We havt great kayaks, but as we get older it’s getting harder to get them on top of the car. We’ve tried some lift assist set ups. We are considering inflatables or foldables. We need gear storage for occasional overnight trips. I haven’t seen anyone that would have carrying capacity. Any ideals?
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@willowleaf knows folders well; perhaps she’ll weigh-in.
Awhile back, I noticed that schlepping around a 55 lb kayak was taking some of the fun out of paddling for me. Now, most days, I use a Northstar solo canoe (<30lbs) instead of a kayak. [https://www.northstarcanoes.com/].
Take a look at the lineup from Swift [https://swiftcanoe.com/]. They make gorgeous (IMO) and lightweight kayaks and canoes. Note: If you’re prone to sticker shock, sit down first.
A paddling truism: As the weight of the boat goes down, so does the weight of your wallet.
I’m in the same boat so to speak. I can still get the old plastic Sealution up on the minivan but it’s heavy for sure. I just wanted it to be easier, less work etc so I found a used fiberglass arctic hawk. It is gloriously light. Just search “fiberglass kayak” or “Kevlar kayak” on your local Craigslist or Facebook marketplace.
Look at the folding PakBoat Sacos (solo) and Saranacs (convertible from solo to tandem). These have great cargo capacity, made even easier because they can be paddled with or without the removeable deck (which stays on with full perimeter industrial grade wide Velcro). Easy to peel back to load and unload when traveling with a lot of gear and food.
Pakboats are light, high quality and don’t cost much more than a decent quality plastic touring kayak of similar size. They have a US dealership in New Hampshire and can ship anywhere.
They also make folding canoes in several sizes that are super rugged – outfitters use them in Alaska and Patagonia (they can be flown into remote rivers by small planes). I have owned 4 different PakBoat models over the past 13 years.
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Consider:
- lighter materials - switching to fiberglass or carbon or Kevlar from rotomolded plastic could chop 10-15 lbs off. Even lighter could be wood - I’ve seen 17’ wood sea kayaks in the 25 lb range.
- consider modular. Break a kayak into 3 pieces means each is about 1/3rd the total weigh. Here is a video I recently saw that looks intriguing: https://youtu.be/6flNwMvpGN4?si=gXyj_O1xA1qzwxcF. Other brands generally make modular as order from factory options. A god fiberglasser could take a current composite kayak and make moduar.
There is an article on Kayaking and Small Living Spaces in California Kayaker Magazine that covers some of this (but from a space perspective, not weight). PDF can be downloaded from California Kayaker Magazine - South West's source for paddlesports information
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I would add that skin on frame kayaks (SOFs) are super light and strong. They have to be hand built, but there are those who custom build them as well as books and on line courses with instructions and even some courses where you can build your own.
My 18’ Greenland style SOF sea kayak (wooden steam bent frame lashed and pegged together with 8 ounce ballistic cloth skin coated with 2-part epoxy) only weighs 31 pounds. At 74 I can easily lift it onto my roof rack. I bought it used and they do turn up from time to time on the used market. The traditional paddlers organization, QajaqUSA, often has events that include weeklong boat building seminars and workshops as well.
Do you have a budget in mind? Stellar makes an S18 Expedition G2 that comes in at around 41 pounds in their multisport layup. I recently got what I think is my “forever boat”, a 17’ Rockpool Bach Eto in the premier carbon Kevlar layup and it comes in at 42 pounds. I believe Sterling Kayaks out of the PNW is also known for making relatively light weight boats with modern materials and construction methods. As said earlier, it will cost you though!
Another option could be a 3 piece kayak. NDK makes the Explorer in a 3 piece and Rockpool makes the Taran 18 and Taran 16 in a 3 piece.
Stellar makes a 3 piece solo now, which can be converted to a tandem by adding a 4th section in the middle. Marshall posted about it recently on the forums. Has one in his shop in downstate NY.
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Hyde Park right? We consider that upstate
I consider the area of NY above the latitude that spans the PA-NY and MA-CT borders to be “upstate”. So, from Saugerties down to the farthest reaches of Manhattan is “downstate” to me.
And yes, I do realize that the residents of metro NYC consider anything beyond their immediate sphere to be barbarian hinterlands, both geographically and culturally, but I view that as silliness. Here in PA we divide the north and south roughly along I-80. Though Philly is widely regarded by those of us in the state’s second largest city (Pittsburgh) as actually being a renegade province of New Jersey…
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Have considered a kayak trailer? They are quite light and if not into backing a trailer you can unhitch and move around by hand.
As to inflatables, I recommend drop-stitch kayaks for performance. The Sea Eagle Razorlite can carry a load much like a canoe. The Itti/Wit 400 is a bit better performing but space for camping gear is limited. Maybe get one of each?
