Looking to start a new Hobby, I've been through a few still do most of them off and on but recently a friend of mine who is also keen on doing some Kayaking has got me looking into it. Have done a bit of research and know we're looking for a single seat Recreational sit on Kayak but looking at some model/brand recommendations if anyone's has any experience they want to pass on. Cheers In advance Morgan.
Completed my BCU 1 & 2 before my kids were born. In fact if the preggers test had come back negative we were going to buy a couple of kayaks that very day! We didn't get twin kayaks but got twins. Personally I wouldn't touch a 'sit on top' with a ten foot paddle. Our aim was always to get a couple of sea kayaks for exploring the coast and maybe a bit of short range island hopping. Get your BCU 1 & 2 and then decide what aspect of the sport you want to get into. We did ours at Woodmill: http://www.woodmill.co.uk
I am looking at doing both courses locally, just to get the basics, only looked at the sit ons just for pure convenience really. Exploring the coast and hopping from islands is pretty much what we're after and the odd explore of some lakes and rivers near by. What sort of price range where you thinking when you looked at Kayaks, as they seem to vary quite a bit which is pretty much like anything but is good to know where abouts to start looking.
Whoo-hoo! BCU 3* paddler here, you've picked a great hobby/sport. I mostly spend my time sea kayaking and that's what I enjoy, but I've never tried white water, so it could be great fun! There's nothing wrong with sit on tops as such, but it's not "true" kayaking (dare I say it). Especially if you're going on the sea I would advise against a sit on top, although my friend does paddle one in Portsmouth regularly and it's fine for him. I just don't like the idea of being able to be tipped out easily, but this may be a comfort for some. Ocean Kayak are pretty common, but I don't have any experience with them myself. I believe said friend has an Ocean Kayak kayak, and that's perfectly capable. It's quite easy to get second hand boats at a fraction of the price of a new one. A good place to look is here: http://www.ukriversguidebook.co.uk/forum/viewforum.php?f=10 or of course eBay. A (relatively) new general purpose boat can be had for as little as £150 second hand compared to £500 new, but old dancers can be had for £30. Sea kayaks tend to be the most expensive boats out there, but you don't necessary need one at this stage. New, you're looking at about £700+, but they can be found for around £300 second hand. Hope this helps.
Stopped doing stars after 3* as I mainly kayak surf now days. I'd certainly look at getting a proper sea kayak instead of a sit on top if you're looking at exploring the british coast. You'll be a lot warmer as half you body will be out of the elements and your legs won't get wet.
Well this was before kids and we had money back then. We probably would have bought plastic so nothing real crazy money wise. We were paying for private fertility treatment back then (Two mum family) so any kayak you care to look at is cheap when compared to a round of IVF! When purchasing anything I tend to either. A) Buy the cheapest that will do the job. B) Buy the one I want regardless of the cost. So we'd probably have bought top of the range plastic. What does that work out as? £1000? £1200? Once we'd bought spraydecks, wetsuits, bags, lines, buoyancy aids, paddles, radios etc we'd have been looking at £4k to £5k for the pair of us. Maybe once in the shop we'd have gone with fibreglass rather than plastic. Who knows.... But we got lucky with twins instead... the expensive option!
Join a club, get free coaching, learn to paddle, decide what type of water you want to run and then buy something. There are lots of different types of kayaks/canoes which are suited for very different purposes i.e. a sea/touring kayak does not translate well to running white water at all. You may think you want to do some quaint island hopping but once throw yourself down that first grade 4 rapid you may change your mind completely! Even within the same genre of kayak there are a lot of subtle differences which make the choice of boat a very personal thing. Your local kayak shop should have demo boats you can take out and try before parting with any money. Personally for me in terms of brands it always a toss up between Pyranha and Dagger.
Thank you that is very helpful, will sift through that forum seem to have alot of useful threads to add to the read list, I have looked on ebay but I loose trust with ebay everytime I buy something that's a pile of crap (not wanting to be out at sea and work out its a duff lol), will keep an eye on that forum though. Ahh yes kids, I'm not exploring that route for a few more years yet not while I have some play time left in me. I have looked at going down the odd rapid but I think it will be a proper disaster no matter how much training I've had lol, I am partially sighted and lots of foamy water splashing everywhere isn't going to help my cause much, its bad enough when you get a decent spray kitesurfing, I have just found my local shop online and I've cycled past them but never noticed by the looks of it lol so will have to take a trip at the weekend. Thank you for all the help so far .
I'd echo what Lazy said about joining a club and also add that learning the basics on flat water is going to help before putting waves into the mix as well. Some clubs let members borrow (or hire for a nominal fee) equipment outside of club hours so it might certainly be a cheaper way of trying the sport out before you spend your own money on a boat and kit.
I never been in a K1, but I'd like to give it a try. Were swimming lessons included in your K1 sessions?
