Advice Needed - Choosing A Kayak

I need the opinion of some experienced paddlers. I was looking at this kayak (www.nativewatercraft.com) at a local outfitter and I really liked it. The model in particular is the Magic 14.5 It can be fitted out as either a solo or tandem, has a very stable hull design, and has lots of cargo capacity for a solo float trip (or two people could make a day collecting trip w/ seines and nets). This kayak would be used in swamps and low-gradient streams (typical Mississippi waters). At 80+ pounds it's damn heavy, but a composite hull is kind of out of my price range, especially for my first boat. It also is highly accesorizable - you can get covers fore and aft, and you can snap accessories on and off a special channel built around the hull, like fishing rod holders, anchor, etc. - it's very versatile.

Does this seem like a good choice?

I would get an inflatable one, what can happen?

I would get an inflatable one, what can happen?

Note to self: Block user "HMT321".

I have a solo canoe @ 35 pounds that can carry 200+ pounds of gear. It takes a bit more water with all of that weight but is half the weight of the kayaks I've recently been looking at. It cannot be converted to a tandem.

I really want a kayak and even found some decent prices on used and can't find the reason to buy a watercraft at twice the weight that can haul half the gear. I dunno Martin, like you I don't have whitewater and seem to think the canoe I currently have might be best suited for flat-landers. You might even be able to find a used solo canoe at rock bottom prices with kayaks being all the rage?

Well, I have thought about a canoe as well, mainly for the cargo capacity. But this one has decent capacity (400 lbs), and you can really cover some territory in a hurry with a kayak (so goes my thinking) if you need to. The tunnel hull design I am looking at is so stable you can stand up in it, which is a plus for a beginner like me.

But if I could find a cheap canoe (a couple hundred $) I'd snap it up. This Kayak is around $1100.

400 pound capacity? Sure as long as it's lead ingots! I've not yet seen a kayak (that I could afford) that had enough room.

This Kayak is around $1100.

Whoah! That's a pricey kayak! I recently came across one on clearance at Dunham's Sporting Goods for $215. End of year clearance. Check for those kind of sales.

CHECK EBAY, and if you have one local to you Check at Dick's Sporting Goods, and Gander Mountai...CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP

I am biased to canoes, personally. I have had a small 12 ft that could give a kayak a run for its money in an all-out paddle (before i blew my shoulder). I currently have a whale of a 17 ft fiberglass with many past patch jobs that has begin leaking slowly again, can't beat a free boat though! Was looking at kayaks recently but can't get away from the versatility of a canoe for varied cargo loads (3rd passenger/dog/keg of beer...) Ideally, a 14 ft plastic old town would get me all hot and bothered.

I'm way biased towards kayaks. Personnally, I think they are more stable than any canoe I've been in.
For crashing swamps and creeks I'd stay away from the fiberglass. The plastic ones take a beating,
scraping rocks in shallow runs, beaching them on gravel, ect. I've got two 9' Perceptions and a bud has two
12' Pungoes. I like the nine footers in rivers - they are much more maneuverable. The twelve footers
don' turn as easily, but they are a little easier paddling on calm water like small lakes.
The twelve footers also have a lil more cargo space - my bud can easily fit a large 12-pak cooler in his.
After looking at their website, I'd prefer the Marvel 10 or12 sit in kayaks- you'll stay a lot drier in the low gradient streams
with a sit in model. An 80# yak is a darn heavy one fer sure. I think my Perceptions weigh in at 30# each.

My yak is set up with a rod holder, anchor and a small depth finder. The transducer shoots through the hull under the seat
with the small graph mounted on the deck in front of me.

The twelve footers also have a lil more cargo space - my bud can easily fit a large 12-pak cooler in his.
After looking at their website, I'd prefer the Marvel 10 or12 sit in kayaks- you'll stay a lot drier in the low gradient streams
with a sit in model. An 80# yak is a darn heavy one fer sure. I think my Perceptions weigh in at 30# each.

