Kayaks and Kayak Touring: Pretty Gosh Darn Fun.

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > The Great Outdoors > Kayaks and Kayak Touring: Pretty Gosh Darn Fun.

bongwizzard: May 19, 2005; Then one day I meet a man,
He came to me and said,
"Hard work good and hard work fine,
but first take care of head"; Grimey Drawer

Here is a fishing kayak;

Kinda silly looking, but so much easier to drag around than a boat. Kayak fishing is becoming a huge deal now and I see guys in them every time I am out it seems.

Here are some crazy guys fishing right over some sharks in their kayaks;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpbNMk7Y3ic

Also I bought a pair of packrafts last spring and have still never used them.

# ¿ May 4, 2017 19:55

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# ¿ Apr 28, 2024 21:50

bongwizzard: May 19, 2005; Then one day I meet a man,
He came to me and said,
"Hard work good and hard work fine,
but first take care of head"; Grimey Drawer

Epitope posted:

How much do you want for them?

I understand the thing where you buy the gear for the idea. I was married and on track to buy a pair of sea kayaks and have them collect dust. Instead I bought a single packraft off craigslist, and the next day learned first hand what swiftwater is. The story I tell is that I then sold it because I got spooked by that experience. However my buddy is probably correct that my selling it was more to do with marriage. I kept the proceeds from the boat sale in a box, thinking if the relationship went south that's my bug out bag. It was not nearly so dramatic but I am now divorced. Last season I borrowed half a dozen people's boats. I'm still not super enthralled by the activity itself, but it is for sure the social scene right now. Last week I bought my own again, and hit the same river I first tried. This weekend we are talking about a 4am trailhead start to ski to a river that might still be ice choked. Thank you for reading my boat story.

Are you stoned in the woods right now?

Also I really want to use the things, but my hiking buddy and I have never remembered to mess round with them when he's at the house, and I really don't want to try to inflate these things for the first time at the side of the river.

# ¿ May 5, 2017 00:25

bongwizzard: May 19, 2005; Then one day I meet a man,
He came to me and said,
"Hard work good and hard work fine,
but first take care of head"; Grimey Drawer

Epitope posted:

Eternally, forever and amen

Dude, hit that poo poo. Blowing is easy, bring some tyvek if you're worried about a leak. Shred the gnar bra

Blowing is not easy if you have been hiking and smoking dope all day. The grand plan was to use them to extend the range of our day hikes, so we could hike up river until we were tired and then just float back.

# ¿ May 5, 2017 22:11

bongwizzard: May 19, 2005; Then one day I meet a man,
He came to me and said,
"Hard work good and hard work fine,
but first take care of head"; Grimey Drawer

The O-rings are drip guards for the paddle. Also that seat makes my back cry out in fear.

# ¿ Jun 1, 2017 23:34

bongwizzard: May 19, 2005; Then one day I meet a man,
He came to me and said,
"Hard work good and hard work fine,
but first take care of head"; Grimey Drawer

I've obviously never worn one, because my assumption was always that you were totally naked under wetsuit. Thinking about it for more than a second makes it seem obvious why that is not the case, for some reason I got that idea in my head somehow.

# ¿ Jun 2, 2017 21:53

bongwizzard: May 19, 2005; Then one day I meet a man,
He came to me and said,
"Hard work good and hard work fine,
but first take care of head"; Grimey Drawer

I have a semi-drysuit for winter kayaking and I have hell of a time getting layering right. I have never tried to wear it nude before though.......

# ¿ Jun 3, 2017 06:11

bongwizzard: May 19, 2005; Then one day I meet a man,
He came to me and said,
"Hard work good and hard work fine,
but first take care of head"; Grimey Drawer

therobit posted:

How fat is too fat to start learning to kayak? Asking for a very fat friend who might also be me.

Sit on top fishing kayaks can have like 400 pound weight ratings, so I guess the seat is the limiting factor.

# ¿ Jun 12, 2017 16:33

bongwizzard: May 19, 2005; Then one day I meet a man,
He came to me and said,
"Hard work good and hard work fine,
but first take care of head"; Grimey Drawer

Pennywise the Frown posted:

What I like about the K1, which is basically it's selling point, is that it's extremely portable. I still haven't used my Pelican yet. When I went kayaking for the first time with my own stuff my nephew used it. Little bastard is like 6' 3" 227lbs. I really want to use that one and maybe get a spray skirt or something but it's just so drat difficult to mount it on my car by myself. Even with my nephew I had to jump on top of my car to secure it in place. With the K1 I can just grab the bag and go. I don't know how else to mount the kayak. I have the official Subaru aerobars and kayak mounts. It'd be a little easier if I had an outback since it's lower to the ground but my forester requires me at least to balance on the outside of my door or sometimes I have to step onto the seat without falling backwards. I suppose when there's a will there's a way. It just sucks because I'm lazy.

A conundrum indeed.

A lot of old rear end dudes manage to get 80lb fishing kayaks on their roofs, so it is possible. If you are not strong enough to straight up and set it on there then try lifting the bow onto the back of the car, then lifting the stern as you slide it onto the racks. A sent of carriers like this:

Can make it easier to guide the yack on straight.

