For some reason, you have decided you need a kayak. I will offer some advice to get you started and hopefully other experienced paddlers will add to it.
You need to answer some basic questions.
What do you intend to do with it?
Fitness training
Paddle distance
Speed
Camp
Fish
Lilly Dip
Where do you intend to use it?
Pond
Lake
River
Ocean
Protected bays
How much are you willing to spend on the kayak, paddle, and life jacket?
Step 2:
Rent, beg, borrow or however , get what you think you want and go paddling with someone who knows more than you. Outfitters paddle days are a good place to start but you cannot pick the boat for you after paddling it for a few minutes. You need seat time to know if your point of contact is happy. Unhappy butt-unhappy body.
Step 3:
Get some training that includes self rescue.
Note: Buy the boat to fit your needs and wants. For example, I need a short boat to fit in my car. Are you getting it to fit in your car or to paddle? Short boats(not white water) tend to have large cockpits and are wide and slow.
There are several ways to transport boats.
I’ll pass this on to people who are more experienced for additional tips.
Good luck.
And to build on the above, I fail too often at pointing newbies to resources on this site. There are some folks here who are very good about that, it is a habit I should do better to emulate.
String—nice listing of things to consider. Couple of lily-dippers here.
I got a chuckle out of loading it into the car, as that is probably what we will do once we get to that point.
I now that there are systems to help load onto the roofs of vehicles so that is an option. Hubbs is not able to lift his arms high enough to do some things. When we paint a room I have to paint everything over 5 ft high. Rotating shoulder motion near the body is fine–leak raking etc. this becomes part of our calculation on what we will someday get and that we have to do a complete roof system including installing anchoring points on the roof.
Wanting something narrower than many 10fters and a good supportive seat is a most. We liked the seats that are in Pungos. Guessing that there are many seats that are better but many many more that are not as supportive. The idea of a sealed bulkheads front and back is appealing.
Going to be near Harbor Springs MI in a couple of weeks-- where there is a dealer for Eddyline and Old Town. Want to look into the Eddyline sky 10 Narrowish at 26", weighs 35 #s and has front and back bulkheads.
This weekend, probably going to Tahquamenon Falls area and rent a couple of Perceptions there.
I paddle out of Harbor Springs quite often. Fabulous Farmers Market on Wednesday and Saturday. When you get to The Outfitter, do check out the Rio as well.
If you’re setting up demos and aren’t comfortable getting in/out of a kayak from a dock (which is the only option at Ford Park), ask if they’ll take the kayak(s) to Zoll Street Beach where you can enter from the water. It’s just a couple of blocks away.
_Rookie-- thaks for the info. Scheduled for a Tuesday might have to consider follow-ups for Wednesday. Going to Petosky in doctor visit clothing so will were thinking of taking a change of clothes to be a bit more comfy for a trial.
@Yooper16 said:
String—nice listing of things to consider. Couple of lily-dippers here.
I got a chuckle out of loading it into the car, as that is probably what we will do once we get to that point.
I now that there are systems to help load onto the roofs of vehicles so that is an option. Hubbs is not able to lift his arms high enough to do some things. When we paint a room I have to paint everything over 5 ft high. Rotating shoulder motion near the body is fine–leak raking etc. this becomes part of our calculation on what we will someday get and that we have to do a complete roof system including installing anchoring points on the roof.
Wanting something narrower than many 10fters and a good supportive seat is a most. We liked the seats that are in Pungos. Guessing that there are many seats that are better but many many more that are not as supportive. The idea of a sealed bulkheads front and back is appealing.
Going to be near Harbor Springs MI in a couple of weeks-- where there is a dealer for Eddyline and Old Town. Want to look into the Eddyline sky 10 Narrowish at 26", weighs 35 #s and has front and back bulkheads.
This weekend, probably going to Tahquamenon Falls area and rent a couple of Perceptions there.
Good topic String. I remember two different boat designers telling me that “it’s hard to know exactly how the boats will be used” so they are keenly interested in understanding the intended usage before making any recommendations.
I can think of two more pretty basic questions…
approximately how much weight will the boat carry?
some sort of cartopping question like what type of vehicle will you use to transport the boat, do you have any experience with cartopping boats, and are you of average strength or maybe a bit above or below average strength?
Maybe there is a better/simpler question like “have you picked up and loaded the boat you are considering all by yourself so you can be confident that you can handle it easily?”