Kayaking

drkelly

drkelly

Dipstick who put two vehicles on jack stands
Joined
Mar 21, 2005
Location
Oak Ridge/Stokesdale, NC
Anyone on here do any kayaking? I've never been before, but have been thinking about it a bit lately.
 
It looks like there are three rivers very close to me. Mayo, Dan, and Smith.
 
sammi_davis said:
Go to one of the rivers that has a rental place and try it out. We go here on the Smith and Dan rivers and it’s a lot fun and makes for a relaxing day.
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Do you ever go down the Mayo? It looks rougher than the other two.
 
We try to camp where we can. We haul them all over. Many styles and price points.
Pay attention to your use and style. By the rivers mentioned you aren't talking white water.

The purist can't call lazy river floating kayaks. Sit in, sit on, and everything in between. Portage, gear, and access to what's with you is huge. Hours in a poor fitting ergonomically poor fit makes for a long day.

Lazy rivers with some current allow for much wider boats, and little rocker. Put that same boat in a Kerr Scott or a lake and you'll work your butt off.

Some plow, some refuse to turn, and others will work your torso to death to keep stable.

Find a group that has some boats, rent some and try to give them a go in some actual water. Sitting in the floor of a shop doesn't give you much real world feel.

Having said that I have a couple you can borrow. Middle grade sit ins, not to big bulky or pricey. Decent rocker, stable, but smaller scale to the higher end boats. You'll see exactly what your paying for in trade offs. My wife may take some convincing to share hers. Same price point different approach in design of a sit in. Completely different feel in the water.
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After the long winded post. Im actually wanting to get back in a higher end canoe.
Single and two person capable.
 
Up until recently I was going quite a bit. Just as with anything there are lots of styles and types of kayaking. I've got a 19 ft seda glider. It is super fast paired it with a carbon fiber paddle it will haul. I've done a few races and paddled quite a few miles with it. There is no fishing in this boat. I've never tried to roll it but it seems like it would be difficult. It likes open water more so than the Lumber River.

Carbon Paddle is where its at. Just hang on to it if you go swimming.

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If you think you will only kayak in warm weather then I would buy a sit on top kayak when it is fine getting a little wet. Stability is pretty good on those. However you aren’t really cutting through the water very well.

If you go big you could get some with pedals.


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I love to kayak. Don't go near as much as I used to since munchkin isn't big enough to go along yet. I have a 10' Potomac sit in and feel like it's a pretty good balance for my needs. Its short and lite with a v that cuts well. Its not a speed demon, but does fine in open water and tracks well in the river. Have a rod holder and usually take a pole and tackle box along. Also have an anchor and trolley on it. Havent done any true white water in it. I've been down the yadkin from kerr Scott to SC, a lot of the dan, new, and Mitchell river, kerr Scott, high rock, belews, Norman, and Hampton lakes.

This pic is old, but same boat.

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Just got back from a paddle. We haven’t gone as much this year as we normally would but still seem to make it out once a month or so. I’ve got a Perception Hook 10.5 Angler and we have a Perception Swifty 9.5 for her. We go on local reservoirs and smaller lakes usually. Neither of us enjoy dodging boats and wakes. Usually a river trip down the New once a year or so. These Perceptions seem to be a good jack of all trades master of none kind of boat. Small and light enough to just chuck into the bed of the truck yet stable enough when the water isn’t perfect.

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StretchASU said:
Just got back from a paddle. We haven’t gone as much this year as we normally would but still seem to make it out once a month or so. I’ve got a Perception Hook 10.5 Angler and we have a Perception Swifty 9.5 for her. We go on local reservoirs and smaller lakes usually. Neither of us enjoy dodging boats and wakes. Usually a river trip down the New once a year or so. These Perceptions seem to be a good jack of all trades master of none kind of boat. Small and light enough to just chuck into the bed of the truck yet stable enough when the water isn’t perfect.

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My wife has a Swifty. Loves it. Completely different handling from my Trophy Beach.
 
Sold off my single seat kayaks a while back. Found I was never kayaking alone. Bought a Mad River Adventure canoe. Bit of a mix between a kayak and canoe. Stable enough to fish out of and large enough to carry camping gear.


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StretchASU said:
Just got back from a paddle. We haven’t gone as much this year as we normally would but still seem to make it out once a month or so. I’ve got a Perception Hook 10.5 Angler and we have a Perception Swifty 9.5 for her. We go on local reservoirs and smaller lakes usually. Neither of us enjoy dodging boats and wakes. Usually a river trip down the New once a year or so. These Perceptions seem to be a good jack of all trades master of none kind of boat. Small and light enough to just chuck into the bed of the truck yet stable enough when the water isn’t perfect.

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Where is the last pic from?
 
I have a kayak that I use for fishing. It is a sit on top. It has served me well but I am now starting to look for a new one. I have found that it isnt big enough for me and my gear. When I'm paddling it looks like my kayak has carolina squat going on. If you are getting a kayak make sure the seat is extremely comfy. I can only sit in mine for about an hour before i am hurting. Mine is the one on the end.
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Reid said:
Sold off my single seat kayaks a while back. Found I was never kayaking alone. Bought a Mad River Adventure canoe. Bit of a mix between a kayak and canoe. Stable enough to fish out of and large enough to carry camping gear.


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That’s a damn fine canoe! So much better all around than the other two we’ve had.
 
StretchASU said:
My backyard. We back up to a creek so we can kayak and duck hunt right out of the back yard.
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Deserves multiple likes.....can only vote once. Damn elections allow more!
 
There are a lot more kayakers on here than I expected!

My interest lies mostly in River kayaking with mild rapids (class I-III). We would mostly be going in warm weather.
 
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