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Varmintmist
Senior MemberPosts: 7,538 Senior Member
kayak question
Varmintmist
Senior MemberPosts: 7,538 Senior Member
actually a paddle question, found a deal on C-list for 2 that will work for my son and I.
You can get a kayak for cheap on Craigslist, however to find expedition/sea kayaks that will carry substantial sized persons takes a bit longer. I go 6'1" 265 and the son at 15 is running 6'1" 200. Not in itself hard to find a boat for, however add 6 days 5 nights worth of gear and food and if you want any kind of margin at all, ya gotta go big. I have a friend who has a 14' Old Town Castine and that seemed like it would work, but they are not real available. I found a older Sea Lion 17' which is rated at almost 400 lb and a Perception Carolina 14' which is rated at 300lb.
These are not whitewater kayaks, they are cruisers. Should be fairly fast even loaded.
Anyway.
I need to get some paddles. Best I can figure 230cm's will work for both of our sizes and the width of the boats.
So the questions are; any preferences, any experience with sub 100.00 paddles, different ideas on lengths .....
You can get a kayak for cheap on Craigslist, however to find expedition/sea kayaks that will carry substantial sized persons takes a bit longer. I go 6'1" 265 and the son at 15 is running 6'1" 200. Not in itself hard to find a boat for, however add 6 days 5 nights worth of gear and food and if you want any kind of margin at all, ya gotta go big. I have a friend who has a 14' Old Town Castine and that seemed like it would work, but they are not real available. I found a older Sea Lion 17' which is rated at almost 400 lb and a Perception Carolina 14' which is rated at 300lb.
These are not whitewater kayaks, they are cruisers. Should be fairly fast even loaded.
Anyway.
I need to get some paddles. Best I can figure 230cm's will work for both of our sizes and the width of the boats.
So the questions are; any preferences, any experience with sub 100.00 paddles, different ideas on lengths .....
It's boring, and your lack of creativity knows no bounds.
Replies
As to paddles...I went through a few of them before I settled on a classic cedar Inuit paddle - amazing control and a lot of speed for the effort expanded...(the paddles also "sing" as the move through the water).
The wife preferred a carbon fiber two-piece paddle
The canoe you see here is the newer brother to the one I had before which was not a square back. It paddled fantastically with two and tracked very well. It was heavy, at about 85 pounds, but steady and stable. This canoe is going to make a 100 mile Mississippi trip this year with my son-in-law and I. We only intend to use the motor if we encounter a headwind we can't overcome, and then, only sparingly.
Something to consider. Everything you see in the photo (trolling motor mount is home made) was purchased last summer brand new, including trailer for right at $1700, which is less than some top end kayaks.
In the last 2 years I have about 250 miles tripping in them. A peice of advice, lose the motor, find backrests. You are going to have a lot of drag with the squareback as it is. Unless you are going to go where the water takes you the whole way, it is going to be enough work without the extra weight. Wind sucks, but that weight is going to kick your butt unless you have enough fuel to run it the whole time. If you are carrying all of your food and cooking gear for 2 people you will be heavy enough once you add up the repair stuff, first aid kit, and extra paddle, and personal gear. I bought and retro fitted Old Town seats with backs to the 2001 and I built backrests out of light pipe and backs cut out of a poly 55 gal drum for the Gumman, then bought 2 stadium seats and unzipped the back, slipped the back over the barrel back. Works great. A back rest will save you.
Old town (fyi, I'm the real good looking one)
Grumman (son is the taller one, he has grown about 8 inches since last year)
Side tip, make a pallet out of light wood or 1 in pvc pipe that will lay in the canoe, screw some luann to it, put your gear on it. You will get water in the boat and that will keep the water under your stuff. 2 ratchet straps secure the gear to the boat and pallet for when you go over.
The water that we go in (Allegheny River Trail, creeks and tributarys running into it http://www.fishandboat.com/watertrails/alleg/trailmap.htm ). We ran the whole thing last year and have done 60+ in a outing. This year we are looking at about 70, with the first 30 running a creek through the Allegheny National Forest if the water lever is up. The creek ends in a flood control dam so we got the name and number for the Army Corp of Eng guy who controls it to find out if we are going to have water. After that we will portage to the river and continue.
I am not buying a tandem kayak, I am buying 2 expedition kayaks. Just want to try something different. My total less paddles is 750. They are not pretty or new, and I will have to put new rigging on both, but if they keep water out, then that is the right price to try kayaking. If I fall in love I might buy a newer one, but scratching a 350.00 kayak on rocks doesnt bother me as much as scratching a 2700.00 one.
This will be a 4 day "fishing" trip rather than an "excursion", so we're going to use the motor and trolling motor as much as or more than the paddles to investigate little backwaters and criss-cross the main channel to hit likely fishing spots. We want to fish more than paddle.
The little Suzy goes 8mph on 1/4 throttle and it sips gas. Should it quit working, we have several public take out points along the way that we can use to terminate early, but one 5 gallon can could run the entire distance. We'll be packing 8 gallons. We don't weigh much, and I already have floors in the canoe to keep things dry and to offer stand-to-cast platforms. They're made of luan with a platform of pool noodles bolted to the underside to offer a little springiness.
Already have the seat backs. They'll go on for the trip. I don't use them when I'm fishing normally, as I spend nearly all my time standing to cast. I'm a fisherman first...and this is my "Bass Boat."
Best to you. take plenty of photos.
Dan
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You to.
Other questions that come up.... Feather, yes or no? Apparently the feather is for moving the high paddle through the air and is tougher on the wrists. Non feather is traditional but can be more work in a breeze.
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