I was just being cute about the act of bringing a giant boat into a swimming pool, but all of that makes plenty of sense.
For the first point, I have an urge to get on the water but no immersion gear and few skills yet. Oh and no boat to bring to a pool session 
Second point, I’m going to Oahu next month to visit people and have a vacation. No doubt looking forward to that!
Some (not all) clubs have boats for loan (great perk) at pool practices. Some club members will be bring an extra boat to loan; some members take practice as way to check out somebody’s else boat and/or paddle that they have an interest in (for possible future upgrade/addition). Some folks have both white water and seakayaks, with the former being easier to bring to a pool practice.
Some commercial outfitters offer pool lessons and include use of boat and paddle in the pool practice fee. Immersion gear is not essential in the 70 degree pool, but if one stays in the water continuously for a whole hour, one will have experienced firsthand the on-set of hypothermia and what it does to the body.
When I was getting my handroll, I used an old style ww boat (won’t discuss the merits) but its easier. I developed a handroll but let it go (not sure if I can do it anymore) because I found it has minimal utility in real world solo conditions. I flipped in surf and lost my paddle. I hand rolled up and promptly got capsized back over. I no longer had a paddle to brace and keep upright in the surf break zone. I “traded” my hand roll for a paddle leash instead (which is also a hotly debated topic in these forums). At 5:38 point of this video, you’ll see why a “leashed” paddle in hand is more important to me than a handroll.
With Oahu, I would be really good just to sit on the beach, soak in the sunshine, watch the scene and relax. (Of course, some surfing would be in there at some point.) If COVID eases at some point this year, I will likely head to San Diego in the spring for a vacation. And, like last time I went down to SD a number of years back, I’ll try to hook up with SeaDart to do some surfing with my new inflatable waveski (yet to try it) where the “stoke” is from doing rather than watching videos or talking.
sing
Yeah, it probably won’t be a paddling focused trip, but I’m sure we’ll rent SUP and/or kayaks. When I was living there I liked going to Hawaii Kai area or Kailua. Or even down by the Natatorium is a pretty nice spot, near Kapiolani Park. This trip will feature a lot of Waikiki and walking around with the baby 
San Diego would get the job done too. I’ll check out pool sessions at local clubs here and see what they say in the description.
Jim and l, and l now, would happily bring a roll friendly boat to a pool session for someone to use if the roof rack space was there. With being a single these days l have the second space. Pool sessions are another matter at the moment. Between the stoppages of CoVid and the relocation of someone who was crucial in setting up the sessions not sure they are happening.
Also, in a solid roll moment l would happily hop out of my boat for someone else to try. I should mention that l have no use for a boat that makes a roll overly difficult. If you need the thing to start with, you will need it when you are tired.
A lot of old school whitewater boats fit more easily if it is not a big pool, and make it much easier. I finally gave my old Piedra to a guy with a young kid and a house on a pond. But it was scandalously easy to roll. Lots of paddlers have one of these around.
In sum, once you hook up with the right bunch of sea kayakers a lot of these initial issues can be gotten around.
In San Diego there used to be an informal club of paddlers who played kayak water polo, and the club rented out a large pool one night per month. They used half of the pool for those who wanted to work on rolling wet exits, playboat moves like bow stalls, tail stalls piroettes etc. If I remember correctly for quite a while it was an outdoor pool, and although it does not get below 40 F in San Diego very often I remember some chilly nights. At other times the pool practice was at an indoor pool, all large indoor pools usually have several exits to the outside directly from the pool area for safety evacuation, chlorine spills etc. So you just lined up and carried your boat inside. Pool sessions tended to be in the winter months and I often got to see paddlers who were warm weather creatures, sometimes we would meet before the practice for dinner or afterward for Coffee, didn’t seem like a big deal at the time, but I do miss seeing other paddlers.
I have been reported to the lifeguards about three times for being in distress while practicing. They usually drive up and say “oh it’s you.” and then wave and drive off. Lately my physical therapist has urged me to just pull the rip cord and climb back on. It seems my faucet joints aren’t going to last forever.
RE: Bringing a long kayak to pools.
It depends on the size of the pool and how many paddlers attend.
When I lived in metro Denver, I went to a huge pool that designated Sundays 10 am to 1 pm for sea kayaks and canoes, and 1 to 5 pm for ww kayaks. There were only a few longboaters but many, many WW kayakers.
That pool was big enough for even long boats to paddle short laps around. But I always took my 6’7” long WWK there for roll practice because I could do ALL the rolling and related practices in both boats, and with Euro paddles. It just.did.not.matter which kind of kayak I used.
It was also nice knowing that the tough little plastic WWK would never be damaged if it got bumped into the pool wall. Plus it was so easy to transport by just sliding it inside my truck bed—no racks or hardware needed.
I also practiced rolling etc using both boats when I paddled them outdoors. It should not matter as long as they fit properly and you use good technique.
And, of course, it’s irrelevant when you are cruisin’ along on your surfski. But, do you believe in leashing? 
sing
@Sing and @Seadart, what I’m wondering is, do people often come up to you and ask you what you’re doing?
