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Is there a go-to recommendation for a roller so one person can easily maneuver a single kayak to shore without carrying it?
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Jun 19, 2021 04:45
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poo poo POST MALONE posted:Is there a go-to recommendation for a roller so one person can easily maneuver a single kayak to shore without carrying it? I don't have a recommendation, but do have a word of warning. It sounds like you already want to buy one, but I still want to say this for you or anyone else reading this: Be careful falling for the tempting siren song of building one of the DIY kayak carts. I did that. It turned out fine. But, for a "$20 DIY Cart", I ended up spending probably an extra $100 on tools and whatnot. Unless you have the tools already, or are planning to buy those tools, beware that you could easily spend the same amount of money doing DIY as just buying one that's probably better anyway.
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Jun 19, 2021 05:38
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Yeah I'm not building anything. I don't even have a garage/carhole.
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Jun 19, 2021 06:21
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pseudorandom posted:I don't have a recommendation, but do have a word of warning. I mean. you still get to keep the tools after
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Jun 19, 2021 17:21
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I can see that being a pain if they're tools I'd never use again unless I was building another cart. A lot of the DIY designs are giant structures made out of PVC and space is always a premium for me anyway.
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Jun 19, 2021 17:35
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If I were to ever get a kayak cart I'd get one of those portable folding ones.
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Jun 19, 2021 18:38
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i did a kayaking today here are some animals:
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Jun 21, 2021 01:51
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Nooner posted:i did a kayaking today here are some animals: That looks awesome
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Jun 21, 2021 18:53
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So did sun dolphin change colors and names of their kayaks every year? There's a marquette 10 on Facebook by me and I can't find anything about it apart from some old ads pasted on pinterest. To men It looks very similar to the Bali 10s that are in store now. Should that price be comparable? Also, I know hardhats and helmets should be replaced fro deterioration of the plastic every several years regardless of damage. Do you have to do the same with kayaks or are they thick enough that it's not a big deal.
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Jun 22, 2021 21:07
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Quabzor posted:
No that would be insane.
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Jun 22, 2021 21:08
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So my recent trip to Hawaii put the kayaking bug in me, and I want to pick one up. I'm looking for a single-person, sit-on-top. What's the opinions on inflatable vs hard kayaks? I'd rather have a hard kayak as I've heard they have more maneuverability + speed, but I'm wondering if I should stick with something less expensive since I'm a beginner (and it'd be easier to transport, obviously). I'd only be using it on calm waters (San Diego, on the bay and in nearby lakes). I've been browsing the local Craigslist, but so far it seems like anything that's a decent deal gets snapped up quick. So if I do go with inflatable, I was thinking of just getting the cheapest one on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Intex-Challe...24397184&sr=8-4 but I'll wait to see what people in this thread say first. Edit: now to throw a wrench in the works - I have shoulder tendonitis. Should I look at stand up paddleboards instead, since that's more of a full body workout, and I can change positions? Rotten Red Rod fucked around with this message at 23:13 on Jun 22, 2021 |
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Jun 22, 2021 22:38
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Rotten Red Rod posted:So my recent trip to Hawaii put the kayaking bug in me, and I want to pick one up. I'm looking for a single-person, sit-on-top. What's the opinions on inflatable vs hard kayaks? I'd rather have a hard kayak as I've heard they have more maneuverability + speed, but I'm wondering if I should stick with something less expensive since I'm a beginner (and it'd be easier to transport, obviously). I'd only be using it on calm waters (San Diego, on the bay and in nearby lakes). My personal experience— I started with a walmart intex inflatable. Was fun in the pond at a friend’s cabin, but didn’t track straight worth a drat. So I spent a lot more and bought a sea eagle inflatable because it supposedly had a skeg and was skookum (circa ten years ago). It also sucked and didn’t track worth a poo poo, so I sold it after a few years and got relatively little use out of it. Eventually it started leaking on its own even with little use. I can’t imagine taking an inflatable out into the bay, that seems like a recipe for trouble, they’re bad enough on lakes. Alright I guess to float down local rivers and creeks. So I bought an Oru Bay+ foldable and that was a great boat. Tracked well, took rocks well, ultralight, and I went on some great trips with it (including camping ones). However it’s not great to get in and out of or store gear in, and I figured I could get most of my purchase price back out of it selling it last fall, which I did. After 3-4 years of beating it up I was glad to let someone else run it into the ground. It also took about as long to fold up as to just strap a kayak to the roof of my car, and I wanted the extra interior space the kayak occupied for camping gear (1/2-3/4 of the backseat). I also think the zippers that hold the top together would wear out over time. My buddy has a nice Old Town Predator sit on top , but I’m not a big fan of paddling it compared to a sit in. I’m not very experienced, but sit on top would probably be better for you if you’re paddling in the bay, especially to get back in if you flip. As far as my own boat goes, today I just picked up a Jackson Tupelo 12.5 from Caney Fork Outdoors (awesome family shop near the manufacturer in Tennessee, highly recommend if you’re ever in the area), and after taking for a spin I’m quite enamored with the boat! Tracks great, turns and paddles well, the seat is comfy, and the hull is quite stable   I’m so excited to finally have a good boat, I’ve got trips to Grayson Lake and Shenandoah coming up this summer, I’m so grateful everything worked out!
