Kayak’s?

[StLPro2A]

Anyone paddle Kayak’s? I am wanting to try one. Don’t know where to start. I don’t know Jack **** about them. I would rather buy once and cry once than buy and regret. Do I start at an Academy?

Bought two Ascend kayaks at Bass Pro 12ft sit-on in muted tan (12T model as I recall), and a 10ft sit-in for gf.....in a now discontinued hot pink...with 6 rubber duckies trailing behind every where we go. Yeah, she is very worth it!!! Very happy with both for our purposes, bought both on sale at $100 off each 3-4 years ago. Me fishing local streams/lakes and on our 80 ac lake at our property, and just paddling with her. My sit-on rigs easily for fishing. Both handle well, even in heavy chop. Hers slightly faster than mine. Both have great "low lawn chair" removable seats....comfortable and butts up out of water. Haul both bottoms up, side-by-side on 70" (29" + 31" = 60" load width) Yakima load bar system on top of my three XJ Jeeps (one set of load bars with landing pads on each Jeep....quick switch). Tried carriers holding yaks at 90deg. First big wind caught the yaks and put Jeep in other lane.....great sails!!! Went to 45deg mounts. Harder to lift full 77lb 12ft yak over carrier lip onto those...too tall for little-bits gf assistance. First run with 45deg mounts hit pouring rain. Stopping at convenience store for break, gf and I both piled out door, she to be deluged in water out of her yak that had filled completely up....no scuppers in her sit-in, great water scoop. Hard not to enjoy, she looks really good in a wet Tee even without her normal smile. Water probably added enough weight to actually overload Jeep roof weight limit. Probably had 5-10 gal in my sit-in below the angled floor scupper holes; hers maybe 30-50+ gal at 8lbs/gal. Fortunately no damage, accident., but something to ponder. The final bottoms up SxS mode is great...no sails, no water troughs, easy lift one end up to rear rail, pick up trailing end slide onto load bars upside down, easy, secure tie down with ratchet straps. Use step that hooks onto door latch stud for easy step-up access. Easy peasy. Just my experiences. Hope you enjoy your kayaking adventure.

 

[HoLeChit]

The wife and I rented one of these:
https://westcoastsailing.net/hobie-mirage-tandem-island/when they were available here at Oologah lake and it was a blast!
If it's windy just unfurl the mast and haul the mail. Just want to putter around, then just roll up the sail and use the mirage drive fins. Surprisingly it moves quite well with little effort unlike the old crappy paddle boats where you peddle like Lance Armstrong but only get up to about 2mph. You can even kick up the fins and paddle if want to do shallow stuff. The outriggers can fold in and out from the seats for narrow access.
We'd love to get one to keep, but the price is a little out of our range. You can find them for sale used on Craigslist every once in a while and hold their value well.

My father in law has one of those, that thing will really move across Shawnee twin lakes. Lots of fun.

What a cool photo! We were at Greenleaf State park for 2 days watching people have a blast! My dog is 72 lbs. He is a swimmer is an understatement. While at Greenleaf he kept wanting to swim out to a wake buoy, it was a long ways out. He caught me messing with my Jeep and off he went, I let him and he went to the wake buoy and came back! I had a young man that volunteered to paddle out behind him in case he tired, but he never did! I hope I can find a kayak big enough for him to ride too.


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My little buddy loves the water too, about lost his mind our first trip out on the Jon yacht. Stability is gonna be key with having the water loving dog out on the water, he will jump out in the middle of the lake, and you’ll need to be able to provide a way for him to climb back in, or have enough stability to pull him back into the boat.