Regarding members being ridiculed for not wanting to roll, I’ve never seen that. I’ve seen people get snarky over accidents and argue about what safety skills and equipment are needed in various conditions, but that seems like a natural extension of the fear we all must have deep down, no matter how skilled we are, of something going terribly wrong.
I’ve never seen new paddlers who say they plan to stay in safe territory being told they need to learn to roll. And all I’ve ever experienced on here has been friendly encouragement to overcome my fears to learn to do things I’ve said I might want to do. Others have often chimed in to empathize with those fears, and to give me practical ideas for how to mitigate them.
But if anyone on the internet offends you (and uh…, they WILL, unless you’re a rock), it’s luckily easy to ignore them.
Yeah… Early on, practicing my one-sided roll near a beach, I was upside down when I sensed all sorts of commotion around the boat. All of sudden, without any paddle movement on my part, the kayak popped rightside up and two folks with concerned looks were asking, “Are you alright?!?” One of the good samaritan destroyed his cell phone (very expensive, early in the mobile days). He actually declined to my offer to reimburse him. (A true altruistic person there.)
I have also had occaisons where folks called out to me from the shore, asking if I need help. In 3:50 of this video, you can see two boardies who were concerned about what was happening with me. After the session was over, one of the boardies came up at the parking, “Dude, though you were drowning out there. LOL, Great session, huh!”
Probably one of the good reasons for doing pool practice, or doing outdoor practice with partners, is that you can mitigate unnecessary worrying of good samaritans. But, I am example of “what not to do.” I am self taught (can ingrain bad habits which may required extensive professional coaching to iron out). I felt I could because of my confidence in a pretty developed kinesthetic awareness from tumbling, traditonal operatic dance and MA practice. I started to self learn bracing/rolling in a rec/tour boat (WS Capelookout) with a 24" beam. To avoid alarming bystanders, I moved my practices to more isolated spots where there was no observers and thus no help if I were to do something stupid. In the that first year, I finished out my rolling/bracing practice in mid November in a secluded pond that only has a YMCA camp on the shoreline that was closed for the season. I was wearing a farmer john, a hydroskin top and a full zipper 3 mm neo jacket. (I can attest this combo was INSUFFICIENT to ward off the chillier water and air temps.)
So, I generally respect the advice of experienced paddlers here, even though I have been pretty bad about following it. I don’t advocate for folks to follow my approach to this stuff.
sin
Now I have to ask…? You are an interesting dude, dude!
Here is a primer. I never reached high stage of development, as I got pulled more into MA training and comps as a teen.
sing
Thanks, everybody. I get it.
Cool, thank you. I just watched the first few minutes but will catch the rest later. It definitely already looks like it would help with lots of the skills one needs for kayaking.
By the way, this is what’s best about the internet - I might never have known that existed.
Yup, no point in rolling after I switched from sea kayak to surf ski.
As long as I was kayaking sit-insides I practiced rolling. Now my toss-off recovery practice is remounting (I hang onto both the paddle and the ski). I should do some swimming, too, because the last time I did that regularly was back in New England.
I have a paddle leash but haven’t used it here. It’s something to get used to this spring because someday I will let go of that paddle. Sort of like it’s not IF you capsize but WHEN.
The learning curve here will be much flatter and longer because I’m just not forced to deal with big conditions. In the meantime, there’s a lot of foundation work.
Hmmmmmm. What motivated you to make this switch? I’ve never paddled a surf ski before but they sound intriguing. Is there anything you can’t do in the surf ski that you can do in the sea kayak?
I wouldn’t say often, but several times a year I have people come up and ask about the waveski and how much they cost, and how they could get started. Sitting on a waveski is a bit harder than it looks as they are very tippy so they can turn from edge to edge quickly at high speed. I’ve let a few people try out skis, that just came up and talked to me, nobody managed to sit on the ski for more than maybe 10 seconds. My son had a friend who is a lifeguard and and very good board surfer. He was able to ride head high waves on a high performance ski the first time he jumped on- he later confessed he had done a lot of whitewater kayaking too.
When i surf in Lajolla when the waves are good, I do notice lots of people shooting video when I am surfing . Getting worked by a wave and popping back up does attract attention. Most people have never seen a waveski and have no idea, how fast and maneuverable they are until they see you ripping on a good wave - I’ve also learned that most of the people filming are actually waiting for a really good wipeout.
That made me laugh, thanks. I love that people are so…. human, I guess (!), that they can’t help but want to watch you wipe out, though I imagine they’re also impressed.
I like the paddling position on a surf ski better than what it is in either a sit-in kayak OR the typical SOT. Legs and feet are closer together and lower relative to butt. Also, I am a minimalist and elated to ditch the sprayskirt and pump.
There are things I can’t do with a surf ski that a sea kayak(er) excels in:
Don’t get a surf ski just to avoid learning to roll. You will need to become proficient at remounting, so plenty of wet time there. And forward stroke is sine qua non. If your main desire is to get out and sightsee or socialize, the emphasis on stroke technique might turn you off.
sigh wipeout voyeurs…
I used to race road bikes. At one criterium—lots of chances for crashes in those—I overheard a spectator yelling, “When do we get to see a crash?!”