Necky Manitou 14

I demo’d, then bought, the Necky Manitou 14 kayak with dual bulkheads.



I’m super excited. $770, new.

Congrats
Glad you got your double bulkheads. Use it lots.



I’m a bit jealous actually, as I’m still boat-shopping presently. Will I ever find true ‘boat-love’? =]


Hooray!
Well I went in to demo the Manitou 13, and saw the 14 with dual bulkheads. I figured you guys were right. It was a 2011, and had the old style hatches. So it was marked down.



I knew I loved it right away. She offered to let me demo that one too. I didn’t even get in the 13.

Great choice!
My SO has a manitou 14, and it’s just such a great boat! For the price it can’t be beat and is a lot more capable than people think.



It’s one of the nicest paddling boats I’ve ever been in. Enjoy!

You will love it!
Congratulations on gathering all the information and making an excellent choice.

Congrats (and skirt)
Getting into something will answer a lot of questions. You should have some decent season before you need to worry about the water temps getting too cold.



One note when/if you go for a skirt, try to bring the boat with you to try it for fit. If I am seeing it right in pics the boat has a rather tall seat back, at least enough to stick out above the cockpit. That means that you’ll need a skirt that comes up over that seat back and has enough material to make it to the rear coaming. It’s a pain when you get a skirt home only to find out it is popping off every time you lean forward a bit.

Skirts

– Last Updated: Aug-21-11 7:21 PM EST –

We discussed skirts and the woman who led the demo showed me how to lower the seat back down so a skirt can fit. She said it's warm enough to paddle all winter and that the water isn't too cold. So that's good!

Test the water yourself
One person’s OK is another person’s colder than hell. Don’t go on assurances from others - as the water gets colder stand in it yourself, practice rescues near shore, and see what you can take.

Rescues
I’m going out today to practice rescues. The cockpit is smaller than the Pungo I rented but I can get in easily.

Paddle float rescue?
Are you thinking of paddle float, or just swimming into the cockpit…? Just curious, since the first wouldn’t have made much sense in the Pungo with no perimeter lines.

Paddle Float?
I haven’t taken any classes yet (lined up though) so all I was going to to today was tip myself over and try to get out, right the boat and get back in. All at the beach. What do you think?

What rescue means
In water over your head, flipping the boat back over and re-entering from swimming without capsizing or refilling the cockpit with water. Is this what you are talking about? It is unclear whether you mean that or just being in water you can stand in. And no skirt at this time, yes?



Getting out w/no skirt should hardly be an issue, you’ll fall out with that nearly 3 ft long cockpit if I recall your size correctly, but I suggest you grab nose plugs for the first try. It gets water up your nose which some find uncomfortable at first.

Congratulations!!
You’ll want to learn the Cowboy scramble (google it) and then someone should show you the T-rescue or X rescue (where those perimeter lines come in handy). Cowboy scramble is a solo rescue, x rescue is when you’re with someone else (assisted rescue).

A paddle float is another $50. I took a class and learned how to use it but haven’t really felt the need to get one yet.

Practicing the scramble in hip deep water is OK to start with since you may fall over a time or two, but you really need to be in water over your head to practice the frog kick to get up on the deck.

IF you’re going to flip it and do a wet exit you want to be in neck deep or deeper. I accidentally drifted into shallower water once while practicing rescues and got really disconcerted when I started a wet exit and hit bottom.

Rescues

– Last Updated: Aug-22-11 10:29 AM EST –

Thanks guys. No skirt yet, no. Probably I'll get one eventually but not now.

Yes, I want to practice flipping it and getting back in. I did it at the beach and was able to do the cowboy style re entry. I didn't get stuck in the cockpit at all. It's pretty roomy for me.

The water wasn't over my head though. I'll try that in a few days.

I also filled the cockpit up with water and then swam it out and got back in. It felt tippy but didn't sink. Then I used the pump and pumped out water.

On the way home I got two large sponges because even after I pumped there was some water in the bottom. I couldn't get that water out on shore either! So a sponge should do it.

I saw dolphins jumping! :)!

Dolphins!?
Cool! Where are you?


She is on the water
With her own boat.



:stuck_out_tongue:

OK - great!
Don’t worry about it being bone dry - the boat won’t be wildly unstable with a bit of water in the bottom. If you can cowboy back in from being over your head that is great. It can be a bit more tiring than some other rescues - using a paddle float may be a good option if you need to preserve energy to get home. There are a few options on exactly how to use it.



As I recall you are at most 5’5"? Am I right? That means that you need to be attentive to how hard it is to pull a skirt off, given the likely arm reach needed. Plastic boat makes that a lot easier, but when you fit a skirt make sure it feels like you can get it off if you are tired. Looser and a little wetter is better than the extreme opposite.

Tall

– Last Updated: Aug-22-11 11:10 AM EST –

I'm actually 5ft 8in, and 130lbs. I have long arms and legs, lanky style. Clambering up onto the kayak was tiring but I need to try it in deeper water too. I did it a few times then started thinking about sharks.

Thanks for the advice. I do want a skirt before the water amd air gets too cold. I doubt I'll paddle if I'm fold, but cooler weather would be ok.



I'm in southwest Florida by the way, Englewood.

Strange responses are strange.

People are strange
When you’re a stranger. But I don’t mind. :slight_smile: