swifty
Forgot to mention… three reasons the swifty is a nice secondary boat.
bought mine for $260 new.
Dirigo vs Loon
guy I work with went to Old Town with the intention of buying a Dirigo, and ended up with a 12 ft Loon. found it more comfortable. The Dirigo had a built in cup holder which he found a bit stuck in the way and he didn’t like the seat adjustment on it. Not to say you won’t think the opposite, but that’s his take on it.
Perception has a new work out boat
in thermoform that would be good.Short , but sleek and light weight. Sounds perfect for what you do. Sorry, I don’t remember the name.
From a real sea yak to a rec boat?
It strikes me that ... except for the Necky Manitou reply (hey, I just bought one as my first kayak)... almost all of the replies have mentioned the wide rec boats. While anything is going to be a significant step down in performance to what griffithbuilt is paddling, the wide short rec boats are going to be even more so. If it were me, I'd choose a Necky Manitou or a short Dagger Blackwater (or Catalyst) or one of the other more performance-oriented rec boats that would be under 50 lbs/13 ft rather than a big wide tub-type rec boat.
Whoops! edit: if you thought the manitou sport cockpit was too small, the manitou would be smaller. The Dagger cockpits are a bit bigger.
kestrel 140
That LookshaV is a big boat,
Consider an inflatable…
A lightweight easy to setup/takedown inflatable may work for you. Keep it in the trunk of your car. An inflatable also makes an excellent travel boat when using public transportation - take it on a plane, bus, or train. Innova inflatables get pretty good ratings. The Sunny model can be used as a single or tandem. Last fall I spotted a couple paddling an Innova Sunny on the Sea or Cortez and I was surprised how well they did even when the wind kicked-up and the water got rough.
http://www.innovakayak.com/
short and cheap
Those seem to be the two main points you want to look for. I dropped from a 12 foot rec yak to an OT Rush. Those two and a half feet are a killer on the lake, but I like it on the river. I throw it in my truck and leave it there all summer…well all year really. I have a solo canoe and it is a work out, but I think that you would want to stick with the full upper body of a kayak workout.
What is the harm of buying a $300 otter/rush/swifty/critter/streak? they can be sold nearly as easily as they can be baought and you are not out much. I love the cheap rec yaks for daily use pond and puddle jumping.
liveoutside
I’ll second the smaller car idea
I carry two full size boats on my Subaru with no problems at break-neck speeds.
whats wrong with the car?
Dude you’re huge, what’s the problem with throwing either of the boats your already got on top of your car? I’m a fair bit smaller and can throw my Cape Horn 170(not any smaller or lighter than either of your boats) on top of my Firefly no problem, that and carry it a couple blocks if need be.
How about a Pyrahna Master TG for the ultimate in small and versatile? its a basic cheap whitewater boat with retractable skeg.
get a good car rack instead
I’m pretty small (5’5" and 125 lbs), and I don’t have a problem getting a heavy kayak up on a car–I just use a good rack with hully rollers on the back end, lift the front end of the kayak up onto the rollers while the rear end is still on the ground, and then slide the boat up. It doesn’t take much strength.
(That said, last summer I bought a BBK valkyrie, and the lightness is one of the many things I love about it.)
However–even if cartopping isn’t a big deal with a good rack, it’s still nice to have a cheap used little plastic kayak that you can keep on your car all summer, bounce around on rocks and pavement without worrying about, squeeze the dog in front of you, and never worry about anyone stealing the boat. For this purpose, I have a Necky gannet (no longer made, but they make similar boats). Dogs, kids, neighbors, anyone can hop in and paddle. But no one is ever going to steal the boat, which is one less thing to worry about.
collecting boats
Don’t forget–accumulating boats in your garage is one of the signs of an addict. My boats keep multiplying mysteriously (I guess there’s nothing else for them to do to entertain themselves during the long Wisconsin winters).