@string said:
What do your club members recommend?
I am yet to join the club but I guess I will reach out to them as well . I just wanted to get a sense of which kayak to rent for my first class.
@Rookie said:
Here’s a good read about sea kayaks. https://frontenac-outfitters.com/why-choose-a-sea-kayak/A 15’5" kayak is just as “seaworthy” as a 16, 17, or 18 foot boat. So is a 14-foot touring kayak. They all have two sealed bulkheads, hatches, and deck/perimeter lines.
Both Valley and North Shore, which specialize in sea kayaks, make 15-foot boats.
I guess if you’re planning extended trips and need lots of room in the hatches to store gear and food, then a longer boat might be a better way to go.
I’d find a good outfitter in the area who also offers instruction and start the search there. Good thinking on renting different boats before buying. You need to find what fits you best.
Thanks for the link. It is a good post and makes my decision making proces easier. I will check out both valley and North shore in the sub 15 foot range as I don’t plan to camp more than one night .
@Johnnysmoke said:
A used P&H Delphin 155, meets the 15.5 requirements and will take good care of you until you’re ready to move up.
I will add Delphin to my short list to rent before buying. Thanks appreciate it.
@Peter-CA said:
Dereck Hutchison, a Brit who is often considered one of the founders of modern sea kayaking, has been quoted as being asked what the perfect length sea kayak was and responding that it was 16 feet. He then went on to say the reason for this is that his garage was 16.5 feet long.10+ years ago, sea kayaks were pretty much all 16’ or longer. People were taking longer trips up the inside passage or island hopping off o Maine, so they wanted boats that could carry lots of gear and hold decent speed.
More recently “day touring” kayaks have come out. These are shorter boats, often in that 14-16’ range. They have all the safety aspects and such that full size sea kayaks, but are shorter. This makes them easier to store, transport, etc.
Many old school paddlers seem to still have it in their head that everyone still need a long kayak. I find this mindset particularly common inside clubs. Reality is that while there are some differences between a day touring and sea kayak, you need to look at intended use to decide what is best. For many, a day touring is just fine.
You’d want a full touring kayak (16’+) if:
- you are planning to do camping trips more than a night or two out of your kayak
- the people you paddle with go hard and fast, as the longer boat generally can hold a faster speed (but watch out, as high rocker longer boats are still slow - for example the Necky Chatham 16 is 16.5 feet long, but consider a dog when it comes to speed).
You would want a day touring boat if:
- you don’t have room to store the longer boat (sounds like this may be your case)
- want an easier to transport boat (usually lighter, doesn’t overhang off roof as much, etc.)
- you are often paddling narrower channels or creeks- a shorter boat is more maneuverable and needs less channel width to turn around
- you are planning to do some of the more aggressive sides of kayaking, like rock gardening or surfing (maneuverable boats are very useful in this)
My storage area is 15’long, so I no longer own boats longer than that. And I have found I don’t miss them (much). About once a year there may be some trip or longer paddle I would like a longer boat on, but for that it is cheaper for me to just rent or borrow.
Shorter boats that you could consider:
P&H Dephin or Aries (you probably would fit the 150 better than 155) - 15’ or 15.5’
Dagger Alchemy S or L (though I’d lean toward L for your size) - 14’
Dagger Stratos S - 14.5’
Valley Gemini (any version) - 15’
North Shore Aspect - 14’3" for LV, 14’9" for regular
Jackson Journey 14 - 14’P&H, Valley, and North Shore are not as readily available as Dagger and Jackson.
If you do need speed but want shorter, the Valley Gemini RM or ST may be ones to really look at, if you can find them. I have found that the Geminis hold speed much better than expected for a 15’ long boat. When my girlfriend switched from an Alchemy S to a Gemini RM, her speed increase remarkably. Went from me waiting for her to me having to work to keep up with her. Tracks well, which also means it is not as maneuverable as other 15’ boats.
Thanks Peter.
Such a informative and well formatted reply. I have spent countless hours reading blogs/forums and watching youtube video’s and getting more confused then where I started but your reply simply sums it up. Now , I can sleep better 
For me Most of the day touring criteria checks out. I don’t think I will camp out of the kayak for more than one night. My garage recess maxes out at 15.6 inches and I won’t have to park my car outside and bear the wrath of my wife :).
I appreciate you specifying the makes and models of all the kayaks suitable for me. I will try to rent atleast 3-4 out of the list before buying one…likely used if i can find it !
Happy Paddling.
@seatour said:
@string said:
What do your club members recommend?I am yet to join the club but I guess I will reach out to them as well . I just wanted to get a sense of which kayak to rent for my first class.
At our last seakayak club meeting a guy in a similar position as you showed up to check us out. I think he went home with a possible boat from one of the members that needed to trim the fleet. By all means go and make contact. You might be able to borrow one if they sense you are a serious want to get into the sport kind of guy. The best one to rent is likely one with two bulkheads one fore and one aft. A lot of classes include rescues. Which will be more difficult (near impossible) with a rec boat.
See if someone in the local club has a boat they are willing to let you use for the class. I have regularly brought two boats when we did a local thing and we needed a spare skinny boat for someone to mess with. You would fit most boats fine, so what boat is not a tricky question like the time that folks up in Maine had to find a boat for Wayne Horodowich to borrow for a symposium. He is very very tall.