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Jun 23, 2021 02:26
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My housemate couldn't be arsed taking their canoe when they moved so I bought it because hey, canoe. Took it out on a lake last year and confirmed it floated. The next month I convinced a raft/canoe guide friend to reluctantly buddy up on a raft trip. Turns out taking a ~30 year old stillwater canoe on three day freestone river whitewater trip is not a super great idea. Only sunk once but ground a hole through the keel grinding down some gravel bars. My partner wisely decided to abandon ship after day two and paddled on one of the rafts while I spin about like a moron in my leaking decript piece of poo poo. Made it back and patched it up and I'm never taking that thing near anything that doesn't look flat again. Anyway that my canoe story thanks for reading.
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Jun 25, 2021 05:18
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Quabzor posted:Also, I know hardhats and helmets should be replaced fro deterioration of the plastic every several years regardless of damage. Do you have to do the same with kayaks or are they thick enough that it's not a big deal. Yeah, like poo poo post malone said, they are not consumables by normal money having people. That said, they live much longer lives if you can protect them from sun and heat and don't store them on their hull.
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Jun 25, 2021 18:09
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Rotten Red Rod posted:So my recent trip to Hawaii put the kayaking bug in me, and I want to pick one up. I'm looking for a single-person, sit-on-top. What's the opinions on inflatable vs hard kayaks? I'd rather have a hard kayak as I've heard they have more maneuverability + speed, but I'm wondering if I should stick with something less expensive since I'm a beginner (and it'd be easier to transport, obviously). I'd only be using it on calm waters (San Diego, on the bay and in nearby lakes). There's an inflatables thread. https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3933118 I like mine but they're underperformers compared to hard kayaks. I live in a 1 bedroom apartment and have a small car though so anything rigid is a non-starter.
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Jun 25, 2021 18:16
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Offloaded my lure 13.5 and got an SS127. TOTALLY different experience. Its amazing the difference between the boats. Should have got the SS127 last year in the beginning but I made out like a bandit on selling the Lure plus at least I proved I enjoy kayak fishing
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Jun 26, 2021 15:08
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PokeJoe posted:There's an inflatables thread. Yeah I've decided to hold off on buying anything cheap. I have a friend who owns both kayaks and paddleboards, it turns out, so I'll try his before spending any money.
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Jun 26, 2021 15:47
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Re Storage: I hosed up and the fancy pulley system I bought to hang up in my garage? Turns out my kayak is just too big with the pull up garage door blocking the ceiling in the first half of the garage. So… halfassed exterior hang it is, because hey, sunk cost. Probably will wind up replacing it with a couple of eye bolts or wall hooks after it degrades and breaks but for now it’s off the ground.  Now it just needs covered. I bought a fitted cockpit cover which will be good for transporting it and keeping critters out, but that still leaves the rest of the hull exposed to UV. Would something like this bag be a good idea?
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Jun 28, 2021 03:00
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That's a slick looking 60$ bag, but a tarp and a couple of bungies might do you just fine.
