I think I want a river boat or a surf boat. I am going to be playing in the surf and riding from my house 15 minutes, in the ocean, to my work. I do not want a ocean boat or a sit on top surf boat. I want something fun but for long distances as well. I am new to kayaking and am not sure what to get. Do they make a hybrid I could use for both. Thank you, ahead of time, for any help. Aloha
P.S...I am 206 pounds
Get some experience
Have you rented a surf boat from some place like GoBannanas ?
If you want to play in the surf you might want a sit on top surf kayak especially in hawaii. You may have a bad impression from seeing high volume Ocean Kayak brand boats. Look at the Cobra Strike, Cobra Revision or Wilderness systems Kaos, or Ocean Kayak Rapido. There are also boats made by Hunt Johnson called Wave Witches that are very cool for Hawaiin type conditions. Waveskis are the ultimate for playing in the surf but you are not going to want to paddle long distances. Look at Island Waveskiand Wavemasterusa waveski webpages, also in Hawaii you may be able to buy Tsunami or Dekka skis which are really good.
Whitewater boat in hawaiian surf seems like a real bad idea to me unless you get a boat with fins. You want a boat with good down the line speed, and you want to be able to climb up and off the back of a big wave before it closes out. I have a Necky Jive that is not bad for surfing, but I would not take it to hawaii.
Dedicated surf boats are pretty unforgiving if you are new to kayaking and new to surfing. A good place to start are the Riot Boogie and the Mega Maverick, because they are not glass and you can abuse them a bit. Check on boatertalk.com for used glass surfboats in Hawaii, but you should connect with some local paddle surfers and try a few boats before you buy a used boat. A highpeformance surf boat is going to depend a lot on your weight and size.
The Hunt Johnson wave witch (or an old cobra model) sounds like the closest thing to a boat that can do boat.
Thank you
What about a Dagger RPM. Could I paddle that boat 15 minute distances?
Not Time, But Distance…
the RPM ain't gonna get you any place faster than a surfing SOT or surf kayak.
I think the Hunt Johnson boat, Wave Witch, is probably the route to go.
http://www.huntjohnsendesigns.com/
You could also consider the RockHopper 340 from England. But, seeing as how no one in the USA is carrying that yet, the shipping to HI would probably kill you (or me, I should say...)
http://www.surfkayaks.com.au/products/rockhopper.htm
Both of the above boats have the length to get you there faster but still have surfing capabilities.
sing
Rockhopper RH340
I want a Rockhopper RH340. How much is that boat? Where can I get it? How much to ship to the US? I have a sister in Carlisle, England if that helps. Thank you for all the advise…John
599 English Pounds…
http://www.teksport.co.uk/rockhopper_coastal.htm
don’t know what the conversion rate is currently. Easy enough to google… Figure if you have sister in England, it may be easier for her to find the shipping cost. I suspect several hundred on top of what you pay for the boat…
sing
Does she want to start an export biz?
I think a lot of people in the US would like to get a hold of those boats.