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| Subject: My $0.02 | |
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Author: Government |
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Date Posted: 13:32:33 08/01/05 Mon In reply to: Ben Miller 's message, "WTB 14-16' Sea Kayak" on 16:58:13 07/29/05 Fri I’ve been through this "look for a cheap sea kayak" game twice in the last year. As background, I’m an extremely cheap bastard who likes to own nice toys. Ask around. Most recently (Sunday), I bought a Hurricane Tracer, 16.5 ft, for my girlfriend. I got it from Bruce at Quiet Water Kayaking. It's the new snazzy Trylon plastic that looks/acts like fiberglass, but is actually as light or lighter. The boat weighs ~46 pounds. I got him down to $1000 w/ a nice paddle (~$250 + shipping for the paddle anywhere else). He has 2 or 3 more he's trying to unload. And 9/1 he unloads his entire inventory of boats & gear. I wouldn't offer anything over $800 or pay anything over $850. But be warned, the boat is pretty darn unstable. I actually went over accidentally while playing w/ it, the first time that has ever happened. If you load it down it gets stable quickly though. I'm 5'10" and the thigh braces weren't even close to the right place for me. My girlfriend is 5'0" and she says they're just right for her. Even though she’s on the ‘novice/recreational’ side of things, she didn't mind the stability, possibly because her center of gravity is much lower than mine. The boat is super fast, something she loved. I'd seriously reconsider your wish for a rudder. While they will help you turn faster, a well designed sea kayak is designed to turn simply by leaning one way or another and they generally use a skeg to go straight in cross winds. It’s actually frightening how sharp I can turn my boat using a couple really easy to learn tricks. I've rarely (ok, never) found a legitimate need for a rudder. Also, you say you're in this for the fitness angle. That probably means you'll be paddling hard. Which means you'll find it very nice to push off your pegs to get leverage on the paddle. If you have a rudder not only do you not have a firm platform to push on, you'll zig zag while you paddle if you do try to push off of the pegs. BTW, all that steering w/ the rudder creates a fair bit of drag, slowing you down. I've seen rudders break on trips before, and it seems like the ones on my friend's boats are always getting in the way, in one case dinging a car pretty good. Rudders are good if you just want to putt around or don’t have a boat that turns very easy, but they do come at a price. I'd also caution you against buying anything remotely close to "recreational". In other words, avoid Dagger & Perception, especially the Carolina. Not that they’re bad boats, per se, but they tend to cater to the rec crowd and they certainly lack some of the “features” that other brands have to offer. Some of their boats are actually really good for the casual paddler. But you used the terms “fitness”, “tripping”, and most importantly, “sea kayak”. Smaller brands are usually crazy expensive, but they can be had cheaply if you’re savy & patient. I've never regretted getting a more advanced design. I always try to go as good as I can afford, which usually ain’t much. It can be done surprisingly cheap. I have a Valley Skerry Rotomolded. I got it from Ron at Black Parrot Paddling & it was a practically mint condition "lesson" boat. I scored it for $700 (MSRP ~$1500), including a free learn-to-roll class. While this design isn’t the best in the world, it’s damn good, and it was $700. BTW, Valley is an outstanding brand & will be the first brand I look at when/if I ever upgrade my Skerry. The best place to find used boats is on paddling.net. They also have unbelievably good reviews from hundreds (or thousands) of other paddlers who have actually owned the boats. It’s the best paddling resource on the ‘net. I’ve found that the best condition, lowest price, easiest to negotiate for kayaks come from companies doing outfitting, guiding, or lessons. (ONE EXCEPTION: Bill & Paul’s in Grand Rapids is the single worst company I’ve ever dealt with. Don’t get me started…). Keep in mind these companies don’t pay anywhere near retail for their boats in the first place. My $0.02 - Avoid Recreational Boats like the Plague, it's not worth saving $100-200 - Go for a Skeg over a Rudder - Be patient & look for deals, you can do this for ~$850 summer/$700 winter [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] |
| Subject | Author | Date |
| Couple of Carolinas for sale | Government | 16:03:19 08/01/05 Mon |
 Re: My $0.01 and the rest of the story | Pathfinder | 23:16:36 08/01/05 Mon |
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