taking this kayak out in the ocean? Far enough to see land, but not that close.
South Florida Beaches
Just some south florida beaches and intercoastals
Far enough to see land can be…
– Last Updated: Jan-14-16 5:59 PM EST –
five miles or more.
Also depends on the wind waves, weather and tides.
Every year there are many rescues up and down the coasts where kayakers (Sit ins and sit ons)venture where they shouldn't venture
Jack L
I’m thinking Chris
that you aren’t quite ready for the ocean and are for the presence unaware of the effects of tide, tidal current, tide wind interactions. and those rip currents that can prevent you from getting back.
That said you have to start somewhere and the Intracoastal just has big boats. Might is right so beware them. Kayakers are in no position to argue and there are some big motorized bullies out there. Sheltered waters make for good rescue practice. When you do work up to feeling prepared ( sort of ) for the ocean, lessons can help the pain of self learning. A couple of hours can get you going on the ocean quickly.
It’s fine for warm water Florida ocean
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Don't go out on days when the wind is predicted to be more that 10-15 kts and waves 2 to three feet.
Find a class on kayaking skills. Learn how to flip the boat over and climb back on in shallow water then practice in deep water. Look for "SOT self rescue" on youtube to learn how. Use paddle leashes; if you tip over hang onto the paddle no matter what. Wear a PFD at all times. If you go off shore take a whistle, mirror, and a cell phone in a dry bag. Keep plenty of water with you and some energy bars so if you got blown off shore you could survive a day or two. Not likely to happen.
If the water is colder than 65 or so look into wetsuits.
Learn where to find NWS surf reports and NOAA wave prediction reports for your areas. Find the buoy data reports for your area, so you have a good idea what conditions will be like.
A SOT kayak is basically a beach toy
– Last Updated: Jan-15-16 12:02 AM EST –
It will be fine in the ICW but I wouldn't take one out in the ocean much past the breakers. On a clear day you can still see land at 10 miles out. If you are even five or six miles out in the ocean in that thing and a stiff land breeze comes up you had better have a handheld VHF on board to call Sea Tow or the Coast Guard to come get you, and you better hope the hell they find you, because you are not going to be able to paddle that barge back to shore. If you get into the edge of the Gulfstream which is usually 7-15 miles off South Florida the next stop is Europe.
http://www.maineislandkayak.com/pdfs/Explorer%20crossing%20to%20France.pdf
the ocean is BIG
– Last Updated: Jan-15-16 2:55 AM EST –
I started in 08 paddling. Bought a SOT Hobie Quest 13' wife and Ocean Trident 15' for myself. Gee this is fun but like other things I usually get into everything in a bigger way. Paddled them few months we had a great time in bays and canals. Being a speed freak in boats and cars racing them I needed it in a kayak to. Granted running in 150 mph offshore race boat and road racing a 190 mph car from 4 mph to 7 mph doesn't seem like much correct?
I rented a Current Design Solstice touring kayak. Wow I loved it. Yes nearly doubling the top speed was great. So now from going for a 1.5 hour paddle to all day jaunts of 15-20 miles is great.
Now the important part after buying videos and many books I learned much more. I learned the dangers of the water of which I have great respect. I have learned to respect the water the last 50 years since my first boat at 13. After paddling the Solstice for months the first season and then jumping back into the SOT I was shocked. SOT kayaks are wide because they are not really that stable. I didn't feel good at all in the SOT unstable. It took so much more effort to paddle even in 10 -15 mph and small 18" waves I was shocked. I could see myself in short order getting in trouble in a SOT in the ocean fast. I would not take it further from the shore than I could easily swim to in short order. The power your body can transfer to the water to move a touring kayak vs a SOT is massive. I agree a SOT is a beach toy and that is where it should be used, near the beach. Yes a SOT is fun for bays channels and protected waters not the ocean. We all like the weather forecast but how often is it wrong? In the ocean you can get in trouble fast and direction of safety is only in one direction. Bays and channels and small bodies off water contain you. In the ocean you need communications and more than a cell phone for my idea of safety. Don't get scared of kayaking it's great just understand the limits of your skills and small craft.
Paddling a small SOT tandem can be a challenge in flat water with paddles hitting each other. Throw in some wind, waves, and panic and see how the ocean treats you. I have a Current Designs Libra XT which is 21'-4' tandem. I still would not be in the ocean off Long Island very far I need more training and experience and also another experienced strong paddler and all the safety gear which is a long list.
Again SOT are fun but are way more limited even in the hands of an experience strong paddler. Many have gotten in trouble this last year in the Long Island area and needing rescue because the over extended their proper safety linits.
Just keep an awareness.
The only way to know what you’re capable of is to experience it. You can figure your speed for extended periods on flatwater as well as in currents, wind speeds, and waves in areas where you can be beaten by the conditions, but still get to safety easily enough.
Always test yourself at paddling the most challenging directions and maneuvers within the worst potential conditions prior to putting distances of those conditions between you and shore.
Always be keenly aware of where conditions (wind and currents) are taking you.
Always be aware of changing currents, and how the same wind can turn flat water into conditions beyond your ability in a matter of a couple of hours.
Launching from beaches, always be aware of the changes in wind force as you drift from shore in an offshore wind, and that any increased fetch also equals bigger waves. Once you realize you’re in over your head, things rapidly become worse and even more out-of-control.
Already covered, but again, never let yourself drift without a very good awareness of what losing that ground means pertaining to conditions, and what regaining that ground will mean to you.
Just to add onto the below, if I’m a distance offshore, there is little comparison between something like a Solstice and this kayak in terms of my ability to travel. Same applies if I’m in the ICW in a current. I enjoy covering miles in the ocean, and on some of these days where I’ve rented a small sit-on-top from a vacation rental shop, I would have been jumping for joy if I could have used a Solstice instead. So he’s not kidding when he says it’s a big difference. There are sit-on-tops for every type of paddling as well. So you can get everything from racing, to surfing, to touring, to recreational in sit-on-tops as well.
Good luck, have fun, and keep yourself safely challenged.
I would trust it in the ocean
only if my paddling partner was Freya Hoffmeister.
It ain’t just the boat.