Cracks me up with many kayaks listed for sale how many were used once in many years. Yes I paid 4 grand plus and paddled it once or twice.
I bought one kayak my CD Solstice GT where it was 1.5+ years old and the guy said he used it 4-5 times and didnât like it. He had some money and bought on an exercise whim. He sold it to me for half what the boat and gear was worth not counting sales tax. He had to use a cart to take it less than a 1/4 mile from garage to launch. One scratch on deck I buffed out. Two on bottom I almost disappeared with buffing.
It was chump change to him and I think just wanted it gone. He said someone else called. I said I called first and will be there at 5 am if you want.
Then you see decent kayaks for sale pictures have mud on the hull missing hatches. You call and say do you have the hatches and they says oh yeah. I mean lay the hatches on and blast the damn boat with a hose. Donât even wax it just get dirt off. Show more than one picture make it inviting if the kayak is good.
Zero sales skills to lazy to hose off. To lazy to even position it for a picture. Some a picture of the seat area canât even see the bow, stern, or either sometimes.
I agree 100%. So many people buy boats and never use them, then sell for a great price. What never ceases to surprise me is how many of these people know zero about the boat and just write âKayak - $1000â. Not even the make let alone model. And the ones who canât be bothered to hose it down or take the leaves out of the cockpit. Those people are the reason why I have a fancy boat. Thank you, those people.
I see the same with exercise bikes and RVs. I think some people just buy such things w/the idea of itâll be a good thing to do, but then never do it much and get tired of looking at it. Some even buy them for social opportunities and just move on.
Thereâs some code thatâs used by sellers and good to know:
âJust needs hosed offâ means the dirt is so bad that they couldnât get it off.
âXYZ broken but super-easy to fixâ means itâs broken beyond repair and parts are no longer available.
âMust sell by end of dayâ means theyâve been trying to unload it for weeks and will keep trying for weeks to come.
âNeeds carb adjustmentâ applies to lawn equipment and means they left it sitting for several years with old gas in it.
âBrand newâ means that itâs mostly intact and theyâve used it for only a couple of years.
Iâm sure others know of more of these seller code phrases.
Around here, now, most ads can be as vague as orange kayak or blue kayak or maybe even just kayak for sale and they get snapped up if they look like a typical rec boat at anything less than gold-plated prices.
I suspect that there will soon be many âpandemicâ boats coming on the market soon at great prices as people find that it takes more effort than they thought to get a kayak on the water and paddle it.
I think most pandemic buying is rec boats below 14â probably 12â. Group on FB I belong to is really rec kayakers. I think of them as floaters not kayakers.
They large majority are totally clueless on safety. Three thousand members and I doubt 50 have much experience. They are coming around in the safety aspect, well enough to make me feel itâs worth staying. I had a flak jacket for most of this winter. There are 4-5 of us that push safety and have knowledge. Almost signed of a few times but figured if I can save one from catastrophe itâs worth it. There were a few deaths locally and some close calls. That woke up many.
I love to find the ones that are dirty , bungees need replacing or missing or other blemishes. Those are the ones that can be bought right. One of my better buys was standing full of water, covered with lawn clippings. I knew it didnât leak as it was holding water. A good cleaning with a little bleach and it was good to go.
I had an opposite experience. I went to see a kayak that was âused only 3-4â times." The boat was scratched up and beginning to fade. Well, the present owner only used it 3-4 times, but he bought it âfrom an old ladyâ.
That looks like a carbon layup. Iâll bet you did gooood!
Itâs a wonder that some sellers wonât take five minutes of effort to make their item look desirable rather than a hunk of junk thatâs just in their way.
At least itâs indoors. The oneâs that kill me are outside in the mud, with mud on them, and leaves to top it off. I guess better for the buyer if you can see through all that.
Twas only one Sunday Matilda set out
in her kayak across varied seas,
of the Bellagio fountains as they began to spout,
she was a showgirl in roll extrordinary,
but was only one problem with her Tempest midst tempests
when with a lascivious crowd ya must flirt,
with one leg up to extoll her sultry eskimo roll:
For Sale - waterlogged Tempest, concrete hull scratches, needs skirt.
12â is my sweet spot - Iâm often turning around in tight creeks, having gone as far as was navigable. And Iâm often floating; thatâs how you see the wildlife. And take photos. But last year I was out an average of three times a week through an eight or nine month season, in six states. Different strokes -
