Inflatable Kayak Question, Kinda long.

Hi everyone. I have a question. This might be long so I apologize in advance.



My mother-in-law has Parkinson’s disease. It was advancing pretty fast and even a “last ditch medication” did not work. She has brain surgery 6 weeks ago where they implanted an electrode in her brain, and wired it to a battery in her side. She is doing much better now and many of her symptoms have gone away. However she can only do light exercise. My wife and I took her this past weekend to try out our tandem sit on top at a local lake. She did great! She paddled all the way across the lake. She lives in Texas in the Austin area and really wants one. She really could use an inflatable kayak that would be able to carry two people. She would be doing this with my father in law. One of our concerns is if the father in law would not go with her the inflatable would need to be light enough she could handle it herself. So it would need to be as light as possible. Does anyone have any suggestions? Again sorry for the length and thanks for reading if you have made it this far. :slight_smile:


Innova Sunny
Innova Sunny is your best choice I think, for a few reasons. It’s 29 lbs, easy to inflate and deflate, easy to dry, store and move around. Very easy to get in and out of as well, and a comfortable and stable ride. It’s also one of the faster inflatables and not as much work to paddle as some other inflatable kayaks. They run about $1000 but are the best in class for their price range. Well worth the money.

Knowing the responders
Paddlesheep has significant butt time in inflatables and speaks from experience. Waterbird is just recycling the same garbage that brochures spew. Look at the Innovas.They track well, accept skegs and rudders are easy to transport and are on par with rec kayaks for speed.

Seat time in Innova
Though not as much as Paddlesheep, I also have a bit of seat time in the Sunny. His comments are accurate. I would add that a good inflatable like the Sunny is likely the safest boat available for rec kayaking - It will not swamp and sink, you can fill it with water and it will still float; it is more stable than the biggest barge of an SOT I’ve paddled; it is the easiest boat to reenter from the water that I have paddled.



Yes, you will give up speed - for rec paddling it should be fine. In the Sunny, you will NOT give up tracking. In fact, the Innova is more adverse to weathercocking than all other rudderless boats I’ve been in.



Yes, the cost is a bit steep for a boat that may recieve limited use. For a less expensive boat, this looks promising, www.qayak.com.



I believe Paddlesheep has seen one in action. Maybe he can comment on it?