@Yanoer said:
@magooch said:
If you’re serious about a very seaworthy, fast, light sea kayak under 16’, NC Kayaks has a sale going right now and you can get one of these 15’-8" composite boats for just a bit more, or about the same price as a poly boat. Go to nckayaks.com and check them out.How difficult are those NC kayaks to turn? They look like the stern is quite skegged that it would take a lot of edge to break it free to turn readily. I wouldn’t buy one without trying first.
When it comes to turning any kayak, I highly recommend learning to bow rudder. As I said in another post, if you learn the right bow rudder technique, stern ruddering will be something you will use for surfing.
The 15’-8" NC turns very easy, but it also tracks nicely–as any well designed sea kayak should. The bonus is that NC kayaks have no need for a skeg, nor a rudder.
I completely agree with your determination to try any boat before you buy, but I will also assure you that until you have lots of time in the seat, you’re probably not going to be ready to evaluate most boats. Characteristics that you might think are fine out the gate may later not be so important and might even be a drag.
It’s highly unlikely that you will ever get the chance to demo an NC in your neck of the woods, so I will only say that these are great sea kayaks and they do exactly what the manufacturer says.
If you are willing to consider a used boat…not a bad idea for a first kayak…I can recommend the Wilderness Systems Cape Horn 15…very stable and forgiving novice boat, comfortable fit, with enough ‘growing room’ to allow for considerable skill development…it’s a little slow, and a few pounds heavier than ideal, but we’ve had ours in the family fleet for many years, and it’s still one of the favourites.
Can you hang a kayak in your garage above your car on pulleys?
I’ve been very happy with my used Dagger Alchemy at 14 feet. It’s not fast but it’s plenty seaworthy. Easy to turn.
OK the rear hatch cover lets too much water in… dry bags a must. Bought it used at a great price. Not one bit sorry.
Put the Wilderness Systems Zephyr on your list of boats to try.
In case you’re interested there’s a used WS Tempest on DC craigslist for $900 looks to be in great condition.
At 165 pounds I would suggest you try/buy the lower volume versions. Paddling too much boat is not fun. The Tempest 165 and NOT the 170. The smaller Alchemy. The smaller Zephyr. Etc.
The DC Craigslist one is a 165.
Your almost my exact size iam 5 pounds heaver and the P&H Delphin you want is the 150 the 155 is to big for me. Iam loose in the 155, My friend who is 6’2" maybe 200 pounds uses a 155. Also a Valley Avocet plastic version, it is discontinued but might find one is my main day paddle boat, Great in BIG water. A P&H Scorpion LV would also work. The Dagger Alchemy LV would be your choice. I never paddle one but sat in both and the bigger one is too big for me so would be for you too.
@Rex said:
At 165 pounds I would suggest you try/buy the lower volume versions. [snip] The smaller Alchemy. [snip]
In general, at your size the smaller models for most boats likely fit. But the Alchemy is likely an exception to this.
Out here in CA, we have found the Alchemy to be a strange breed. In general, we didn’t think the S version should exist, because we haven’t found people it fits well.
Most people who you would think would fit the S find they prefer the L. Perfect example is Greg Berman, who is about 160lbs. He is a ACA level 5 coastal kayaking instructor (ACA’s highest level) and one of the founders of Neptune’s Rangers. He extensively tried both sizes and got the L. I think Mark and Winny, two other Neptune Ranger members who are in this weight range both paddle Ls.
I kind of put it at maybe 150 and under to use the S, but the two size boats use the same cockpit opening and width. Someone who is under 150 really needs a narrower cockpit opening if they want to have any chance of using the thigh braces. My 110 lb girlfriend had an S, and when she went to try to roll, she would just fall out. Had to move her to a new boat pretty quick.
It’s be n a few years since I’ve tried the Alchemy’s on for size and my recollection is that my size 8 Chota Mukluk Lites were a snug fit. I prefer ample foot room.
I’m 5’6” and 165 lbs and my preferred kayaks are a Current Designs Infusion 135 composite, which seems no longer made, and an Epic 16X. They both track easily for me, are fun to pay around in, plenty maneuverable and handle wind and chop quite nicely. Never had them in big waves. I bought both for less than half price used.
My tricks for making a boat fit me properly… I move the seats back; especially helpful with my Tempest 165. The Alchemy I got used at such a great price that I had no reservations about removing all the stiffening hardware and foam.
Thanks everyone for all the pointers . I am more inclined towards 15ft and less right now(easy storage) but will see how it handles in water…
Till now I had only considered storing the kayak on its side on a suspenz ez kayak rack as I believe the kayak is strongest on its sides. My ceiling’s height is only 8ft hence I ruled out hoisting it up.
Another I would add to the list that Peter-CA posted is the Venture Easky 15 and 15LV. The LV is a lower volume model for small to medium paddlers – you are the height and shoe size of my ex boyfriend and 20 pounds lighter – he loved my 15LV and ended up getting a regular 15 for himself when we couldn’t find an LV. Venture discontinued the model but good used ones do show up. They replaced it with the Islay 14 and 14LV. I cannot personally vouch for those models but I have heard they are also a pleasure to paddle and very responsive, even in challenging conditions.
It’s a British made brand but there are some dealers in the US Northeast. Prices are in the same range as other good quality rotomold touring kayaks. With the favorable exchange rate recently with Canada, buying one up there and bringing it across the border might be an economical option. Got time for a road trip to Ontario?
Couple of more factors to consider are the width and weight of the kayak. If you have good balancing skills to start, a narrow kayak will fit you. But if not, I would recommend a 24" width kayak to start. For the weight, if you need to load and unload your kayak to your car roof by yourself, consider rent or buy a lighter one.