Hmm. Well, I plan on getting wet anyway, but the light weight is a bonus. Still, I like the idea of being able to take a friend. It may make more sense to get something really cheap until I have enough time on the water to know what I need.

Still, I like the idea of being able to take a friend..

You could get two single yaks for less than that 80#er. If you have an extra yak people will
use it. I've had a lot of people go yakking with me. I've talked to a fellow that had a two seater yak, he didn't like it.
of course any yak is too cool, it gets you down on duck-eye level wit the water.

I'm another canoe lover.

My canoe is a Mad River St. Croix 14' (similar to modern model Mad River Explorer 14TT). It's about 58#, I think. So I can manage it solo by myself. But I can easily handle a guest, too.

Any kayak will beat it in a drag race, but no kayak can handle the load that this thing will carry. The day after I bought it, I spent the day cleaning up trash in the Neuse River with it. I weighed over 325 at that point (285 now! And falling! w00t!) and I had trash piled up high and hanging over the gunnels. With "only" 300+ lbs in it it was manageable but with 500+ lbs in it it rides really nice

There are times that I would rather have a kayak, but really I'd like to have a lighter canoe. Maybe something like the Old Town Pack. It only weighs 35#, great for still/shallow waters, and can still handle a bigger load than any kayak. It's a heck of a lot cheaper, too. Most people do recommend that you use a Kayak paddle with the Pack, though, so it could be the best of both worlds for you. Most canoes don't work well with a kayak paddle but the pack is very small and narrow so it works.

A popular kayak for all-around use is the Old Town Loon 138. Should do well in rivers, swamps, lakes, etc. It's long enough to track well, but short enough to maneuver in tight places and steer.

Unless you really need a tandem kayak, get a solo kayak. Going back & forth works well in canoes, where you can sit backwards in the front seat to paddle solo, but in a kayak the weight placement is so much more critical and you can't turn it around backwards to get a solo paddler sitting roughly in the middle of the hull.

Honestly though I'm still going to suggest at least considering a canoe.

I have been working on the Ashtabula River and have worked out of a canoe and kayak.

I really like the kayak when I am not getting in and out. It is a dagger and is very easy to handle and get up and down stream, (it is a solo so I can't compare to a tandom).

But when I have to get in and out, I love the canoe, (getting continuously in and out of the kayak is rough on the old back). For 1100 you could purchase a pretty nice canoe and eccessorise with a stabilizer, backs for your seat, a good light weight paddle, comfortable life jackets, maybe a livewell and a nice aerator, etc...

When we have canoe floats for public outreach on our state scenic rivers sometimes we have to go solo in the canoe. I can't remember if they are 14 or 16 foot canoes.

I forgot all about this topic, sorry, Mormon. I have a 14ft Grumman canoe, 10.5ft Wavesport Excel whitewater kayak, and 2 Perception Sparky 9.5ft yaks. The canoe is unbeatable for large amounts of gear and people (camping trips etc.) but terrible for solo/small trips as its size is its greatest asset and downfall.
Stay away from whitewater or "aggressive" kayak hull designs as they are for rolling and pivoting as much as going in a straight line.

The Sparky (or any "beginner") kayak with chines and a nice flat bottom are a perfect balance. As a fishing vessel the gear can be kept along the gunnels and small containers aft of the seat. I like to use the 3gal. sterilite containers for minners. As a collection raft the Sparky will hold 2 five gallon buckets (I prefer the square 24 Qt. Cambro containers) several seines with brailles, dipnets, cooler, kitchen sink etc... securely and still draft less than two inches. The dry weight is @45lbs. so portaging and cartopping is no problem. Best of all, for 1100 smackers you could buy 4 Sparkies - now that's fun for the family and a poodle or two.

The design you are looking at seems a tad cumbersome for solo trips and the moulding seems like it would interfere with gear, although it would help you stay dry. It is essentially a poly 14 foot canoe with bow and stern "keels" for ease of tracking. I don't personally like the lack of freeboard either.

