I’m 61 and started paddling when I was about 34. I’ve had four kayaks over the years but only one now - a Pygmy Osprey Std that I built in 1998 which I use weekly. I agree that it is an expensive sport for most young people. Even now, when I’m thinking about trading cars, and have to once again buy a completely new roof rack system since Yakima doesn’t support their older racks with clips to fit new cars. I won’t let that stop me, but it is an annoying additional expense.
3 Likes
Since you mentioned Sea Kayaking…I think that is too restrictive in this topic. I live in S/E Michigan and enjoy the lakes and rivers here in both my longer performance kayak as well as a fishing setup on a REC kayak. I don’t see any less people kayaking than I did a few years ago. Covid certainly did some damage to the sport just as all other hobbiest groups.
I am 76 but have three kids and my 64 year old wife that all enjoy paddling. My youngest is now 23 but a very enthusiastic kayaker…partially due to my influence but also Boy Scouts which had several kayak trips when he was a scout (now aged out of course). My other two kids are 30 and 28…one is unable to kayak now as she lives and works in NY city, but the other boy also enjoys kayaking although not able to get out as much due to work.
I live near large metro city parks and they all have a fleet of rental kayaks available and I see a lot of them out on the lakes. Of course those are pretty crude REC kayaks so not sure how that encourages people to try better kayaks. When I see them I tell them to check with local kayak shops as many of them have demo days when prospective buyers can try out a real quality kayak.
This to me is where the hobby needs to go…manufacturers and kayak shops need to actively promote the sport by having demo days that are well advertised.
2 Likes
I will be 65 in December and usually paddle with a 45 yo friend. Try to get my wife into it but not having any luck. I was 61 when I started and still have my first kayak Old Town Vapor10 XT. I love it, it’s very stable but I may upgrade in the future. This is me on the Cuyahoga River this year. Love traveling around and putting in.
It is commendable to take others with you to get a taste of the activies you like. When people have a curiosity and want to explore it, they can fine resources to get the equipment they need. I know high schoolers that wanted musical instruments or a car or skis. They set sights on what they want and some even realized that pawn shops had what they wanted.
When I was 12 and with a group of scouts that wanted to float the Eleven Point river in Missouri, a plan was made to make our canoes. It took 32 orange crates to complete a canoe. Four canoes were finished. I was 14 when I proudly floated down the Eleven Point with 7 other scouting friends. After 8 days on the river only one canoe came back whole. Two canoes didn’t return at all. I still enjoy canoeing.
I don’t do sea kayaking because the ocean isn’t close. My last canoe trip was in 2021. I’m 83 now and have a canoe trip planned for next Spring.
Keep sharing your love with all ages. A water sport enthusiast, Canoefoot
4 Likes
39 year old here! Been kayaking for 17 years, bought my first sea kayak 3 years ago. I have many thoughts on this topic because I don’t have any friends that paddle more than 3 miles at a time and they only have recreational boats. It’s hard to find people to paddle with so I simply go alone most of the time.
Paddleboarding is way more popular in the younger generations than kayaking. Makes for better instagrammable photos 
Sea kayaking is expensive as many others have said, but it’s not just the kayak, it’s the roof rack too. Transporting a sea kayak is daunting to anyone that is even slightly considering the sport. It took me years to find a rack and build my own technique for loading and unloading by myself.
My friends are too busy working, raising kids, going to PTA meetings, shuffling kids to sports practice, etc. I’m a mom too, but I am self-emplloyed and have the luxury of going paddling whenever I want. I have two kayaks and sometimes I offer to take a friend with me, and just finding the time to get away for a few hours is soooo difficult. It’s not a kid-friendly activity so unless you can take off a day while the kids are in school, it’s nearly impossible for most. It’s a lot easier to go for an hour hike, or go to the gym for an hour.
3 Likes
I’ve been sea kayaking (mostly on the Great Lakes and rarely on the sea) since my late 20’s (61 now) having bought my first sea kayak about 34 years ago. I see both ends of the age spectrum. I see a lot of older kayakers when I teach at symposiums and QajaqUSA events but I also train guides for an outfitter along the Pictured Rocks on Lake Superior. Most of those guides are college students in the 18-22 age group. Most are following an outdoor rec curriculum and many over the years (I have trained guides here for 8 years) have gotten their own (used) kayaks and proceeded to work as guides at other locations.
Well boats are expensive… And younger folks generally don’t have the discretionary income for expensive boats. I know I didn’t in my 20’s and 30’s. Now pushing closer to 60, I do.
So from a finance standpoint, you can see why there’s not a lot of paddlers in Sea Kayaks or even touring Kayaks. especially when you account for other things they may be doing and diverting their expendable finances towards. (Boyfriend/Girlfriend/Cool Car/Gaming etc…) My son 16, wouldn’t be doing had I not bought him a boat.
Also when younger couples feel they need to do things together, my wife as a prime example likes to go kayaking (lazy kayaking.) for a mile or two then she is done, where I’m happy doing 10+ miles. We don’t at this point in our life feel the need to be joined at the hip and do everything together. We will lazy kayak from time to time but when I pull the 17foot boat down she say have fun… and goes and does her own thing.
But mostly it’s a cost thing for most younger people.
from what I’ve seen online the Europeans have an advantage of well developed clubs that include shared boat storage right on or near the water. I’d love to be able to pull up to a parking lot walk into the boathouse, grab my boat and jump on the lake or river.