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Jun 28, 2021 03:14
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OSU_Matthew posted:Re Storage: I have the same problem with my canoe in my garage and just said “eh, gently caress it” and got used to walking around hunched over in that bay. It’s really not ideal but it’s been that way for 6 years now and I haven’t gotten around to a better solution.
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Jun 28, 2021 03:26
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I had a similar issue preventing me from doing a pulley to the ceiling but still managed to store the boat in the garage. As described in thread previously:  ]I can walk freely under it towards the back of the garage but do need to duck a bit to get under the rear support. Car goes under it. I could probably get a compact SUV under it if I made a couple adjustments. YMMV Edit: You generally don't want to fully wrap things in tarps if they will be exposed to the elements.. causes condensation. Make sure you're allowing for adequate airflow Math You fucked around with this message at 23:06 on Jun 28, 2021 |
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Jun 28, 2021 03:48
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I went kayaking again today!
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Jul 5, 2021 20:50
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Wish I would've found this thread before I picked up my inflatable SUP equipment, but glad to have found it now. Life with that is way easier now that I caved and got a cart for transportation and an auto-pump. Does anyone use a belt PFD and if so, have you had any run-ins with lifeguards? I have the Zephyr one from NRS and quite like it, but this weekend a lifeguard questioned it, wouldn't look at the Coast Guard info/certification on it, and then made me inflate it before I could launch. So at least I know it works now, but if it happens again I may have to get something different, as the cartridges aren't super cheap, and I can't really paddle with it on. 
Tambreet fucked around with this message at 23:42 on Jul 5, 2021 |
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Jul 5, 2021 23:37
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Lower back and abs have been killing me lately. I don't think it's just from kayaking, but kayaking isn't helping. Any tips for making it more bearable? I'm only going out for 1-2 hours at a time and I'm fishing so it's not like non stop paddling.
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Jul 6, 2021 01:53
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Finally got to do my first proper trip of the year. Day trips are nice and all but there's nothing like slipping out of cell service for a week to help you forget about life's troubles. Here I am being carried by the canoe  This is me returning the favour  Navigated some pretty cool marsh land featuring floating mud piles of some sort. Not peat, actual mud.   Reaping the rewards 
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Jul 6, 2021 04:49
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Anyone used Gator Guard or a similar product to patch a rotomolded kayak? I've got a wear spot on the tail of the kayak that cracked through. Edit : So my old IKEA cutting boards are made of the same stuff as the kayak, but thicker!  Propane torch, rasp, and some cold water. I smoothed it out after this pic but it was fairly easy to do. Yooper fucked around with this message at 21:45 on Jul 17, 2021 |
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Jul 17, 2021 19:12
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Went down a river this weekend with a bunch of family members. We were taking out at a guy's house, which we had never used before, and he had a dock that went down to the water with steps. I didn't know exactly where the ramp to use was so I was going to get off at the dock and walk up to talk to him. I take my kayak up to the edge where the nose went up on the ground and I could see the water was very shallow up towards the front. What I didn't know was that the apparently the river just completely dropped off a shelf to approximately the center of the earth about 3 feet from the bank. I stepped off my kayak and apparently it looked like a cartoon as I just went straight down and all that anyone saw was my tilley hat float on the surface. Then I bobbed to the surface from my life jacket and made my way up his dock soaked from head to toe. The ramp was just around some trees about 30 feet from where I was.
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Jul 26, 2021 13:34
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Ha ha nice. Can you laugh about it yet? If your kayak is short enough, it’s easier to pull up sideways to the ramp/shore/dock.
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Jul 26, 2021 13:44
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Yeah, I was laughing about it the entire time. No, I couldn't come up to it on the side, it was a narrow opening with trees on each side and my kayak is 12.5 feet. The lesson learned was to check depth with the paddle if I couldn't see the bottom. 
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Jul 26, 2021 13:50
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A couple years ago I was on a raft trip and my buddy in the boat in front of me ran his nose up on a sand bar. He crawled off the back of the raft and jumped off the stern to drag it backwards off the sandbar. Fortunately he had a grip on the chicken line and just disappeared into the water, all you could see was a couple arms coming out of the water hanging onto the boat. Boat pratfalls are high comedy in my opinion, and it seems rare that anyone is genuinely mad about them.
