New member but I've been reading off and on for years.
Looking to buy kayaks for my daughter and I. We've rented SOT's in many locations. We've also done some rookie WW rafting in western NC.
Like most rookies, I'm looking for a compromise yak that will be fairly stable, track reasonably well, yet be easy to turn. If anyone has been on Juniper Run in the Ocala National Forest, we have canoed there many times and I look at that as the benchmark for being able to navigate. If it is too hard to turn that trip would be a nightmare.
I'm 53, fit and 6'1" and 160lbs. Daughter is 21, 5'1" and 95lbs.
Just saw a pair of Kestrel 120 roto's for sale at a reasonable price point. I know these are Sit-In models.
Any comments on these as a first kayak? I might want to do a little flats fishing, but I'm sure an SOT would be much better.
Current Designs
Makes very good boats. I cannot speak to the Kestral - I have a Whistler. Love it. Fish from it every time out. Salt and freshwater.
If they are well priced I would pick them up. Then, if you do not care for them or out grow you can sell for the same price.
Kestrel
My husband and I have two Kestrels that we keep at our cabin and have used them in a variety of small lakes and ponds as well as the Delaware River. Every time we go out, I marvel at how well these little rec boats paddle. They are not as overly wide as some rec boats, yet they are still stable enough for photography. They track well, yet are maneuverable enough to get back up some small feeder streams.
I am 5’3" and my husband is 6’. We have a variety of boats in our fleet, but if we could keep only one, that would be it. You can’t go wrong with a Kestrel.