If you can manage the weight, then look at j-cradles;

They make it super easy to pop it up and adjust and strap with the yak supported and stable.

Really look at any kayak or fishing forum and you will see a ton of products and a ton more diy tricks to make loading a boat easier.

I am going to go insane at some point and buy a beater minivan, gut it, and turn it into my Kayak Fishing Command Center, the idea being I can leave it rigged and loaded 24/7, which I know will translate into be using it a ton more often. But thus far have been too lazy to find a suitable van.

# ¿ Jun 19, 2017 23:06

bongwizzard: May 19, 2005; Then one day I meet a man,
He came to me and said,
"Hard work good and hard work fine,
but first take care of head"; Grimey Drawer

Ok, first, do you have actual ratcheting straps or just friction ones? You want ratcheting ones, they are like $15 and will let you get a tighter hold and be less likely to loosen as you are driving. Once you get real straps then you need to figure out a way to make them easier to rig, I used to use looped pieces of paracord tied to the racks and replaced the hooks on my straps with small, but rated, carabiners. I could just clip the 'beaner into the loops and then tighten them down.

You also really want a pick line on the bow and stern, but I suspect if you get the straps set correctly they will never come loose. But pick lines are still a good idea. I am willing to bet that your car has hook points front and back.

Also, if the height of the rack is an issue, look at getting a little 2-step ladder to get you more height. Installing some grab handles on the yak would also be helpful, I bet that thing only weighs like 30-40lbs, but without being able to get a firm grip it will still be cumbersome as poo poo.

# ¿ Jun 19, 2017 23:42

bongwizzard: May 19, 2005; Then one day I meet a man,
He came to me and said,
"Hard work good and hard work fine,
but first take care of head"; Grimey Drawer

Pennywise the Frown posted:

I do have a ratchet set but they are really long. I suppose I can try to find some short ones if possible. Currently they are friction straps. Yeah the weight isn't so much an issue, but it sure is cumbersome with that weight distributed across a bulky 10 foot piece of plastic.

I never thought of a step stool.

Look up how to tie a "overhand on a bight" knot and use it to shorten your current straps if you need to. Handles are very easy to add to sit-in yaks, there are a ton of kits online.

Also no one thinks of a step stool, it is like the most common answer to the very common "How can I load my yak more easily" threads on every kayak forum. No one ever seems to think of it for some reason, myself included. I am assuming that you are not like 60+ so falling off a 2-step ladder isn't going to break your hip, but spend a little to get a nice sturdy one.

If you wanna spend a bunch there are all manner of assist devices out there, but most are a few hundred bucks.

# ¿ Jun 20, 2017 00:08

bongwizzard: May 19, 2005; Then one day I meet a man,
He came to me and said,
"Hard work good and hard work fine,
but first take care of head"; Grimey Drawer

Pennywise the Frown posted:

I'm 34 so I'm old and have to worry about that hip. Actually my pic is on this page. I'm capable but it's just a pain in the rear end.

Basically I'm whining because it isn't easy as I want it to be.

Oh dude you are tall as heck. Get a step ladder, some real straps and tie that piggy down.

# ¿ Jun 20, 2017 00:21

bongwizzard: May 19, 2005; Then one day I meet a man,
He came to me and said,
"Hard work good and hard work fine,
but first take care of head"; Grimey Drawer

Gumbel2Gumbel posted:

So I just spent an hour and half melting a screen and plastic into a sizable hole in one of my canoes with a plastic welder.

Does anyone have any experience with this? Can I take this thing out in my backyard pond today?

If you use a plastic welder, it shouldn't require any cure time unless you used some kind of adhesive somewhere in the process. Maybe tie a rope around one of the grab handles for the first little bit while you test the patch?

# ¿ Jul 23, 2017 16:25

bongwizzard: May 19, 2005; Then one day I meet a man,
He came to me and said,
"Hard work good and hard work fine,
but first take care of head"; Grimey Drawer

Slung Blade posted:

Anyone have an opinion on Hobie mirage drive fishing kayaks?

I'd really like one for duck hunting and fishing since you can drive it along with your legs and have your hands free for a shot gun or a fishing rod.

But in the other hand, they're loving $4300+ here retail, and I can't find any used ones.

I have a native propel, which until this year was the only competitor to the Hobie system. Peddle drive kayaks are the bomb for things like fishing where you going to want your hands free or if you do any trolling. I went with Native because I like to fish around a lot of close to shore cover and want to be able to back up.

# ¿ Sep 13, 2017 21:19

bongwizzard: May 19, 2005; Then one day I meet a man,
He came to me and said,
"Hard work good and hard work fine,
but first take care of head"; Grimey Drawer

As to the cost, it's better to think of them as a jon boat replacement rather than just a kayak.

# ¿ Sep 13, 2017 21:19

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# ¿ Apr 28, 2024 21:50

bongwizzard: May 19, 2005; Then one day I meet a man,
He came to me and said,
"Hard work good and hard work fine,
but first take care of head"; Grimey Drawer

Slung Blade posted:

That's a good point, but it's still quite a barrier to entry.

I'll keep thinking about it, trying to convince myself.

There are now a bunch more players in the peddle-drive market, prices might start coming down by next season.

For fishing at least, it was a total game changer.

# ¿ Sep 14, 2017 15:22

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