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Jul 26, 2021 17:36
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It's winter in Australia so the weather, tides and wind have been dogshit. So I've been watching/reading way too much kayaking stuff lately. Like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysgH_rkfGSE And here's his kayak trip from mainland Australia to Tasmania: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXoBa_nJj5lWtT6DsttZ5le3LxlnrBkjm
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Jul 28, 2021 07:48
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Just got back from a 3 day trip canoeing in the Boundary Waters. That isn't long, but this was a challenging trip due to low water levels and demon winds. During the trip, I got stuck in mud up to my knees, probably almost dumped canoeing through 3' waves, and had to help a lost teen find her family at the very end of the trip while battling wind, waves, and her instinct to try to grab and therefore tip us - which is legit as hell in that kind of panic situation. It was super harrowing at first trying to get the teenager to listen to us and calm down. Luckily we (mostly my super patient husband) were able to talk her down, and get her paddling with us to the nearest landing where her family showed up in a half hour or so. The relief was overwhelming; she was a super good kid and did a great job in a terrifying situation. We almost didn't even stop at first because the wind was so loving loud we couldn't hear her calling for help. Luckily we paused to assess weather we heard anything and we were able to back paddle long enough to get within earshot. Scary stuff but great outcome. The wind was such a bastard yesterday and today, I barely slept last night worrying about it. It died down at maybe 3 or 4 am, but came back by 6; though not as bad as the previous day. We broke camp at 7 to get ahead of the wind ramping up again. Even with that and the mud, I am already thinking about our next trip up there. My body is unhappy about paddling in the wind for two days, and my mind is filled with "what-ifs" about that lost kid and us, but I have been googling spots to go in since I got home a couple hours ago. I This is my 6th trip to the BWCA and the first I felt in any danger at all. The kid being lost, and me almost sinking into mud like the horse in Neverending story reminded me how these trips can go south fast. I am glad we did not try to put our canoe back in in the 2' mud and went the long route home even with the wind. By some miracle, we had 2 different campsites where we saw 0 people all day. It was worth it just for that break from everything. The view from campsite 1, pre-wind:  View from site 2 at almost sunset: 
HungryMedusa fucked around with this message at 04:21 on Aug 13, 2021 |
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Aug 13, 2021 04:18
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HungryMedusa posted:Just got back from a 3 day trip canoeing in the Boundary Waters. That isn't long, but this was a challenging trip due to low water levels and demon winds. During the trip, I got stuck in mud up to my knees, probably almost dumped canoeing through 3' waves, and had to help a lost teen find her family at the very end of the trip while battling wind, waves, and her instinct to try to grab and therefore tip us - which is legit as hell in that kind of panic situation. Crazy trip! I can relate to the mud and the wind. The first trip I had to solo paddle reminds me a lot of that. Apparently most people who set off that day gave up and the Rangers were watching me with binoculars (and probably taking bets). Got to our first portage and had to contend with a 45 minute scramble through the mud. It was a pretty miserable trip at the time but is now one of my most memorable and I intend to redo the route one of these years. So far have not had to rescue anyone.. What caused the teen to get stranded like that? Their boat blow away? Both scenarios are good reasons for carrying a satellite communicator btw. I got one this season and it's a pretty good feeling knowing that I could notify my loved ones of a delay, or get help if needed. I highly recommend it. Lastly, I don't think there's many canoe campers ITT. I find the backpacking thread has a lot more interest in these kinds of trip reports.
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Aug 14, 2021 12:57
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Math You posted:Crazy trip! I can relate to the mud and the wind. The first trip I had to solo paddle reminds me a lot of that. Apparently most people who set off that day gave up and the Rangers were watching me with binoculars (and probably taking bets). Got to our first portage and had to contend with a 45 minute scramble through the mud. I am still unclear how the kid got separated. Their family was not the most chatty - they did not seem to grasp the gravity of the situation at all. She was either in front and took a wrong turn, or behind and they didn't wait for her turning into one of the several bays in the area. Thanks, I think I will re-post this in the backpacking thread as I am still trying to process how nuts it was!
