14’ is too slow?
thats a sweeping generalization. too slow for what?
Another Option - DIY It
– Last Updated: Jun-06-09 10:31 PM EST –
Someone mentioned a skin-on-frame as a possible answer, and that could work very well indeed once you find a good design for your needs. Tom Yost provides a number of very good kayak designs free of charge...
Another DIY approach is stitch-and-glue ply and epoxy boats, similar to the ones we build. There are any number of designs out there, and many are available as kits - more expensive, but it does make building easier. The 17', 25" beam VOLKSKAYAK I build and paddle weighs about 40 lbs., is bug simple to put together, and is, IMHO, a perfectly capable sea kayak.
Finally, there's the strip-builts - absolutely lovely kayaks that require a lot more labour than the S&Gs do, but reward the extra work with a truly striking appearance, and a greater choice in hull designs.
The SOF and S&G boats are great for the budget conscious; I allow about $500 Cdn. in top-quality materials and 60-80 hours in labour for my VKs, and the SOF can come in at about 1/2 that figure. Not sure how the strip-builts compare costwise, since I've never had cause to cost one out.
For more info on building, far and away the best resource out there is the Kayak Building Bulletin Board
http://www.kayakforum.com/cgi-bin/Building/index.cgi.
(Ignore any posts with a string of letters in the headers - they're spam). Lots of extremely knowledgeable and helpful folks there who are willing to help others decide what kayak to build and and then provide really useful info on how to get it done.
Helpful info…
OK, here is my standard reply when asked “What boat should I buy?”
I won’t go into any detailed advice about which boat, paddle, or equipment would be best for you, but I can give some advice on how to go about making your choice. Specifically, the test paddle. Think of it like test driving a car before you buy it. The test paddle is one of the most important steps in choosing the boat that’s right for you. ALWAYS take a boat out for a test paddle BEFORE you buy it.
I get a lot of questions from people looking to buy their first canoe or kayak, so I put together a web page to help them. The URL is:
http://rookscreek.home.mchsi.com/buyingaboat.html
The information is pretty basic, but important. One of the links on that web page is for a PDF document titled “Helping Your Advisor”. It’s about 5 pages long. The last two pages talk about doing your test paddles with a plan, so that you can make fair and accurate comparisons of several different boats. There is even a handy little table to help you record your impressions of each boat. It makes a lot of sense and just might make your quest for your first boat that much more successful.
You can find the “Helping Your Advisor” document at:
http://vrc.home.mchsi.com/helpingyouradvisor.pdf
Listen with an open mind, consider all the advice carefully, then make your own choice; and above all, have fun!
Bay of Fundy
Ah, “Bay of Fundy”, those are magic words to many paddlers. I’ve watched many videos and would love the chance to get out and play in that. To have it in my back yard would be pure heaven. Guaranteed whitewater on a strict clock schedule, with dozens of unique locales and launch spots.
Lots of good advice above about boat selection, and also about taking lessons and mention of safety factors. In addition, I’d suggest you take some time just studying what makes that area unique in the world. Such a study will be a lot of fun in itself, and will give you stuff to do year-round when the weather isn’t conducive to paddling. I think it will also be a big help to you in survivng and in getting the most out of paddling that area.
I don’t know how long you’ve lived there and how much experience you have with the tide doing other things, but if it’s not much, I’d recommend you do a special non-paddling study along the lines of the following. Get a big map and stick it up on your wall. Find the 15-20 public access areas nearest you and mark them on your map. Drive to each one and get out and hike a ways overlooking the water, where possible. Look up the tide charts online and learn how to read them, mark typical fluctuations on your wall map and time your driving visits to coincide with dramatic tidal changes. Get some binoculars and study the waters and any boats that are out in them. Take pictures and videos (and post them online, with occasional messages on this board linking to them). Where you see other people doing it and where it seems safe, get out and walk or swim in the water. And above all, talk to people you meet along the way. Nothing beats local knowledge, and most people are willing to share if you just ask.
I think doing this non-paddling work will greatly enhance your paddling experience, will make you much safer, and will be a lot of fun in itself. I’d love to have this for my future life-project.
Great advice everybody!
My husband is thrilled - I’ve gone from determined to having a kayak on the top of the car by the end of June to finding my own pfd and paddle and signing up for lessons. It all makes so much sense - it’s just that I had one amazing afternoon out on the water with the sun shining, very little wind,the tide was just about to go out and the ospreys and bald eagles were swooping overhead… as I said, I’m hooked.
Thank you all for the thoughtful advice - quite a community out there.
Glad to hear
The other thing that I didn’t mention in my post was that, because of the strong tides up there, the area towards the mouths of rivers where they empty into the ocean can be pretty wild. Those areas can be more challenging than the ocean outside. It sounds like your experience was on the slack, where little of this is in play.
I like Memphis’s idea, to go to likely launch points and see what happens. Toss a few sticks out into the water when you are there, and look at the direction and speed of their movement. You’ll get a pretty concrete idea of what kind of boat control you’ll need to handle the conditions.
$.02
I bought two boats before I took lessons and it took another year before I settled on a kayak that stuck with me for 12yrs. If I had applied as much time and money to lessons and paddling with others as I did trying boats paddling solo I would probably have saved myself $2000 in the first four years of paddling.