That’s what you guess for guessing Mr. TomL, The history of kayaking includes hunting for whale, caribou, seals, and fishing - (fishing - sometimes in tandem and with hooks sized specifically to limit the size of the fish they’d have to haul into the boat). I know of no Pacific Rim culture that called open boats kayaks and have no idea what the reference to females means, but again in the history of kayaking, men paddled, women sewed on the skins. With all due respect, I think you’d find a more expansive and authentic reference on kayaking to be a real eye (and mind) opener.
How many judges do we have on this bench? Lessee if I am in a kayak I am a kayaker… Can a kayaker be a canoeist? What about the paddler who has SUPs , canoes solo and tandem, fishing kayaks, rec kayaks, and sea kayaks. Seems the judge will judge me on what I wear that day,
Gimme my umiak.
Sorry, missed it earlier. My “stake” is that I have been involved in kayak safety for about 30 years, and do presentations on safety, write articles, etc. all from experience as a kayaker, tour operator, etc. My concern is that people toss terms around flippantly and often dismiss the seriousness of the challenges of particular crafts. When you see a newspaper headline “Kayaker drowns…” and then read they were in a pedal powered fishing platform 4 miles from shore and were not “kayakers” in the technical sense at all, it’s frustrating to hear the generic terms tossed around. I will say that “fishing platforms” have expanded the market for watercraft, beyond the point that short, fat recreational kayaks did for sea kayaking,…It’s not about fishing, people have fished out of kayaks for centuries. I think the whole discussion shows how broad the interpretation has become…maybe it’s not a bad thing, let’s all do whatever we want to do in whatever we want to call it as long as we do it responsibly and safely.
Indeed, they are great boats for fishing from, that’s not the issue, but that it seems to be more of me failing to stress my point correctly or those reading it quick to defend fishing - which has nothing to do with it. I’ve been fishing out of my kayak for years. The point obviously not being made or, indeed, moot or hair-splitting is that a fat, open, sit-on-top, pedal craft is not a kayak. Why not call it a canoe? Oh, because it comes with a double paddle so its a kayak. Well, it comes with pedals, too, so let’s call it a water bike! .Maybe it is all moot?
@Rookie said:
The American Canoe Association (ACA) isn’t bothered that some folks use kayaks for fishing. To the contrary, it’s developing skills courses for both river kayak fishing and coastal kayak fishing and certified instructors can earn a river kayak fishing endorsement.
The coastal kayak fishing endorsement for instructors is being developed.
I agree, and think about it, a non-kayaker hunter hears that “kayaks” are especially stable…but doesn’t hear that they were talking about “fishing” kayaks and he reads that they go out onto open water and are very safe - again the news is about “fishing” kayaks, which are NOT kayaks, they don’t handle the same way, don’t respond the same way. So, Mr. naive hunter hears " kayak or even “fishing” kayak, and goes to buy a cheap “kayak” for hunting…they are all the same, right, and it’s a “kayak”, right? He gets in the sea kayak, with perhaps limited capabilities and skills, and with the confidence he’s acquired from all the hype about fishing “kayaks” and feels he’s (or she) safe… My point all along is that we are misrepresenting both watercraft by generic referrals and comparisons.
@Allan Olesen said:
You are lucky that the anglers use fishing kayaks and not sea kayaks. When they get themselves killed, you can at least point to the kayak and say: “That was not a sea kayaker.”
Where I live, hunters buy sea kayaks and get themselves killed, usually because of cold water. I think hunters make up more than 50% of the casualties in sea kayaks. And when it hits the media, there are usually photos of their sea kayak, which has been found somewhere.
I wish those incidents would be considered hunting accidents, instead of kayaking accidents.
@Wavetamer said:
I don’t think anyone’s going to be pissed off, unless a gentle smirk is considered being pissed. It’s kind of like the look a guy on a Harley makes when the guy on the Vespa pulls up alongside! SERIOUSLY, it really doesn’t matter, enjoy the water, be safe - that’s what counts!)> @sing said:
@Peter-CA said:
Not sure why it matters? Are we trying to move the people we think are less safe to be a different category from us “safe” kayakers?
Ditto that. I am picking up one of those real fishing kayaks - a Hobie - this weekend. Can’t wait to get out there to piss the real kayakers off. LOL!
sing
I bet Harley types don’t smirk at BMW cycles. I’ll never have one but am impressed by quiet power.
@Wavetamer said:
I don’t think anyone’s going to be pissed off, unless a gentle smirk is considered being pissed. It’s kind of like the look a guy on a Harley makes when the guy on the Vespa pulls up alongside! SERIOUSLY, it really doesn’t matter, enjoy the water, be safe - that’s what counts!)> @sing said:
@Peter-CA said:
Not sure why it matters? Are we trying to move the people we think are less safe to be a different category from us “safe” kayakers?
Ditto that. I am picking up one of those real fishing kayaks - a Hobie - this weekend. Can’t wait to get out there to piss the real kayakers off. LOL!
sing
I bet Harley types don’t smirk at BMW cycles. I’ll never have one but am impressed by quiet power.
Personally, I am not at all into motorcycles. When I end up next to one at the red light with my bicycle, I don’t give a hoot (likely as s/he couldn’t less about me) unless his/her prescence is somehow a threat to my safety on the road. if s/he crashes into a wall because s/he is going too fast, that’s his/her problem. I feel the same way about cyclist biking while texting. Saw one hit a pothole and go over while doing that. His stupidity, his pain. No reflection on me as a cyclist.
Hey Sing, did you get a pedal style Hobie? My first “real” kayak was a Hobie Tandem, Odyssey, they use that hull shape for some of their first pedal models, I have not followed them for years, but they kind of suck in the surf when going in and going out.
@SeaDart said:
Hey Sing, did you get a pedal style Hobie? My first “real” kayak was a Hobie Tandem, Odyssey, they use that hull shape for some of their first pedal models, I have not followed them for years, but they kind of suck in the surf when going in and going out.
Yup. Got a Hobie Revo 13. I don’t intend to do surf launches or landing with the Revo, or any of my fishing SOTs, because I don’t want to jeopardize (very expensive) rods/reels and other equipment. Fortunately, most places I fish in Boston Harbor have protected launches. Once out, I can deal with swells and ferry wakes. I have to figure out what the Hobie can handle, although Revo is supposed to be the ,more “paddleable” of the lineup because its relatively narrower beam (28.5") and hull design. Will find out next weekend with a Boston Harbor fishing excursion (unless we get waves for a surf session instead).