Looking for a plastic kayak for a guy with really big feet. I do a lot of canoeing, but my son wanted out of the bow so now he’s got a seayak & I’m looking for something to go out in rougher water (eg Lake Michigan/Huron) with him. We also do a lot of winter paddling, so bare feet don’t work well.
So I think I’m looking for a plastic touring kayak (so it can be carelessly hauled up on the rocks) with lots of foot room (high deck?). My size 16 paddling wellies/mukluks are about 15" long, which seems to eliminate every touring kayak I’ve seen.
I’ve tried a Prijon Kodiak, which was a fine boat, I really like their durable plastic, but only room for bare feet.
Also tried a Sealution XL which I didn’t think much of.
I’m guessing that I need a kayak spec’d at over 15" deep to get booted feet in (and more importantly - out)
Searching the web the only thing I found was the Seaward Vision - spec’d 16" deep - does that translate into lots of foot room? Unfortunately it is also fiberglass and $$$$.
A recreational tandem (open cockpit) was suggested, but I’m wondering if that is really any easier/better than my canoe for open water/wind/waves.
big foot
I have a 16’ Loon tandom and really have no problems with wind or waves ( Florida inshore only ). Just keep the pointy end the right direction when the 40+ footers go by. 12" chop is no problem and 15mph wind no big deal either.
Unfortunatly, depth at the cockpit. . .
doesn’t always translate into depth at the feet. I have size 14s, so I can sympathize.
I now paddle a Nordkapp, and I have a Romany on the way. Neither of these are high volume boats.
It’s actually pretty easy to get your feet into the boat. The trick is getting the room at the foot pegs, but there are some ways to make it work. I’ve removed the foot pegs and foamed out the forward bulkhead on my boats. This actually frees up an amazing amount of space.
You didn’t mention your height, but this makes a difference. The foot room gets tighter as your legs get longer.
A couple of boats that you might consider. the Kajak Sport Millennium has a lot of room. I happen to have one for sale (In Florida). In Plastic, you may want to consider the Wilderness Systems Tempest 170. If you want to build your own, the Chesapeake 18 is huge. I built one, but sold it because it was much larger than I needed. With that said, It paddled great.
There is really no way around it. You need to try on and paddle a variety of boats. Even No paper statistics will substitute.
Michael
Water shoes
if bare feet will work you could try flexable water shoes.
Chainsaw and a quart…
…of single malt whisky
Large Dogs
Try the Current Designs Storm, it is really big.
bulkhead footrest
Good point. If you don't have to be on footpegs you can move your feet closer to the centerline where there's more room. The problem is that many palstic boats don't have bulkheads that will handle the load.
A bit OT
A while back I chanced upon pictures of low volume kayaks from Japan. They were so low volume, they had two “hatches” for toes - hatches were placed where toes meet the deck.
That said, you could potentially get a used FG boat and modify the deck with recesses for your toes.
Explorer HV has special recesses for knees. Looks a bit funky, but definitely works.
Try a Valley Aquanaut HV
This boat is made in composite and plastic. Other candidates are a P&H Capella 173 (composite only) and believe it or not, an Eddyline Fathom. My son has size 14 feet and fit into all of these with room to spare.
Thanks, guys
You’re giving me some good food for thought. The footgear is really a big part of the problem, but I’m pretty committed to my wellies. Most of what we do is day-tripping - paddle to a rocky island, hike for awhile, repeat 'til tired/bored, toss in the river trips with multiple portages and I do want my boots. Especially in winter. Short of having something custom built at a dive shop I haven’t found any booties big enough (Rodeo considers 13 a XXXL), and even then I don’t really fancy changing footgear for a winter portage/hike.
For much of this I guess I can stick with my canoe, but my kid is pushihg for more offshore work - even if I spray-deck the canoe it has tremendous windage ( and I have a higher center of gravity).
I’ve got a lead on an Aquanaut HV to demo - it sounds likely on paper, except that when I hear “British Kayak” I think of more of a thoroughbred than I want to handle.
Dispensing with the footpegs makes sense, that’s what I did with the Prijon Kodiak I tried. I liked it a lot for barefoot work, but it didn’t have room for boots (or even sandals).
It looks like I’ll try to find a Loon Tandem or equivalent for the interim and see if it’s much of an advantage over the canoe - and save our rough water trips for my kayak test drives.
Building makes sense (I’ve got the shop, though not the time) if I can steel myself to go rock hunting in my custom kayak.
Size 14s
But I feel your pain.
Try the Prijon Touryak or Current Designs Storm.
If you can swing for a glass boat, the CD Solstice Titan has a ton of foot room.