I’m considering getting a kayak about 11’ that would fit inside my minivan so I can grab and go. Right now I have a 9.5’ Otter, and it requires constant paddling to keep up on the roughly 4 mile lake paddles I do on a weeknight after work. I am 5’3" 145 lb.
I got to paddle an 11’ Necky Manitou Sport. I liked it in chop, but in calm water felt that I was sitting too far back. And I felt that I could not get my knees in a good position since the deck was high. I suppose an alteration could help that. I know most here have their much longer boats, but if anyone has suggestions, that would be great.
I was looking at reviews and thought that a Perception Expression could be good, but at 11’7" it may be too long. I would like to try a Venture Flex, but Venture dealers are few and far between.
Don’t know what your budget is or
the make and model of your van, but the Eddyline Rio not only weighs just 35#, it also includes the safety of two sealed bulkheads.
http://eddyline.com/kayak-model/rio
Another to look at
The Stellar 12 is a very neat little boat. http://www.stellarkayaksusa.com/s12.html
Stellar dealer in PA
We have a Stellar Dealer here in Western PA if you are ever out this way and want to test one on the water. Performance Kayaks has a shop in West Newton, near I-70 and another in Brookville near I-80. The Stellars are gorgeous boats – I paddled with the owner Hansel and his wife a couple of weeks ago and they had several with them. Super light and beautifully made. If I could justify purchasing another boat I would seriously consider one:
http://www.performance-kayak.com
Length
Thanks for the ideas. They look great. I know that the 11’ Necky would fit inside my van, but I suspect that the kayaks suggested here would not. I’d love to find a Rio to sit in/demo. I’ve never even seen a review for one on pnet.
Rio just introduced in 2015.
I saw one at an outfitter this spring. It caught my eye the minute I walked in. Beautiful little kayak. The one I saw had been sold and they had three more on order.
You should visit the EDY site and see what dealers are near you. Maybe a local dealer will have one.
road trip?
Can you do a road trip? Lake George Kayak in upstate NY stocks the 10’ Pyranha Fusion, has Eddyline boats (including the 10’ Sky, which I checked out last Summer and was very impressed by) and is also a Venture dealer. Plus they are right on the lake so you can test paddle boats right there. This time of year they have some good deals on demos and rentals, too.
Look at the
WS Aspire 100.