DO spend more money on your paddle than you would like, the lighter the better, it makes all the difference in the world.

When I win the lottery: http://www.eastcapec...m/gladesmen.php

A canoe is looking better and better!

Just some eye candy... this is my solo canoe that works just dandy as a tandem canoe when needed. Location is Lake Crabtree in Morrisville, NC and the date was a few weeks ago, late October-ish.

Now this is my kind of paddling. But with little mon I would def. go with a canoe for hauling stuff.

I forgot all about this topic, sorry, Mormon. I have a 14ft Grumman canoe, 10.5ft Wavesport Excel whitewater kayak, and 2 Perception Sparky 9.5ft yaks. The canoe is unbeatable for large amounts of gear and people (camping trips etc.) but terrible for solo/small trips as its size is its greatest asset and downfall.
Stay away from whitewater or "aggressive" kayak hull designs as they are for rolling and pivoting as much as going in a straight line.

The Sparky (or any "beginner") kayak with chines and a nice flat bottom are a perfect balance. As a fishing vessel the gear can be kept along the gunnels and small containers aft of the seat. I like to use the 3gal. sterilite containers for minners. As a collection raft the Sparky will hold 2 five gallon buckets (I prefer the square 24 Qt. Cambro containers) several seines with brailles, dipnets, cooler, kitchen sink etc... securely and still draft less than two inches. The dry weight is @45lbs. so portaging and cartopping is no problem. Best of all, for 1100 smackers you could buy 4 Sparkies - now that's fun for the family and a poodle or two.

The design you are looking at seems a tad cumbersome for solo trips and the moulding seems like it would interfere with gear, although it would help you stay dry. It is essentially a poly 14 foot canoe with bow and stern "keels" for ease of tracking. I don't personally like the lack of freeboard either.

DO spend more money on your paddle than you would like, the lighter the better, it makes all the difference in the world.

When I win the lottery: http://www.eastcapec...m/gladesmen.php

I have a couple sit-on-top kayaks for fun/fishing/collecting. The Malibu Mini-X is, by far, my favorite. It's only 9'6", weighs just about 40 lbs with a seat and hatches, and the area behind the seat is ideal for a collection ice chest or bucket. There are molded-in hatch reliefs, front and back, which just happens to be the same diameter as a standard five gallon bucket. I've installed a center hatch, rod holders, and depth finder/gps. When you install hatches in a sit-on-top, the entire inside becomes dry storage.
Sit-on-tops are a lot easier to get in and out of, and launch, than a sit-in-kayak. Also if you somehow manage to dump it over, they don't fill up with water, and deep water re-entry is much easier.
Being so small, the Mini-X is very maneuverable in smaller creeks and tight areas, but, being small, it is slower and does not track as straight as a long touring kayak. A great, small sized, fishing kayak.
I also have a set of wheels which fit into the scupper holes and turns the whole thing into a cart, making for easy walks from parking to the water.
If I were starting fresh, I'd look at Malibu and Ocean Kayak as the the better manufacturers of fishing kayaks. Malibu has a model that even has a live well.
There was a post on alligator gar that had a link to the Texas Kayak Fisherman Forum. The TKF forum is a great place for info on the various types.
http://www.texaskaya...forum/index.php

Before you buy, try first! A good shop will let you try out the kayak first, saving yourself possible a headache after a few weeks. Most people "see kayak, buy kayak".
There is a reason the used kayak market is booming.
Take a few weeks to try out several.
Rick

Before you buy, try first! A good shop will let you try out the kayak first, saving yourself possible a headache after a few weeks. Most people "see kayak, buy kayak".
There is a reason the used kayak market is booming.
Take a few weeks to try out several.

The outfitter (small, local, independent) where I saw the Kayak I liked has events where they let you paddle around in their boats. You can pick up the demo models the following year at a discount. This particular model was a hybrid sit-on-top/inside, but I am kind of thinking now that I need a canoe.