I am looking to buy a kayak for my wife to paddle as I swim in a calm lake. I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions as to size, features, etc as I know nothing on this topic. I don't need anything fancy or for rough(er) water, just fairly simple.
Thanks in advance.
Parents
Former Member
Thank you for the responses. They are very helpful. I went over to ***'s Sporting Goods the other night and they have an Old Town Vapor (10') for about $300. It looks decent enough. Does anyone have any experience or thoughts on this model?
Geeky - my experience is that there is a direct correlation between the length of the boat and the speed at which you can paddle.
We have three sit on top kayaks, which we take to Lake Tahoe (among other places) every summer. The big two are Wilderness Systems Tarpon 140s (14'). The little one is a Wilderness System Ripper (8').
Our kids learned to paddle at age 5 in the big boats. They found them tough to turn at first, but liked the straight-ahead speed. The little boat turns on a dime, but is very squirrelly to paddle straight and fast.
The Ripper cost us about $300 (season end sale) and the Tarpons about $650 each (ditto on the sale). They are all indestructible, and as long as you care for the hull a bit each year (we use Aerospace 303 spray).
I don't know about Old Town boats, but Wilderness are fantastic.
Thank you for the responses. They are very helpful. I went over to ***'s Sporting Goods the other night and they have an Old Town Vapor (10') for about $300. It looks decent enough. Does anyone have any experience or thoughts on this model?
Geeky - my experience is that there is a direct correlation between the length of the boat and the speed at which you can paddle.
We have three sit on top kayaks, which we take to Lake Tahoe (among other places) every summer. The big two are Wilderness Systems Tarpon 140s (14'). The little one is a Wilderness System Ripper (8').
Our kids learned to paddle at age 5 in the big boats. They found them tough to turn at first, but liked the straight-ahead speed. The little boat turns on a dime, but is very squirrelly to paddle straight and fast.
The Ripper cost us about $300 (season end sale) and the Tarpons about $650 each (ditto on the sale). They are all indestructible, and as long as you care for the hull a bit each year (we use Aerospace 303 spray).
I don't know about Old Town boats, but Wilderness are fantastic.