Pakayak boats only weigh 48 pounds now and fit in your trunk. They have 2 dry bays and are much sturdier than a foldable and more reliable on the water. They take 5 minutes to put together after some practice.
I’d add that the US District court system has Duchess and Sullivan Counties in the Southern District. And apparently there is some minority dispute over whether the Hudson Valley region is “up” or “down”.
It does seem pretty weird to classify 3% of a state’s area as “downstate” and the remaining 97% as “upstate”. Maybe a cultural hangover from the early British settlers, since in England (where the “York” came from), anything at a latitude above London is considered by many as “the North”.
I wasn’t gonna argue because the debate is endless and could derail this whole thread but I have put a lot of time and thought into this one. I am a little bit of an expert on the subject. I was born upstate and have lived in several upstate regions but also have lived downstate and currently reside in probably the most debated portion (Rockland county) so I guess I can’t resist. Many people that live upstate think it starts some place north of them. Generally these are the people that live a few hours outside of NYC yet have lived their entire lives without ever visiting the city. They are upstaters and don’t even know it. Some people think it starts at Rt 84 or even as far north as Rt 90. They’re all wrong. Some have proposed a rule that anyplace with a Metro North station is downstate but that doesn’t really work. Metro North reaches into the boondocks in some areas. City people can be just as confused. Some people from the city think Yonkers is upstate. Also wrong. The state defines the metro area (within NYS at least) as Rockland & Westchester counties, the five boroughs and Long Island. Everything else is officially upstate. Culturally, that works prettty good. As much as I hate to admit it, Rockland County has more in common with Long Island (ugh but there is good paddling there) and northern Jersey (just ugh) than it does with the Catskills. Maybe Putnam County is downstate but it’s so small nobody cares to claim it. Dutchess County, including Hyde Park, is upstate for sure. Please don’t feel bad. It was a honest, innocent mistake. Nobody knows everything.
I kinda like the idea, but we don’t need more rules f’godsakes.
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Eddyline kayaks. Hurricane kayaks. Many at our club absolutely love Eddyline. I can easily put my Hurricane 116 Sport on the roof of my car.
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One of my paddling buddies uses a 14’ Hornbeck canoe. It weighs 25 pounds, has lots of storage space, and he’s able to keep up with the kayakers in our group.
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Now in my 83rd year and having paddled kayaks for forty-one of those, I find that most “sea kayaks” have become burdensome and entry and exit from small cockpits more than a little awkward. And I now find that open water paddling long stretches across windy bays and harbors has given up its allure (if it ever really had any). Awhile ago, I came across a used Hornbeck New Tricks 13 at an estate sale and bought it on the spot. I’m now a pack canoe convert. The Hornbeck lends itself well to small waters where the shoreline is usually only a few paddle strokes distant and where one is likely to enjoy the company of herons, egrets, ospreys and the occasional otter along with other creatures that frequent narrow rivers and salt marshes. Overall, I think the Hornbeck to be a very good boat and I fail to understand why some on this forum find reasons to criticize it. Yes, it has a very basic seat, not particularly comfortable and lacks such amenities as “cobra gunnels”. And I would have appreciated a more narrow gunnel width that would make it easier to use my customary 220cm paddle. But these are minor criticisms, easily remedied. Still, I can well understand anyone wanting a much (much!) more expensive Placid Spitfire just because of such niceties . To that point, I talked with Joe Moore at PBW who suggested that I might be happier with the longer, faster Oseetah. And I might have, except that the wait time on any Placid boat order is about one year. When you’re an octogenarian as I am now, that much time can be a deal breaker.
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No doubt about PBW making beautiful high-end boats. I lived nearby when their place burned several years ago. Rough times, but they made it. 
Hornbeck has a great line of boats too, but for a very different segment of the market. I would likely have bought one if they had the New Tricks line when I was in the ADKs, but I’m in the upper Midwest and couldn’t be happier with my 27 lb Northstar Magic. All good.
With our two Hobie Revo 13 kayaks I finally decided to buy a jetski trailer to take them to the water. This not only eliminated having to lift them up onto a rack that was 7 feet above the ground but also made it easy to pre-rig the kayaks in the parking area and then slide them off into the water. It also made it easy to load them back on the trailer and then go park the tow vehicle and trailer and take everything off the kayaks with no need to rush.
I am now waiting for Saturn to have its fin drive inflatable kayaks back in stock. They weigh 43 lbs and when deflated require only a 32’’ x 22’’ x 13’’ space in the back of a car. They are also going to be stored indoors which is another plus for using an inflatable pedal drive kayak.