The Kayak, Canoe and Small Boat thread.

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MasterDabber

MasterDabber

Über Member
Location
Surrey and the Lot in France
I've just come across this thread so thought I'd pop in and say "hello".
I used to race kayaks quite seriously back in my early teens through to my early 20's. Both sprint and long distance. I raced in the UK and Europe.
I would do K1 ,K2 and K4
During the winter closed season I would occasionaly do some slaloms for fun. This was all back in the 60's.

It was great fun but hard work trying to train and hold down a job.
I've still got my last sprint K1. A Struer Hunter .A beautiful wood veneer piece of art. Weighed next to nothing, quite long, very narrow and unstable. You sat high up in it. Wooden paddles. No carbon fibre in those days.
https://www.struerkajak.com/products/k1-racing-hunter-1965-1968

I've also got an old slalom kayak plus a 3 metere fun boat. None of them used at the moment although I keep getting tempted. Not sure if I'd stay upright in the K1 though. Sorry for the ramble.
 
MrGrumpy

MrGrumpy

Huge Member
Location
Fly Fifer
Show me your storage solutions for kayaks? Sons one is f….. huge . Was going to build a rack on the garden fence but tells me it might get stolen. So looks like it’s the garage . Was thinking of something on wheels so it can be moved around. Neighbour also gave me a hoist but it’s too heavy IMO abs that makes me deeply uncomfortable swinging that above head height !
 
kayakerles

kayakerles

Have a nice ride.
Location
Silver Spring, Maryland, USA
Deafie said:
I just completed the 4 part kayaking basics course at Manhattan Kayak Company and am looking forward to exploring the waterways around here. Damn it's expensive though!!! Storage is the issue, I am looking at folding kayaks but not sure if they are worth the fuss
Click to expand...
Greetings, fellow Manhattanite @deafie. I grew up on the Lower East Side, with all of my friends mostly living in Chelsea. I have been out of NYC for a long time now, and live right outside of Washington DC. I have owned four kayaks, (2 sit-in 8 foot kayaks, 1 14-foot tandem kayak, and 1 14- foot sit on top Hobie). But this was all when I was living near a lake in Oklahoma. My other water toys there were a 16 foot sailboat, and 2 windsurfers. All of these toys were stored for free in my backyard.

Suggestion: now that you are taking kayaking courses, no doubt you are totally psyched to get into the sport. However, our interests change. My suggestion is to do yourself a favor and rent a kayak for yourself 10 times before you commit to buying anything and worrying about storage, paying for storage in Manhattan, etc. You may be surprised to find it will take you a whole year before you will rent a kayak 10 times. Halfway through that timeframe you may decide you are happy enough with simply renting kayaks now and then instead of paying the hassle of owning one. You may find that storage places want to charge you by the year. In which case he will be paying for many months of the year when you will not kayak at all. Money thrown away. If you manage to go paddling 10 times in a couple of months and you are sure you want to do this on a regular basis, then you can start thinking seriously about ownership.

We have done the same thing with our automobile. Realizing that in the Washington DC area, like New York, you don’t necessarily need to own an automobile to be able to drive one if and when you want to. We have been without a vehicle now for over five years and don’t even miss it. We have Uber which we can use in a pinch, as well as a Zip car membership, and a regular hertz car rental place for when we need a vehicle for vacations. Why owned and pay upkeep, parts, taxes, etc., when you have a good public transportation? If I need a car, it is easy to get one, and it is usually a brand new vehicle with no worries. Problem solved!

Here are my wife and I twenty-one years ago on Lake Texoma back in Oklahoma. Good times. Notice the red sticker on my kayak? Even kayaks are considered boats in Oklahoma, They needed to be registered and taxed accordingly. Another thing you may have to consider in the state of New York. It may really not be worth the hassle in NYC, so much cheaper to just rent them now and then, hassle free. It could be quite a long time, YEARS, before you pay as much for rentals to equal the cost of owning one and storing it, paying registration fees, taxes, etc. whatever you decide, have fun paddling! It is such a relaxing sport. Great fun.

47ADA771-502E-48D3-9D30-DDEAF38E2A74.jpeg
27C999D4-ABFC-433E-B285-71DBC68081E0.jpeg
 
Milkfloat

Milkfloat

An Peanut
Location
Midlands
MrGrumpy said:
Show me your storage solutions for kayaks? Sons one is f….. huge . Was going to build a rack on the garden fence but tells me it might get stolen. So looks like it’s the garage . Was thinking of something on wheels so it can be moved around. Neighbour also gave me a hoist but it’s too heavy IMO abs that makes me deeply uncomfortable swinging that above head height !
Click to expand...
I have my best kayak on a hoist in the garage, I can take a photo if you want. I keep the other 3 on a home made rack in the garden, it has a sloping ply roof and the whole thing is covered by a tarp. It is stored down the side of the house with a hidden gate that looks like the normal run of fence that I use for access.
 
Baldy

Baldy

Über Member
Location
ALVA
0vFFsL.jpg

The whitewater kayak is stood on end just out of shot to the left.
 
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