I do know this type of thread has been opened before, but I’m hoping to get some feedback. I’ll list my questions in bullets.
First, some data:
We’re both 28 yrs old. I am 6’1", approximately 220 lbs, I sat in the store in a Tempest 170 and Tsunami 145. The Tempest felt nice and snug, my guess is that it fit good? The Tsunami had plenty of room, also felt good. If everything goes well, Kayaking will be part of my plan to get back down to around 180 lbs (my “fit” weight I’ve been at once in awhile). I have never Kayaked in my life, though I’ve been out in a Canoe plenty of times. I have a reasonable amount of muscle, and am pretty excited about the Kayaking thing.
My wife is 5’10", approximately 225 lbs. She sat in the Tsunami 145 and had a little room to spare. She didn’t try the Tempest (mainly because she may have died of embarassment if it didn’t fit). She is interested in losing weight as well. She used to actually be in better shape than me in college, but we ate out too much once we were on a more open budget
They do have Kayak lessons at the shop, so we may take those lessons before or after we purchase the Kayaks. The problem is that they don’t have the Tempest in rental, so the only way I could try it here would be to purchase it. Before reason: So that we could see what Kayaking is like. After reason: So that we could have the lessons in our actual kayaks, rather than the rentals.
Questions:
Is there some type of size problem I could have with the Tempest I don’t know about? The guy working at the Kayak shop seemed to be pointing me at the Tsunami instead of the Tempest (said something like “That Tsunami would be a good boat”, “That Tsunami fit well”, etc). I know the Tempest would be more tippy than the Tsunami to start with, but I’m not too concerned. I like the water So is it a size thing, or is there some other reason he might have been steering me towards the Tsunami?
If my wife gets a Tsunami and I get a Tempest, will we have trouble paddling together? Specifically, I was thinking that I would most likely have a higher cruising speed with a Tempest, so I would need to be paddling slower to have her keep up? On the other hand, even if we both got Tsunami’s, I assume with me having more muscle, I’d be able to go faster anyway so that would be an issue no matter what?
My wife isn’t quite as excited about Kayaking as me (I tend to get a bit obsessed with my hobbies, when I went into Scuba diving, I became an instructor). If I want her to stay interested, would people recommend she stick with the Tsunami 145 as it would be a more forgiving boat? As I understand it, the Tempest would be more tippy for awhile, and I’d hate to give her some bad first experiences. We can always sell the Tsunami and buy something better if she likes it?
If the Tempest fit me in the store, is there a good reason to try it out on the water before purchasing? The reason I think that might not be necessary is that I believe that I would feel tippy / uncomfortable for the first few days in the Kayak anyway, so any impression I had would be pointless.
Anyway, I’ve blabbed enough, people mind giving me feedback?
ummm… 1. So is it a size thing, or is there some other reason he might have been steering me towards the Tsunami?
he is probably hoping that you can drop the $ Then come back later on when you have outgrown the tsunami…and/or recognizes that maniacal i will jump head first into any hobby that i can (yep-i got that look too)…
2. If my wife gets a Tsunami and I get a Tempest, will we have trouble paddling together?
Yep…
3. My wife isn’t quite as excited about Kayaking as me (I tend to get a bit obsessed with my hobbies, when I went into Scuba diving, I became an instructor). If I want her to stay interested, would people recommend she stick with the Tsunami 145 as it would be a more forgiving boat? As I understand it, the Tempest would be more tippy for awhile, and I’d hate to give her some bad first experiences. We can always sell the Tsunami and buy something better if she likes it?
As an instructor up here in RI we start people out in Tempests…no problems…you get over the Tippiness thing purty quick when you need to…also you learn pretty quickly how to use that to your advantage…
find somewhere that teaches in them…or can demo a pair at once…a 170 & a 165 for her…but the best is to take a classin them-that gets out all the stability issues…plus you learn at the smae time what to do if you do go over…
4. If the Tempest fit me in the store, is there a good reason to try it out on the water before purchasing?
if possible that would be best…youmight leanr that you do not want to kayak at all…
It will be tippy (maybe) for about 45 minutes then it goes away. I was 235 on July 1 2005 and am now 195 with a lot more muscle which is heavier. This is all because of me taking the tempest out every day and paddling. 5 miles a day was not uncommon at all for a quick workout.
I cannot imagine your wife not fittin in the Tempest. Maybe the thigh pads have to go just like mine did to keep the circulation going but otherwise there shoud not be any issue with her getting in.
Quit worrying about any embarassment. Get in the boat and go paddle and work your torso! The lbs will drop. Oh and BTW…1/3 plate cooked greens, 1/3 plate raw greens. 1/3 plate protein (salmon, trout, tofu etc) and no carbs after 5pm.
get lots of sleep and drink lots of water and take your multivitamin. done. (it worked for me anyway)
go find an outfitter who rents Tempests. And take a lesson in it. For the cost of a tank of gas you can feel all this for yourself and I suspect you may talk to people who actually paddle tempests. I hesitate whenever I hear that I can’t demo a boat. Why in the world would I buy it then?
