Kayak
Have you thought about a solo canoe? A decked on by Northstar called the Rob Roy or a Wenonah Canak?
I have a Northstar Magic and I purchased a cover from Cooke Custom Sewing. I paddle my Magic with a double blade. To me its easier to get in and out of a canoe than a kayak.
No canoe
I have tried out a solo canoe (Wenonah Vagabond) that belongs to a friend. I much prefer the kayak.
Trade-offs
between speed, handling, and gear capacity. That’s the sticking point for me right now. My Vector 13 can handle more weight, but having that second hatch on the 14 is so tempting for ease of loading gear.
Here’s one to look at.
Check out the Cobra Expedition.
Still thinking
I decided against the Vector 14. It would cost $$$ to ship it. It would be longer and a little quicker, but I’d lose some weight capacity.
Now I’m down to either sticking with my Vector 13 or maybe looking into the Malibu X-13. It’s 2 inches shy of being a 14 footer, it has two good sized hatches, it’s 60 pounds, and has a higher weight capacity (450) than my Vector 13. Plus it’s $890 with free shipping to my local West Marine.
My next trip is Yellowstone in 3 weeks, then Leigh Lake in Grand Teton 2 weeks after that. August will be whitewater rafting, then back to the kayak in September & October.
Weight
Oops…I just looked at the fine print on the Malibu X-13 owners manual and the actual weigh of this kayak is 73.6 pounds, not 60 pounds. Looks like 60 pounds is the base weight before any hatches or rigging are added??? Darn, it was looking like a great choice.