An area outfitter is offering an Eddyline Samba at a pretty good season-end discount. I’ve sat in the cockpit and it’s a perfect fit. I can take it out for a test paddle any time - which I’m resisting because I really don’t need another kayak right now.
The kayak is yellow (my personal preference is the crimson red). I’ve read comments in other threads here that yellow is not the easiest color to be looking at for long periods of time because of the glare.
Any truth to that?
sunglasses
color
I don’t know about “glare” – I’ve got a bright electric lime green kayak (have also owned two red kayaks) and the color doesn’t bother me at all. I have noticed though, that yellow in some other outdoor gear can sometimes attract insects (no doubt because it is the wavelength of pollen).
My wife had some purple sunglasses
Turned yellow into the most amazing shade of orange, and green was greener than any green ever dreamed.
Don’t know if the diamond shape lenses she had are mandatory for purple shades.
#marryahippiechick
Bees and wasps
Didn’t think of that angle. I’m already a walking bug buffet bar and don’t dare leave the house without liberal use of Cutter’s Natural. Not sure I want a bug-inviting color.
Wow
When I think of diamond shaped lenses, also think of rhinestones surrounding them. Fun, especially in purple.
I use a polarized lens which can turn the water a funky color at times - but I also take off my sunglasses in shaded areas because I can see better without them.
"Yum Yum Yellow"
Like…sharks are attracted to yellow. So no yellow boats for me. And definitely, no yellow shorts or swim trunks too. Black and white stripes on boats and shorts are the way to go.
Oh man
Black and white, light and dark, you mean like sharks natural prey of seals and penguins. What could possibly go wrong? I see a Great White in your future.
No problems
My favorite boat for years has been my yellow Capella. I’ve never once thought about glare or its color.
bah
Yellow is a pretty popular kayak color, I doubt it’d be so if here were problems with visibility, let alone bug or shark attraction. Our softball jerseys were yellow and I never noticed a problem with bugs all summer.
black and white stripes
Actually there is valid research that proves sharks are repelled by a certain precise narrow stripe pattern of black and white that mimics the stripes on a sea snake that is toxic to sharks. A couple of companies sell surf and diving wetsuits with the pattern and you can get decals for kayaks or boards that reproduce it. I saw a nature documentary where they demonstrated sharks avoiding the pattern, even when they had tasty bait attached to it.
odd thing about green
Over the years I’ve owned kayaks that were white, orange, red, blue-purple-white “tie dye”, royal blue, lime green, dark leaf green, raspberry pink and even yellow.
The one odd thing I have noticed is that both green ones (and only those) consistently attract mating dragonflies in flagrant delicto hitching rides on the deck. It got to be such a common thing one summer that the group I kayaked with renamed my kayak “the love boat.”
Weird
I had the exact same thing with dragonflies on one of my lime green boats on the C&O canal all summer long.
A Friend’s Boat
has a white deck & hull. On sunny days he wears sun glasses, which he would anyway. One of my boats was not my favorite color, but I didn’t let it stand in the way of a great deal.
Its
all fun and games, until your kayak gets humped by a orca.
Yellow Bug Repelling Light Bulbs
Unless they have discontinued them, I remember buying them years ago. They were usually 60 watts, but occasionally, I’d find a rare 100 watt yellow bug light bulb. These yellow bulbs were great during the time when termites swarmed. However, the bronze high pressure sodium bulbs would attract them.
Sound advice about color
But your point about a good buy really hit the mark. I’ve seen used Eddylines (older, some discontinued models) listed at a higher price than the sale price on the new Samba.
I had arranged for the outfitter to install perimeter lines on my Skylark. They’ll give me the Samba to paddle while they work on the Skylark. Maybe I won’t like it. But I probably will.
Is there a 12-step program for kayakers?
No salt, no sharks.
Great Lakes and freshwater inland lakes. We can even walk on the water in a few months!
Ask and ye shall receive
Kayaker’s 12 Step Program
- Admit I am powerless over the lure of the kayak.
- Believe a new kayak can restore my sanity.
- Make the decision to turn my life’s direction over to a guy named Nigel.
- Take a searching and fearless inventory of all my gear.
- Admit that neither skegs nor rudders are inherently wrong.
- Admit I’m not ready to sell 2 or 3 kayaks I rarely use anymore.
- Humbly ask for assistance in removing my fuzzy rubber.
- Make a list of all kayaks I’ve dropped, dragged, or scratched.
- Make amends by patching, sanding, or repairing such kayaks.
- Continue to accumulate cool new gear, just in case…
- Seek to improve my Eskimo roll and low brace.
- Pledge to carry this message to non-paddlers and practice these principles in all my affairs.
#4 terrifies me.
Way too much stuff.