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Aug 14, 2021 15:54
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Took a "How to kayak, and also not get murdered by drunks on bass boats" class from the park service today. It included a few hours of puttering around on a lake and was good fun. There are a few rentals around, but I think the wife and I are going to have to dive into FB marketplace hell to purchase a couple.
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Aug 15, 2021 02:16
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HungryMedusa posted:Just got back from a 3 day trip canoeing in the Boundary Waters. Sounds like a wild trip through an amazing area, I've done a lot of kayak camping but no canoe trips and the lakes in the boundary waters look awesome to explore.
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Aug 16, 2021 00:10
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If you get the chance to go, I highly highly recommend it. It is a really awesome place. I want to try more kayaking myself; have been down a river and rented a couple on the Minneapolis lakes. We have been waffling over buying a canoe, but renting is so easy and a good kevlar canoe is so spendy! We used to own an Old Town plastic canoe, but gave it to some guys who took it from Minneapolis to New Orleans on the Mississippi, which seemed like a way cooler end to it than what we could give it. We did take it to the Boundary Waters a couple times, but that thing was heavy as heck so not ideal for long portages.
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Aug 16, 2021 01:04
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Picked up a bit of an experiment yesterday. I've been wanting a light touring canoe/kayak for a bit, but my house is tiny by modern standards and already full of motorcycle and bicycle poo poo, so storage was an issue. Plus, I thought it would be cool to have a boat I could (theoretically) strap to a motorcycle, or throw into any random rental car. I was looking at the Oru folding boats, and the Pakboat skin-on-frame boats, but ended up with a Pakayak 142 after watching Beau Miles paddle around Africa in a similar modular kayak:  Previously I had a beaten up aluminum canoe and then an Aspire 100 for a couple years, so I don't have a huge range of boats to compare it to. It's drat heavy but feels solid when it's all put together. Goes together fast. I'm gonna head out this weekend and practice a bunch of self-rescues before I go anywhere else, so I guess I'll see then how it is on the water. Edit: Inflatable would've been the obvious choice, but I was just too curious to see what these were like. Fats fucked around with this message at 21:36 on Aug 24, 2021 |
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Aug 24, 2021 19:34
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HungryMedusa posted:If you get the chance to go, I highly highly recommend it. It is a really awesome place. I bought a canoe in 2020 after renting the last 5 years or so and it's been one of the best decisions I've ever made. It's probably about 1/4 "paid for" in rental savings already, and made trips so much easier to plan without having to find an outfitter, arrange for pickup, drop off, etc. When I'm using Ontario crown land (which is permitless), I can just load the car and go without any additional costs or scheduling. I had kind of expected all of the perks when it came to canoe tripping, but it's also been nice to explore local waterways which has really upped my number of days on the water beyond what I had anticipated. Lastly, it's far lighter, more comfortable to carry, and more structurally sound than any outfitter canoe I've ever used.. and I chose I model I had rented before. The toll patches, paint, skid plates, broken ribs, bent gunnels and cheap yokes take on a boat is pretty significant!
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Aug 25, 2021 18:20
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spent all weekend on a lake in new hampshire on a bunch of toys so now im trying to decide how to make it happen where i live. i dont have a car but i live a quarter mile from a river. im pretty new to all this water stuff having done it maybe once or twice a year since i became an adult but never regularly but i got to use a pedal kayak this weekend and im super into it as a professional cyclist. id be fine with a non pedal version too since it seems expensive. theres a kayak/canoe rental place directly at the closest point of the river to me, which rules. im not at all ready to buy yet, but i can at least try a bunch of models out. i dont see myself hauling it far or throwing it in the ocean, its almost entirely going to be a vehicle for hanging out with a large dog, a friend, or maybe my partner on a pretty calm river. i have a trailer for one of my bicycles to launch from more adventurous spots, but it will almost entirely live its life being carried/dragged less than a mile. is it going to suck complete rear end always lugging a two person boat even if im riding solo?
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Sep 13, 2021 18:23
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