I agree emphatically with what was said. YOu get the Tempest and your wife gets the Tsunami and you will both be frustrated.
oh yeah… the one thing I would change, if I could easily, would be the legth of the 170 cockpit. wish it was a couple inches longer. You CAN easily move the seat aft a bit(1/2-3/4")in composite and up to 2" in roto.
btw- there are 2 seats in Tempests. old and new. the new ones don’t have the notch cut into the back of the butt area. HIGHLY desireable. wider and lower. Tempest owners can get replacements at a good dealer for somewhere under $200. comes with a new backstrap and leg lifters.
yes the seat/cockpit is consideably bigger in the 180.
Paul’s right… Paul’s right about the stability issue. While you should always paddle a boat before even thinking of buying it (anything else is a leap of faith), if the Tempest fit you in the store then stability won’t be a problem for long.
Example: we’re doing our summer Kid’s Kayak Camp here at FBO, and I took out a tempest while the kids played around. At one point, I had four kids ages 8-12 on top of the kayak actually trying (unsuccesfully) to tip me over. Later, I took my feet out of the cockpit and hung them over the sides while paddling, then turned in the cockpit fully 180 degrees and paddled backwards for awhile without even getting out of the boat (and did it again when the seating got uncomfortable).
Not the kind of use I’d recommend, especially for a beginner, but it shows just how stable that boat can be!
However, unless you took it very easy on your wife, I think she’d get frustrated in the tsunami watching how little you have to work in the tempest to go the same speed she’s going. Especially if she’s not already enthusiastic about the sport
well now… me thinks if you fit in a GS you should be real close to a 170 w/ NEW seat. I have seen some pretty (??) BIG butts in her. more issues with the thighs than the seat. The thigh pads can be removed as well, for a bigger fit!
Thanks everyone Thanks everyone for all the helpful comments, you’re all great
It’s a good point that a woman’s weight is usually distributed differently… I could have a huge gut and still fit in the kayak, since male hips / legs don’t carry much of the weight. I think making sure the Kayak actually fits her is a very important step. Good to know that the thigh braces can be removed, I’ll make sure to keep that in mind if we have issues.
I also want to just get the darn Kayak already… I feel summer slipping past, and I want to get some movement in before the snow starts
ps I don’t think anyone loses weight kayaking. You and your wife could walk in the morning for an hour 7days/week and lose more weight than buying a kayak and spending all the transport/set-up break down time.
i just move mine around…disappears around the middle of me (then i need a new neoprene skirt) and moves to the shoulders (as if they are not wide already)…
disagree emphatically kayaking is a great workout. One of the best around for a low impact workout. As long as you concentrate on torso rotation you are essentially doing crunches every time you paddle. I am living proof (35 lbs in 6 months doing nothing else except a slight change in my already balanced diet)
Anything, everyday Just paddling on weekends I don’t lose - but don’t gain either. Same goes for walking. An 8 mile or longer walk is a regular weekend thing - and I don’t drop and ounce doing them even in 90+ heat.
Wearing a heart rate monitor I can tell you that I burn a LOT more calories paddling. Nearly same as cycling for me. Key is actually paddling at a decent clip for a decent distance.
It’s the everyday thing that counts. Something, anything. Preferably at least an hour. Need to break a sweat. Taking an occasional day of, and lots of light days OK. I have not been doing this for a year or so and it’s caught up to me.
Weights can be a bit of a shortcut for me as to shift metabolism, but if I really want to drop and get into good cardio shape I have to bite the bullet and run.
Currently I’m back to a weight where I don’t find running very kind to the body. Running begin to feel pretty good when I dip back below 200.
Time to work back into more regular/frequent exercise again - doing a mix of whatever. My road bike is dusted off and new saddle being tried out. I was sneaking in after work paddles but shoulder trouble has nixed that for a while (it hurts just from cycling and walking so I’ll take that to mean it needs more time before resuming paddling).
What goes in vs. what gets burned If you exercise (including paddling) enough or at a high enough output rate to exceed the calories you take in, you will lose fat. You might not lose weight per se but you will gain muscle and lose fat.
I went on a month-long paddling trip on which we did no hiking at all. Yet I was losing so much fat that all the muscles stood out like cords. Weight went down only a few pounds but the obvious visual effect told the real story.
So you CAN lose weight by just paddling. It doesn’t even have to be race pace.
OT What did Tacomapaddler end up getting anyway?? Did he go with the Tempest or the Tsunami???Huh huh huh?? I went on a little holiday and now I wanna now??
Ok, it’s not that big a deal but his input would probably be pretty cool for Ceberon to hear. Maybe not so entrenched in his boat camp yet.
