Hello!
I am so excited to be here and read through all the advice everyone has given. I’ve found some great insight so far and wanted to get a view point for myself.
I currently own three pre-owned kayaks.
My first one is a Prijon hurricane, the second is a riot 007, I think, and the third one is a sit on top 12” Necky…idk the model for this one.
I LOVE the prijon, its my preferred boat up to this point. I think after doing some reading though that I need to make some modifications such as adding things for buoyancy and maybe updating the seat to be more comfortable. Does anyone have any suggestions for where/how to start? Is there anything I can do to assist with preventing cracking of the hull since it’s is an older boat? If it came down to it and I need to buy a new/new-to-me boat what would be recommended since the hurricane is my fave? I’m about 5’4” 130 lbs. I mostly kayak in flat water but have been itchy to go on a river or on the coast in the surf
I’m also considering getting a folding kayak for ease of travel…any recommendations for that? It would be used mostly on flat water in a bay, smaller rivers maybe a little bit of choppy water.
Thank you so much!!
Israel
You have 3 pretty different kayaks. Made for different types of water or conditions.
Leads to the question- what type of kayaking do you do? What does a trip look like? Distance, duration, describe the water, etc.
I’m fairly new to kayaking, I mostly kayak in flat water but have been itchy to go on a river or on the coast in the surf. Some of the water I’ve kayaked has been fairly choppy with the Prijon.
You may want to check out an article on the basic type of kayaks so you can better understand what you have and why they may/may not work for you. Can be read for free online at California Kayaker Magazine - South West's source for paddlesports information. Issue #10.
The 2 non-sit on top kayaks (they are white water boats) should be treated as recreational boats in regards to safety - as boats that you only paddle near to shore. Even with float bags and the like, you really can’t self rescue in deep water, so should you flip the way out is to swim the boat to shore, drain it, then continue on. To go to surf or white water rivers, using a skirt (and float bags) and learning how to roll are pretty much required.
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So old prijon boats are pretty indestructable. They are “blow” molded like the saltos and eskimo brand kayaks and last forever. The only thing you might want to do is store it out of direct sunlight. The seat pan on thse old boats tend to be hard on the butt Newer boats will have better outfitting and a bigger keyhole cockpit. You could make a new seat or add mini cell sheets to the old one but watch the height since that changes stability
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Thank you to both of you!! The article was really helpful 
I can chime in on a folding kayak recommendation (I am close to your size) as I’ve been using folders for 21 years. Best value at the moment is the PakBoat Quest 150, which weighs under 30 pounds. I’ve taken two of my PakBoats, a slightly smaller Quest 135 (they discontinued that shorter one some years ago) and a Puffin 12 (old version of their current Puffin Saco) as airline luggage packed down into a standard rolling travel suitcase. The Quest feels and functions very much like an equivalent 15’ hardshell touring kayak and the Pakboats assemble easily – with practice, I can set one up in under 30 minutes. They are lower volume and narrower than many of the other folding kayak models currently available which is better for someone your size. And they are one third to half the price of some of the other brands like Nautiraid and Trak. Tough and well built boats that can handle coastal conditions and even mild open whitewater (though you already have boats for that). Don’t think I would try to surf with one because I have seen what happens to kayaks that take a nosedive into wet sand.
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This seems to be an actual quality inflatable kayak.
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nice review, something I would consider in the future for my rv, on a cruise or ferry. I kind of have a boat that fits that same niche- a pakayak. the seat on it is not as good as some of my other boats. Your butt needs a break after awhile.
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That’s a feature of all my folding kayaks that has always proven to be excellent: great seats for long days in the cockpit. Both Feathercraft and PakBoat use a sling base, a fabric panel suspended from the frame longerons, with a fabric seat and lumbar sized seat back that are inflatable to whatever level you want (the PakBoat seats are also slightly quilted with padding) and buckle straps that allow you to reposition them for dialing in your boat trim and for personal fit. And since the seats can flex a bit with your paddling action (torso rotation and leg driving), and you can alter the seat pressure and position during the day, your keister never goes to sleep or gets pressure sore. They are kind of like butt hammocks.
It’s a system hardshell boat makers ought to consider. I am currently dealing with having to re-engineer blown out seats in a couple of composite boats I rescued from “barn pickers” on Craigslist. The design of fixed seats in older sea kayaks can make restoration – even simple removal of tired worn seat components – a major pain in the ass.
Too bad Feathercraft closed their business down in 2016 (same year Folbot folded). Their seats and rudder systems were so well-regarded that they sold them separately and some people retrofitted hardshell boats with them. There have been rumors that one of the Feathercraft folks was venturing into selling replacement parts but when the foldingkayaks.org forum had to close down those of us who favor such craft lost our major information sharing source that would have updated the status of that enterprise.
the boat with the worst seat that I own is a perception mirage. By day two people are always ready swap, even if it means going to a slower boat less suited for the flats (like my xp10) because their butt gets sore in the mirage.
This guy Joe did my seat back in Port Townsend (only $220) wow is it perfect
maybe he does them for Sterling, I am not sure.
