little rag
When it comes to hauling things that stick out the back of a vehicle, you should check your state laws. For instance, my state requires a 12 x 12 inch red flag on anything that is 3’, or more past the rear bumper. There is also a 16’ maximum past the rear axle. Interstate law requires a 24 x 24 inch red flag. All of this is per Washington State Patrol.
Gotta start somewhere
Well, hell, everyone who’s ever paddled was an amateur in the beginning. Why rag on them? It certainly does not foster a sense of community. Nor does the elitism I see displayed here from time to time (or anytime anyone mentions buying an inexpensive kayak and gets ragged on by the “pros” for having the audacity to do so). I have seen comments from the “pros” how unpaddleable and unsafe a lowend kayak is…and not found that to be true at all. And how would they know? They make it sound like they have never let their golden fannies grace the seat of a cheap boat, so what is their assessment based on? Why do some folks feel the need to turn everything into a pissing contest? If it isn’t big and expensive it is unworthy? If you don’t spend $1000 on a fancy Thule rack or special trailer then you are not serious about enjoying kayaking? I am very serious about having a good time in my dinky little boats. And I do! If tossing them into the back of the PU gets me to the water faster, then alright! I’m ready to go! (I do tie them down,BTW,for safety)
Who’s ragging?
– Last Updated: Apr-14-15 10:11 AM EST –
I should add I haul Swifties in the bed of my truck, I just don't get the sense of moral superiority that others apparently derive from it.
Swifty tracking
My sister says her Swifty doesn’t track all that well. Do you also find that to be true?
it’s a cover for insecurity
I defend rec boats here all the time. But I think some people here feel more inferior than they let on when they see someone with a nicer boat, nicer car, nicer house than they have.
They don’t, but fun with short canoe
paddle. Very maneuverable. Not a very comfortable seat.
But, they do fit well in an 8’ pickup bed, that’s why I bought a used one last summer.
Swiftness are great little boats
I’ve’ e got two and they are my go to boat for dragging people along who are a little scared of being trapped in a SINK or when my wife and I want to do a little tour of a bayou or float down the creek. Just about every relative I can drag onto the water between 12 and 78 has been in them.
So I have had a lot of first time paddlers in them and I can say that as they are so short they are very unforgiving of a couple paddling errors.
First, a proper stroke the blade should hit the water up by your ankles and come out at the hips. When the blade starts to travel behind you it is going to throw tracking off. This is the most common problem. Lean forward a tad and paddle in front of you.
A second culprit it misadjusted foot pegs or she is not sitting centered in the boat. If she can go fast then glide, and turns while gliding, this is the likely problem. Sometimes I can turn the boat by taking one leg off the peg and laying it flat in the bottom of the boat.
They’re are some tutorial videos on a proper stroke, use the foot pegs and rotate while sitting erect or slightly forward. I would try that before blaming the boat.
That said, my wife sometimes paddles her’s like she’s in a recliner with her feet dragging in the water on either side. Very un-grandmotherly, but she makes it work.
A Swifty was my first kayak, then I bought a couple more plastic pieces of crap with a more kayaky shape and another Swifty. The Swifties were for the kids. Now I paddle 14’ and 17’ “serious” kayaks, and the Swifties.
Proper stroke
– Last Updated: Apr-14-15 6:55 PM EST –
One could also add another common error. Most people make their kayak paddle blade travel in a curving path relative to the boat instead of in a straight line. If you just swing the paddle through the most convenient motion for your arms, the blade travels in a semi-circle. Making the paddle blade follow such a curving path is just asking the boat to veer much more strongly than should be the case.
Boats that "track poorly" can actually be considered easy to turn. "Hard-tracking" boats, besides being harder to turn, do a really good job of resisting the impetus of a crappy stroke and thus eliminate any urgent need to learn to paddle correctly.
On that note, I have a friend who paddles a whitewater kayak on the kinds of little creeks that the Swifty is most at home on (he either paddles a long sea kayak or a whitewater kayak - he has nothing "in-between", so the whitewater boat gets used for a lot of flatwater applications where the sea kayak would be a pain). Imagine a boat that can spin 180 degrees due to just ONE crappy paddle stroke of the kind described above. That's a real case of "poor tracking", but it's no handicap at all to someone with a proper stroke.
Thinking about selling my old pick up.
After reading this thread I’m beginning to worry people will think I don’t take the sport seriously enough driving around in a pick up with boats all loaded this way and that. 
How about this?
– Last Updated: Apr-14-15 7:54 PM EST –
People who drive pickups that have short-short cargo boxes don't take pickup trucks seriously.
Remember when four-door pickups had the same 8-foot standard box or the same 6-foot short box as a two-door truck? Remember when four-door pickups were ONLY available in 3/4-ton versions because it was assumed you might actually carry a load of passengers AND a load of cargo at the same time?
Ok, ok,
maybe I can keep my old pick up truck to go to the dump and the lumber yard and stuff like that - but no way I am going to be caught dead with a canoe on my truck driving into a put in. Maybe I should try to find a used Volvo. That would send the right message, don’t you think?
I hate to admit it
I saw an early 80s Buick station wagon hauling four 16’+ kayaks, 4 adults and all of their stuff in comfort. The chest high roof, and a dry area to haul stuff made me envious. It probably gets better mileage than my F350 truck too.
Buick Wagon
– Last Updated: Apr-14-15 9:40 PM EST –
Man, there's a rig that will show your serious. No messin' around there.
What do you think about a 78' Chevy Suburban? Getting pretty close to the pick up issue. Probably ought to stay away from an SUV like that.
http://headwaterscanoes.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/IMG0033.jpg
No way it’s a '78.
– Last Updated: Apr-14-15 10:23 PM EST –
That Suburban looks like it's from the last run of the K body style (re-named "R" but otherwise basically the same in 1988), and that was the early '90s.
You are like me in one respect. Even when it says "GMC" on the grill it's still easier to just call it a Chevy.
Edit: Okay, I was curious so I looked it up. The truck in that photo was made between 1988 and 1991. I'm sure it's possible to determine the exact year based on the grill, but other features narrow it down "close enough" for me.
VW Beatle?
I once traveled to a put in with three trippers on top of a VW Beatle. Does that cut it?
Your right - its not a 78.
That’s sounds pretty adventurous
Even two tandem canoes on a VW Bug or Beetle would have been a big load. At least on those cars it was easy to to provide sturdy roof-rack mounting. The engine was the weakest link in that system!