Educate me on kayaks

The local shop here doesn't carry entry level stuff and I'm not quite willing to drop 3 grand on a new interest..... yet.

I also hadn't considered the covid impact on this market segment.  Any events have been put off and it seems the sporting goods stores are indeed sold out of what we would be looking for.  

I did find some helpful YouTube videos where pro shop owners review entry level stuff that got me excited but alas those models are out of stock everywhere.  

Bad timing on my end I guess. 

I will hit the local REI and Dicks to see if anything is still around.  I might also see if there are any inflatable pool cushions that could be jammed into the challenger to be sort of a makeshift foot rest. That seems to be the main drawback with it, there is nothing to press against to allow torso movement. 

Thanks for the tips

I would like to find one for the lakes around here. I live very close to the lake. 

I have been renting them and taking my border collie along. He needs a sit in section up front where he barks at the sailboarders thinking he is herding them like sheep. 

Most of my rentals are longer, more stable and have room for the dog up front. I used to do white water stuff when I was younger and lived in California and Colorado. 

Any suggestions as to what to look for? I have been a little afraid of the cheap ones at Wal Mart, and yes, they still have them there. Dicks and Cabella's still has a selction too. 

In reply to lisandro :

We like to paddle our canoes.  

I'm going to start repeating myself.  Repeating myself.  They say it helps to emphasize the point you are making.

In reply to aliyahsarah :

I'm not saying your AI..  but you've only posted 2 times on this forum and both in topics about boats/canoes with vaugly associated posts that are almost made out of logical sentences.  

Interestingly 11GTCS has also posted in both those threads.  .. .

In reply to nocones :

Yeah, maybe it’s my fault lol.   They’re a persistent lot these human powered watercraft.  

Sit ins are for paddling, comfortable, lower center of gravity make it a boat you can spend hours in.  BTW, before buying sit in the boat for ten minutes, see if the seat agrees with your seat. Sit on tops are for sunbathing and swimming, unless you are talking about Hobie adventure islands which are more sailing trimarans than kayaks.  But that is another discusion.

I would stay away from all department store brands.  My perception swifty is almost 20 years old, and still a great boat.  Wife has a clearwater designs, a canadian boat that is very sturdy.  Name brands matter, check out hull thickness where it will scrape when you beach.  

Yes prices are high right now.  Last summer I bought a boat for 150, sold it the same day(20 callers in 2 hours) for 300.  Next day it was up for 450!  But CL and FB are worth checking.  And when you consider how many years these things last the fun per hour is pennies.

Barnibonn canoeing, that's a paddling.

I could not help myself.. after building one Skin on Frame, I ordered plans for another.  I do intend to finish my Expedition wherry first and then a pram style dinghy,  so probably in the fall I will start building.

Like Mad Machine, I really enjoy building kayaks (And paddling them. Before I got into cars I could be found on the water six days a week). There are three primary types of DIY kayaks, Stitch-and-glue, Strip kayaks and skin-on-frame. I highly recommend it. It's enjoyable, you build something downright beautiful, and it's actually a pretty high-performance boat that comes out of the deal. Plastic kayaks are generally heavy unless they're small, and even most fiberglass ones aren't exactly featherweight, but you can build a robust 16-foot-long, fast kayak that only weighs in at 40 lbs or so. One that I built for racing was almost twenty feet long, thirty pounds and never let me down.  Paddling primarily in the open ocean I have been leery of skin-on-frame, but the Inuits and Aleuts trusted them to the frigid waters and even hunted+ fished out of them so that's a very legit type as well. You can buy plans and build from scratch, but the easier way is to buy an all-inclusive kit. Pygmy Kayaks and Cheasapeake Light Craft are very good outfits with excellent designs.