Little Molded Kayak

[islandguy]

The guy near me who sells water tanks has a few small molded (polyurethane?) kayaks. They are a sit inside style with a molding around the center to hold a skirt. Quite short, I'm not even sure I will be able to get my long legs fully inside. It is only 7,000 baht and I'm thinking I might be able to throw it into the back of the truck and check out a few coves - but mostly for exercise. Anybody tried one of these? I have only used sit on top ocean kayaks but learning to eskimo roll seems possible if I can get a skirt - or just stuff it with foam and not worry in these flat seas. Any comments?

[ScubaBuddha]

If it's like the one pictured below, we called these types of kayaks "Minnows" back home, as that was what the leading kayak manufacturer at the time, Perception, called them. Rolling one of these types of flat water kayaks is very a difficult thing to do. I whitewater river kayak, but whitewater kayaks have a very narrow beam and more rocker making them easy to tip, which also makes them easy to roll back up. The opposite is true for this type of kayak. Better to learn how to properly wet exit in case you capsize in large swells.

7000 baht seems like a pretty good price. I say go for it. Kayaking, whether it's flat water or white water, is very rewarding. If you use a spray skirt, always make sure the lanyard of the skirt is on the outside and easily reachable with your eyes closed. Imagine yourself upside down, water rushing into your nose, you're in a panic. You will need to find that lanyard to pull the skirt off in an emergency, otherwise you will be struggling to crawl out the tube of the skirt. Not fun, believe me.

Once you get the hang of it, for a little excitement try surfing some small 20-30cm waves. You'll increase your learning curve. Have fun.

Mae Taeng River, north of Chang Mai.

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Edited March 6, 2011 by ScubaBuddha

[islandguy]

Thanks for the info, ScubaBuddha. This design is like a very very basic version of the yellow boat you picture. You are probably right about it being too flat on the bottom to roll easily. What about the idea of stuffing it with foam blocks and just skip the skirt? I would mostly be in flat ocean conditions. By the way, I used to surf Scupper Pro kayaks in Hawaii. Usually only 20 to 80 cm, but that is Hawaiian style counting :jap:

and more than once wiped out by waves considerably bigger - that is why sit on top ocean kayaks were always my choice!

[ScubaBuddha]

In whitewater kayaking we always use at least one float bag internal for the inevitable wet exit. And in the old days it was chunks of foam. Most kayaks shouldn't sink if flooded, but if you also need to stay buoyant you may need to hold onto it so some kind of flotation is not a bad idea. I don't think most flatwater kayakers use them though.