I have finally gotten my entire family involved in paddling. My wife (Manatou 14), 10yr old son (Pungo 100), 15yr old daughter (Zydeco 11). I have a W/S Tsunami 165 and a LL Inuit 12.5, so we have a total of 5 boats for a family of 4. I did sell my Folbot to buy 2 paddles.
I travel a lot for work and we are going to be around the Gulf of Mexico for the next year so I was looking at some different boats for bigger water for her and the kids, but intend to keep the little boats around. I have the space to store them.
My wife will be reading this and I have agreed to abide by the wisdom of this forum.
four paddlers and only five boats?
Shoot you’re just getting started.
You have the space and finances so why not get the right boats for the paddling you will be doing?
I would prefer to paddle a shorter more manuverable boat on twisty streams and creeks and a longer more efficient boat out on open water.
Not that you can’t paddle pretty much everything in one boat but having the right boat for the venue can make it a lot more fun.
second that
– Last Updated: Jul-07-12 8:01 AM EST –
unless you're paddling the same place the same way over and over, additional boats are a requirement.
I don't have any friends with less than 3 it seems. There's no storage, registration, insurance fees, so as long as you have the room and are going to use them, get what you need.
Personally, I went from 12 to 6 the past year. Gave up sailing and cruising as well as squirtboating. 2 paddlers, me and my son. 2 poling boats, 2 OC-1's, 1 OC-2, 1 slalom OC-1 to be loaned out. That's cutting it thin. Going to trim it further over the next few years, then move into kevlar as I get..uhh..."more mature."
Obviously
your wife dislikes boats. I have way more than that.
My wife
Has too many shoes. Hasn’t stopped her from collecting, and she has a “reason” for every pair. ;=)
Too many???
– Last Updated: Jul-07-12 9:12 AM EST –
I have four boats to myself. Heck I even bought a boat just to take out both my dogs. Turned out it is the boat I grab most often just to mess around in the local creek. Long short sit sit on top enjoy them all.
Maybe let your wife pick her next boat for herself, vested interest and all that.
Not even close yet
I’ve got seven boats for two people. Were you to match that on a ratio basis you’d need fourteeen. Keep at it.
Peter
first
Tell her that’s impossible.
Second, you can always sell and replace. Once the you get bit, its all over. If you can store them, I see no reason not to own them.
Ryan L.
Too many boats?
– Last Updated: Jul-07-12 9:58 AM EST –
My wife, a canoe paddler, has one requirement regarding the number of canoes I have; canoes must not interfere with her parking space in the garage.
They don't.
If I were using "our" money, or "her" money, as opposed to "my" money; I could see where having too many boats might be a problem.
I use my money.
Problem?
What Problem?
We don't have any problem!
We have 19 canoes; 1 is hers, 18 are mine.
BOB
P.S. She has never had a problem about owning the multiple pieces of jewelry I've bought for her either.
9 for 2 here!
There’s two of us and we have nine boats. Different boats for different uses, how many clubs does a golfer need? Couldn’t he putt with a driver if he had to???
Amateur!!!
– Last Updated: Jul-07-12 11:18 AM EST –
One o' me an' 13 canoos (an' one 'yak which wuz more o' a woodwoykin' project fer me). Ah' knows yer kin do it iffin' yer try real hard. :>)
Trick be de ol' "Gee honey, dat boat's been thaar fer years. Dun't yer recollect dat yer wuz de one dat wanted it it?".
FE
from a wife
Steve (the husband) refuses to count them. I have one, an Ice Kap. (I used to have a plastic Current Designs Vision, traded in for the Ice Kap). He has eight in the garage (where some people store cars, how weird)and then untold numbers in various stages of disrepair/decrepitude in The Black Hole (his workshop). The canoes/kayaks change frequently as he finds The Perfect Boat, buys it, paddles it a few times, trades it, sells it, barters it and then on to the next.
What she needs is an equally demanding sport (I have horses) so that she can threaten to buy another (horse in my case) if the boats start getting stored on the porch (works! I still only have two horses).
The Wife
10 kayaks 2 paddleboards
for 4 people although 1 away at grad school and 1 goes to University away from us with some time in summer. I keep looking at different styles/sizes.
I figured out her reluctance to new boat
She has apprehension she will lose her “skills” with any new boat. She saw me do an experiment rolling the pungo 100 and I had a little difficulty on the first attempt, I explained that I sucked anyway, but the pungo is a harder boat to roll. After my harping about self rescue skills she was worried the learning curve started all over again with any new boat.
This morning she tried out my Tsunami with a back band seat, other than swimming in the cockpit, she loved the boat, she attempted a roll after stuffing some towels for fit and was successful on the first attempt.
As I am typing this she is looking at low volume boats under 45lbs so she can load it herself.
horses
Are in no way equal to boats. 2 horses is like 20 boats. I’ve never fed my boat, strung fence, or taken it to the vet.
Ryan L.
18 canoes?!
Man! I was wondering who kept brick-and-morter stores open!
how often do you paddle?
If you only paddle in the summer and only once a month, I can see you don’t need many different boats, because you wouldn’t be using them enough…
But if on the other hand, you’re on the water every weekend and go paddle in different places which has different enough conditions to justify the different handling characteristic of the different boats, I would say keep as many boats as you paddling requirement dictates.
I only have 2 boats, 1 touring sea kayak and 1 white water boat. And this season, it feels like 1 boat too many.
I’ve only taken one of them out 5 days. The other one not once. If that second boat doesn’t get taken out by end of next season, it’ll be a candidate for Craigs list.
Reason? I got back into mtn biking so there’s much less time left for paddling. Only the touring boat got used because touring contrast enough from cycling. I got enough adrenalin workout with mtn biking I couldn’t care less about the play boat any more.
Compare to boats, I have 4 bikes for myself. Why? I’m out biking every weekend (when I’m not paddling). And mid-week, I ride to work once or twice a week too. I basically bike close to 100 days a year. So what if I have 4 bikes, they got used on average 20+ days a year. That’s a lot more than many people’s only bike (or single boat). Though if I were only doing one kind of biking, I would only need one bike. But I actually do enough different type of riding so could use the different bikes.
Only one way to afford that many
and it’s not by shopping brick and mortar. I’m guessing Bob religiously hunts the used market. The only way to go.
And I agree. The original poster has a long way to go before he has too many boats.
Alan
I am thinking. . . . . …
that three kayaks/person is a good ratio.
one flatwater
one whitewater
one inflatable(for packing into the backcountry)