Hi my name is Michael. Happy to join the forum. I’ve lucked up in the past year and was able to buy a 1986 klepper aerius 2 for 500 bucks. Also purchased a 2009 folbot greenland 2 today for 600 bucks. Both are in great condition. Just wanted some feedback on some good areas to kayak in nyc. Already went around Roosevelt Island a few times but am afraid to go further south. I like calmer waters so if anyone can tell me some good areas I’ll appreciate it. So happy with these folding kayaks. Looking for a feather craft soon. If there’s any groups out there I would love to join.
Marine Park and Gerritsen Beach are sheltered and really nice places to paddle. There is a local osprey, as well as egret and heron and currently also a pair of swans. Jamaica Bay on calmer days too.
Nice. Love to see nature. Wildlife and such. Are there any designated launch areas?
I’m not in your area, but if you click at the top of the page on GO PADDLE that will take you to a map of places you can launch from. Also, there is a Go Paddling app that is very useful too. Have fun!
Explore Long Island also.
If you have not already found and joined it, foldingkayaks.org is a user forum exclusively for foldable boats. Good place to find used Feathercrafts listed, too (though you have to act fast to buy those rare boats any more.) Check both the classifieds and the forum headed “Deals Found” where people share listings that they have come across.
I’ve not paddled around NYC but one of my early kayaking mentors lived in coastal Connecticut and I paddled with my Feathercraft Kahuna with him many times there. Some trips I would highly recommend are putting in at the Hull Bridge (Connecticut route 8) and paddling down the Housatonic River to the grassy maze of the salt marsh delta at Long Island Sound, which is great for bird watching – on one outing we rounded a bend and flushed 9 great white herons. Paddling back upriver at the end of the day, there are restaurants with docks along the river where you can stop for dinner before getting back to your ramp. On one trip we paddled upriver after dark which was quite magical.
Paddling around the Thimble Islands just east of Branford on the LIS coast is also an enjoyable outing.