2 Likes
66 years
@tdaniel, absolutely true, especially about those who are mostly land locked. If not for access to the open Chesapeake Bay, I’d have to travel over 50 minutes to the Susquehanna River for open access to a body of water where I can make open water round trips. All other access is limited to shuttle trips and minor white water. Frankly, it would not be worth the effort, other than for an occasional recreation paddle. Still it’s a big commitment to set aside the time to spend nearly as much time to organize (prepare, load/unload and reverse the process at the end of the trip), as it does to actually paddle. Proximity to the open water is the reason I have taken the time to evolve.
My desire to explore and the presence of many tributaries gave me the opportunity to explore and leapfrog from one land mass to another. I can cross the 10.75 mile distance from launch to the opposite shore, without being further than 1.5 miles from a land mass. That enabled me to develop skills, and learn to interpret the changing conditions and develop strategies to safely and effectively navigate some potentially hazardous passages.
It doesn’t matter who participates, what age, who shares, how long they stay with it, because I mostly paddle solo and have every boat I need for the remainder of my life. I’m in a position where I’m able to offer outfitting someone, so they could have similar equipment. All that person needs to do is aspire either to improve or demonstrate an ability to hang with me. My sister is no longer willing to commit the time, and she was the one person I found who shared my commitment. Even in a favorable location such as this, there is simply a different level of interaction. My brothers, nieces, nephews and friends have the opportunity through me to experience kayaking or canoeing, but they prefer the personal water craft or power boats. It’s just the way it is. I’ve been told its too much like work.
You say you’re lazy. I say I’m just cheap - I’d rather paddle 3 hours to get somewhere than spend $20 buying gasoline to get there quicker. I can relate to your comment about watching a distant destination approach slowly. I found that by concentrating on each paddle stroke, to make it as perfect as possible, that takes away from the boredom. By increasing speed through efficienc, even if by only a few tenths of a mph, I’m suprised by how so much more quickly the destination appears, even though the time savings is only a matter of minutes.
My mind is mostly occupied with calculations. There is no focus on pain, being drenched in perspiration or heat. Drink water at intervals, focus and you cover distances by battling the elements and fighting conditions. Just select a point of interest and go there, then select another. My perspective is that I’m the only kayakers in the world, except for the people I know on this forum.
I like the idea that the manufacturer’s, retailers and water destinations have more skin in the game to advertise and develop the sporr. Their livelihood depends on it. For me, I enjoy the solitude.
1 Like
68 here. I canoed as a kid, then in my college dorm a couple of guys were into whitewater kayaking. We drove from Ann Arbor to Ohiopyle to run the rapids, hump the boats back across the neck of the bend, and run them again over and over. Four of us, 2 boats. One was a bootleg, built off a mold made from a commercial boat. Back then they were fiberglass and easy to shatter. Anyway, that’s how I caught the kayaking bug.
Before I was out of school I had bought new two 14 footers, one kevlar and one fiberglass. I did not own a car. I don’t recall ever seeing any sea kayaks back then (mid 70s). Still own them but never took them to “real” whitewater. Best trips were to Isle Royale and a 10-day down to Moosonee on the Missinaibi.
I was always up against hull speed climbing my own bow way on the local river in my 14 footers. After retirement I finally sanded a hole thru the hull of my fave with my heel. I got a sea kayak (Epic 18x, might not meet everyone’s definition of a sea kayak) to lose the bow wave. Interestingly after inflation it was the same price as the first one that I bought.
The 18x has been on the great lakes but hasn’t been anywhere near salt and the odometer is almost at 2500. I’m gonna celebrate when I get to the point of paying $1 per mile for it… fingers crossed.
1 Like
Stadium chairs now next generation kayaks wheelchairs.
Rolling a wheel chair would require excellent technique
(sideways,------- not forward and backwards)
Only rolls once. OVER
Started kayaking at 53 (2008) and my cheeky niece says, “Thats good uncle, it’s important for old people to stay active.” Had canoed as a teen.
Took all my lessons on a sea kayak on the ocean, but do all my paddling on lakes and rivers. See lots of paddleboarders but around here it seems kayakers go out for an hour and that’s it.
At 65 took a 56 year old friend out for a day paddle. He loved it. We both now go out regularly (2-4 times a week). Most of the other paddlers we see are under 50, but I met a group of 5 that paddle regularly, youngest was 84
Time and committments I think removes the 20-45 crowd
Delta 12.10
2 Likes
The vast majority of sea kayakers we know dont have children. I would imagine that,for many reasons, makes it much easier to paddle. My kiddos were grown when I started paddling. But now there’s the grands to spend our time and money on.
And the retirement thing opens up the weekdays for paddling.
I like your thinking,
currently working on getting the Petrel Play under a buck
(note: most in that list are no longer with me)
1 Like
I started kayaking at 75 and am now 86 years old. I’ve slowed down considerably and get out only a few times a year. Now where did I put my bottle of Geratol
3 Likes
@Libet, the irony is how I didn’t have tomevor money while raising my children, but now that I have both, my kids divert theor kids to team slirts like volleyball. I’ll use the time and money on myself. Tale advantage of motivating the grandchildren during off season.
Been drinking again?