You Can't Carry It, Maybe You Shouldn't Buy It?

This is America by jingo and we like things "super-sized" over here. And while bigger may in fact be better when it comes to T-bone steaks or Bell's Oberon, we've learned through experience it's not so with kayaks. Let's look into the true life example of a fellow we'll call "Troutnose" to protect his fragile ego and identity.

Many years ago I, uhh…. I mean Troutnose got bit right in the backside by the kayaking bug. Bit so hard that he forsook his beloved composite canoe. In buying his first kayak, Troutnose was smitten with the long, lovely lines of a particular sea kayak. Never mind that it was well over $2000, 18 feet long and weighed almost 70 lbs. And never mind the fact that Troutnose had paddled only one kayak before in his life. He'd had thousands of hours in his 17 foot canoe and was a very good paddler. His first awaking came when he tried to mount his new sea kayak onto his roof rack and found that he needed special fittings as you can't just rope a kayak up like you do most canoes to the roof rack. Hmm. Another $125 later, Troutnose had the rack ready for the kayak. In lifting it up on the roof of the truck the kayak felt like it weighed twice what it had on the ground and Troutnose staggered a bit under all the weight but finally got the boat in the cradles and lashed down. He found the rear lift gate would not open up as the back of the kayak extended out too far. But that was after he'd already opened the gate and put a nice divot in the car door and the gel coat of the boat. If only poor Troutnose had stopped right there . . .

Troutnose figured he needed a sea kayak since he was an adventuresome guy and would be taking trips out on the Great Lakes for weeks on end. His first visit to Lake Superior was a terrifying and humbling affair. He looked out over the glassy surface late one day after driving for 7 hours and couldn't wait to glide over the water out to the cliffs. By the time Troutnose had changed into paddling clothing and gotten all his gear rounded up and down to the beach, the wind had shifted and the waves were three feet and building. And they got bigger and stayed bigger for the next three days! So Troutnose found several sheltered inland lakes and had a great time paddling but knew the kayak he had bought was too long and heavy for what would turn out to be 95% of his paddling for the rest of his life. He also found he simply didn't have the time to drive 7 hours to paddle when he could paddle his brains out on lakes and rivers 10 minutes from his house.

Being no fool, but still not seeing the whole picture clearly, Troutnose disposed of his 18 foot behemoth and got a 17 foot kayak and began taking lessons in earnest. But the 17 footer was no lightweight either and within a year Troutnose went in to have a hernia repaired. And the dent in the hood of his truck was a constant reminder that long boats are slippery and unwieldy when loading or off loading. Troutnose gritted his teeth and bought a 15 foot kayak and as his technique improved he found that he out-cruised his pals in their longer boats. One day Troutnose hopped into a 12.5 foot Walden Vista and took off across the lake on a breezy day and had one of the best paddles of his life. At 39 lbs, he could carry the Vista with one hand and the acceleration was awesome. Troutnose was cured of longboatitis forever.

So instead of over-buying it's best to be really honest about how much and where you'll paddle your kayak. Chances are you'd be happy with a boat in the 10-14 foot class and short of overnight trips; you can do a lot of paddling almost anywhere in Michigan with these shorter touring lengths. By keeping the length down you will also keep the weight down which will:

• Make transporting far easier and safer
• Make the lighter/shorter kayaks respond to your commands faster
• Give you an easier time storing the boat

But are shorter boats painfully slower that longer ones?
First the actual speed of any kayak is mostly due to the engine, and that is you. The Walden Vista (12.5 ft long, 24 in wide) for example has less wetted surface than the Walden Passage (15 ft long, 24 in wide) and less drag. The lower the weight of the kayak, the less energy to propel it. With a strong keel line helping it track straight, I can paddle a Vista (39 lbs)and keep up with anyone in a Passage (59 lbs). So while a Passage is faster in a short sprint, the Vista paddles easier at speeds that can be maintained over longer distances. Now keep in mind if a kayak is 30 in wide and 10 feet long it simply won't keep up with a kayak that is 24 in wide and 15 feet long. But if the shorter kayak is the same width and tracks well, don't ever bet against it! Many longer kayaks have to have rudders employed to help them track and the rudder creates drag and slows the kayak down. And rudders add more weight to propel.

In years past many good paddlers had to go up in length to get a hull shape that was efficient as the shorter kayaks were like little barges. Not any more since almost every good kayak manufacturer makes efficient hulls in the 11-14 foot class. The other thing that worked against me, I mean Troutnose, is that most boats in the 12 foot range didn't come with sealed bulkheads and hatches both front and rear. And perimeter rescue deck lines were simply unheard of. Now manufactures like Hurricane are coming out with ultra lightweight kayaks in the 10-14 foot range that have everything built in for your comfort and safety. So if you are reasonably close to your height/weight ratio the perfect kayak may very well be 11-14 feet long, 23-26 in wide and 34-42 lbs in weight. I call kayaks in this range the sweet zone. If you take lessons from a good instructor and learn to paddle properly, you'll be able to cruise for hours and still have the strength left to load the boat on the car without hurting you or it.

Now what about that three day trip to the Apostle Islands? How about renting a kayak from an outfitter and walking away light as a feather when you're done? Many of us are now renting state of the art skis when we go west that are better than what we have at home and we save hassle and money in the bargain. Most outfitters have tandems too which is a good way to stay together on the water in areas that are new and challenging to you. I see so many people get hung up on how much gear capacity they have in their boat that they never, ever use! Face it folks, most of your paddling will be 2-3 hour jaunts and all you need aboard is perhaps lunch, a change of clothes and your safety items. All of which will fit in two dry bags in a rear hatch of a 12 footer. Here's an excerpt from Paddling.net that pretty much sums up what I mean about being happy with the right size boat. This review is from someone like you and not from an advertisement.

05-14-2001
After searching and buying nearly every small kayak for my wife, and not being happy with any of them, I stumbled on to Hurricane Aqua Sports "Santee", at a kayak Demo Days. The "Santee" is the most stable kayak of any length I have ever demoed. It not only is a beautiful, well made kayak, it has front and rear bulkheads, front and rear hatches, a very comfortable seat, and tracks like a dream, has unbelievable stability, and is the fastest, easiest to paddle and control small kayak I've found. All this from a kayak that's only 10 ft long and 30 inches wide, looks like the far more expensive Eddielines and sells for only $649 retail. We loved the "Santee" so much; we bought the demo and ordered another on the spot.

I'm sure that the same could be said about several other wise manufacturers that are now building performance into shorter lengths. There are many really fine choices for Michigan waters. So if you don't want to fritter your money away like our pal Troutnose, go shorter and lighter!