To many choices
I can't beliece all the choices in kayaks have been looking on internet and catalogs, the price range from a couple hundred to thousands. One good thing the winter months the prices drop quite a bit, I am looking at one that is a kayak but kinda like a canoe thats pretty cool. hope to find one in the next month or so.
I was at Dicks sporting goods today, they are selling Field and Stream canoes. They have a solo 11 ft 9 icnh long and weights about 43 pounds and cost about $400. they say it is actually made by Old Town canoes supposedly has a full keel, blog I read from buyers seem positive so I may make a purcase. One other interesting note in the blog says it tracks and moves faster when using a kayak paddle this is what i've been looking for as i'm not interested in class 3 or even class 2 rapids as i'm more in it to find some cool rivers and streams to cruise on and enjoy nature.
If anyone is looking for a solocanoe instead of a kayak you may be interested in the one at Dicks sporting goods store, its call a Kay noe by Field and Stream which is really made by Old Town canoes, I went to look at it today and its pretty neat and very sturdy, has some good reviews on the internet. The one I looked at was $400. not a bad deal for a Old Town canoe but i'm pretty cheap and waiting for a sale or a coupon which I think will happen by March which is OK because even in the south its still cold outside.
did a flip flop and bought a old town vapor 10 kayak instead of a canoe, there are way to many choices but what i've read a kayak is better in the wind and will paddle faster especially with the double end paddle, my concern was that I won't have two vehicles I will have to paddle upstream at some point and I was worried that it would be a hard paddle in a canoe, I have already padle with the wind and wake and against it. Almost like a mini speed boat if you put the paddle in motion.
I had looked at the sit on tops when debating my choice and thought it would be great for a all over tan but you are definately all exposed plus they say you stay wet even with the plugs and I hope to use it in late fall maybe winter, the vapor 10 I have has a large cockpit opening which I like and can probably pass nudeby another boater and not even cover up, and yes I will probably try it, but one other thing I like about the sit on is the easy on off which I see a sit in you can't, as time goes by I may buy a sit on for that option as I like to jump into the water when it gets hot. But no matter what kayaks are pretty cool just grab and go...
I'm headed to the river the first of the week plan to try several different things such as exit an entry luckily the river is very shallow in spots, I usually wear a tank top or t shirt and a bikini that is easy to slip off, once past the bridge I plan to be nude will take a towel but since its a sit in will probably not cover up. As for loading I slide it into bed of truck and go how easy !!!
i spent about a month or two trying to decide on a canoe or kayak actually went to store to purchase a one person canoe but changed my mind and went home without and did somemore reading. my problem was i wanted a boat i could paddle upstream into a river current 2-5 miles at least and float back i worried about a canoe and me sitting to high and maybe fight the wind and the waves, needless to say decided on a 10 foot old town vapor and have not regretted the choice. it tracks well and goes well into the oncoming wake i think it will be a good river kayak .
been enjoying my vapor 10 alot lately mainly on the lake, it a good couple miles from one end to other and the vapor 10 does a good job the only regret i have a 220 cm paddle and i should have got the 230 cm but there is only a little difference. i talk to quite a few yakers on the lake see very few canoes but the yakers range from sit-on to sit-in, i still like the sit in other than getting in some times it suits me and keeps me pretty dry plus the large cockpit allows me to sunbathe almost as well as the sit-ons. the sit-on still concern me when it gets cold but i'm sure i'll see someone out there paddling. for those new and still looking do your research before buying and also do the same for the paddle as it is the main tool for kayaking.
I have a Nativewatercraft Ultimate, fishing version. It was a little pricey but it is very durable and should last a lifetijme. I treat it spring and fall with a plastic preservative. It is a 12 ft mdel that is like an open faced kayak. I enjoy nakaking with either my camera or my dog along. This craft gives me enough space. It is a little heavy and is not the fastest thing on the water. But, it tracks well with its retractable keel and tunneled hull. It is stable enough to carefullly stand in. It rides low to the water like a kayak but is a little wider like a canoe. Mine is olive green and I have painted my otherwise bright yellow paddles a pea soup green. I can go hunting and nature photographing without standing out from the water. When hunting I will wear camo but otherwise wear a black skimpy nylon running short, with the sides splitto the waist and the liner removed,to the launch ramp then strip down and go naked once away from the public area. Perhaps my naked, but tanned body, stands out but I haven't seemed to have a problem with the nature photography. when naked I simply accordian fold a towel next to my seat incase of an errant fisherman or the like. i once ran into a contingent of college students on a rental canoeing trip going up the river aI was coming down. Towel over my lap I chatted with them and then went on my way.
I have never tried getting into and out of it in deep water... usually just head to shore. I carry too much valuable stuff to risk overturning it. I do tie most stuff down. Hand held gps is tethered. Wallet, cell phone, care keys are inside a wide mouth water jug and tethered. But the camera gear has to be loose!! Depending on what I take the camera gear could be up to 4k worth of stuff!!!!!!!!!!
Most of my excursions are on inland kentucky lakes. No ruough water except for inconsiderate mean spirited power boaters. Yes, There are a few.
still enjoying my vapor 10 sit in, a good choice large cockpit and tracks well, when considering think about what you plan to be using it for. i use mine for exploring, fishing and sunbathing the one drawback to a sit in to a sit on that i see is getting in or on the kayak. the sit in is ok at the shoreline but not so ok when getting in from the water or is it me, that is something neat when it comes to the sit on's you just slid on how cool and its a great sunning deck. maybe i will get a sit on later i do love my vapor sit in..
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