Lenght???
I do not believe lenght alone means much.
Sea kayaks are designed to handle conditions you find in the ocean, rec boats are not.
Any kayak not equipped with waterproof hatches/bulkheads is NOT a seakayak (or touring kayak). Kayaks equipped with huge cockpit are NOT seakayaks, they would be unsafe if paddled in rough conditions.
Design of the hull is also a major factor. And you can go on and on and on about finding differences between rec and sea kayaks.
Again… lenght alone doesn’t mean a kayak is a seakayak or a rec boat.
Boats on fire.
ditto
– Last Updated: Dec-06-07 12:04 PM EST –
I own a W/S Tempest 170--by most definitions a sea kayak---but I would be comfortable letting a beginner go paddling in it--In fact a couple of years ago my wife and I went out--she had never been in a kayak before--she tried my sisters Old Town rec boat and wasn't happy with it(harder to steer in a straight line) then used my tempest and loved it. As far as skill level goes, most of the paddlers, if not all, that I go out with have sea kayak type boats (not surprising since that is what we do on the Maine coast).
My sense is that the type of boat you buy for your first one has more to do with your wallet and your planned use of it than what catagory it may fall into---if you are happy with your Palmico or Kestral, think it serves you well, then there is no problem and you shouldn't have to defend your boat to anybody.
I sometimes go to another paddling website where the members for some reason, have signature lines that state the makes and models of the boats they paddle---I find this somewhat amusing as more then a few of them are fairly new paddlers but apparently have the money to buy 3500 dollar sea kayaks. (well maybe they get them second hand) One of the things I've learned over the last 54 years is not to judge anybody by what they have for material goods whether it's the kind of car they drive or the kind of boat they paddle----
signed jonsprag1
1999 Toyota Corolla
2003 W/S Tempest--RM--Sunset
Not heard about Indian Canoes
Canadian canoes is correct.
"Racing Touring Kayaks"
as P_140 called 'em.
I have it on good authority the Red Ones are faster.
Length -> red herring
outfitting, bulkheads, built in safety features. and hull design are far more important than length in categorizing a kayak.
12’ CD Raven
Mariner Coaster 13’4"
14 foot Pamlico 140 -
would you take the longest kayak out on Lake Michigan in four foot waves 15 knot winds?
The paddling industry profits from different subcategories: that’s marketing, not design. If they called everything other than a seakayak a “rec boat” then it would be harder to entice people to buy a new boat every other year that was 28" instead of 30" wide.
BTW about definitions: Except if we are paid to paddle, we are all recreational paddlers no matter how long we’ve paddled or how passionate we are about it. Can’t compare a dollar defined skill assessment of a person to a feature defined assessment of a thing.
Enjoy the P-140 for what it is. Don’t expect it to do more than what it’s designed to do. Labels don’t mean squat after you flip over in situations you and the kayak can’t handle. We all encounter that. The marketing lit doesn’t matter.
After all, Pork is now called “The Other White Meat” but it’s still Pig 
My Coaster
was the best rough water boat I’ve ever owned. And it didn’t have bulkheads [but it did have floatation bags]. john
Mariner
By all accounts it is a wonderful kayak,
using floatbags not bulkheads. Not at all a recreational kayak which is why I used it in my example of length NOT mattering as to how to categorize a kayak.
For a seagoing kayak - compared to almost all other seagoing designs out there in, say,the last ten years - the Mariner is an exception in this respect. A very seaworthy exception.
My usage of the criteria “bulkheads” is because we were discussing how to differentiate a rec boat from a seakayak by other than the illogical criterion of length.
Rec flatwater kayaks (as I define them) have one or zero bulkheads. This design trait opens up the necessity of using float bags of the proper size and checking them regularly for full inflation.
That is different from most modern seakayaks which typically feature two sealed bulkheads. This design requires the paddler to be attentive to the hatch seals.
Therefore in my mind the design helps me differentiate rec from seakayak. Will there be a few exceptions that go the other way -sure.
Better now?
FWIW I started out relying on sealed bulkheads only in my seakayak. After some good advice from Melissa (waterstrider) I added some Wildwasser Overnighters bow & stern. They are a combined floatation bag/dry bag. Best of both worlds and extra insurance.
Don’t care
The incessant need to have clearly defined classifications of such things is just another sign that winter time is here.
Will it change anything if we nail down some arbitrary line? If it floats, hop in and start paddling…
Jim
crabbiness
is an even better sign that winter is here, Jim.
My Old Town Castine is a sea kayak!
http://www.tp-kayaks.com/_kayaks/_oldtownkayak/castine.html
I knew it was something special. See cooldoctor1 and bruce, it likes deep water better than shallow water, that’s why I had a difficult time keeping up with you in your Prijon Calabrias on the 18" deep I & M canal, but lead the way on the deeper Illionis River.
P.S. Now the two Castines can sit more proudly on the boat racks in the garage next to the composite Aquaterra Sea Lion and the Swift Caspian Sea.
Okay then
I retract my crabbiness and submit the following definitions:
If you build up speed to hit the shore as fast as possible, it’s a rec boat. If you are careful, it’s a touring sea kayak. I think that’ll be about right 75% of the time.
Jim
best def i’ve heard yet
I didn’t have sex with her either.
Good definition
I’m convinced.