My throughs on paddle boards and kayaks

[Confused_Fred]

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It's the start of April the clocks have just gone forward. It's a good idea to get outside more. It's good for your mental health, it's good for your fitness and it will give you a chance to make new friends. You'll never that far from a river or canal or even the sea. Don't spend your summer locked inside a room looking at a screen !!! Get out and enjoy the water !!!!

People ask me how can you afford to keep buying beach toys? Well the simple answer is most at a time I don't buy new.

Exceptions I make are paddles, life jackets and radios.

Kayaks and paddle boards

I look for second hand. I know people will buy them try them out decided they hate them and simply get rid of them sites like eBay or Gumtree. You can get some really good gear just by shopping around to at the right time of year. Normally in the winter months.


So what's the difference between paddle board and a kayak?

Simple answer to this is how much you you're gonna get out of it. Inflatable paddle board never last that long, about two to three years. Kayaks will last forever. The other difference is the weight they can both carry.

Paddle boards aren't good if you're over 90 kilos.... not so good if you're a bit chunky and over that.

They are also not plugging and go you !! You can't jump on to a paddle board and learn to use it in few hours It will take you time to master it. The other thing I don't like about paddle boards is that they really can't take the waves. If the wave height is over 30 centimeters you're gonna keep falling off.

Paddle boards are okay for rivers and canals but think twice before taking them on open water or the sea. They're inflatable and if the wind takes them you will be swept out a need rescuing by the local life boat.

Kayaks on the other hand a simple. If you get a good second hand sit on kayak you really can't go wrong. You can bash them into beaches or banks and they'll be okay. You can go out in meter high waves and you'll be fine. Kayaks are intuitive. Most of the time people can master them within 30 minutes. Is just a few simple things you need to remember like strokes but it's easy to learn.

The days of teaching people how to Eskimo roll along since over. With a sit on kayak we don't need to teach you that at the beginning. If you enjoy this sport and like kayaking it's worth learning how to Eskimo roll later on. You can try a in a sit in kayak. I have one at home it's about five meters it goes like a bomb if you have the fitness for it....

At the beginning.... until you know what you want go.... cheap. You can buy an inflatable kayak or parole board for less than 100 pounds second hand. It's one of those things you will either love or hate, you won't know until you try !!

 

[A_Son_of_God]

Just a side question. Did you use speech to text to write your post?

 

[Confused_Fred]

Just a side question. Did you use speech to text to write your post?

Yes I use plug in for google.

 

[Confused_Fred]

I get ask this question all the time... why do you need all those paddles?

Cos I doooooo !!
This all comes down to use. There nothing worst than a paddle snaping while your out and about on the water. There also the "engine" for the boat. Lengths important too.

So lets start off with the Ainsworth paddle



I have 2 of these at difference lengths. You cant break them. There one piece paddles made from poly carb. A good reliable paddle that a bit of the heavy side. These start at about £115.

Ones at 224cm which means its good for sit on kayaks.



The other is at 185cm and use with my wave ski.




Now lets look at my Werner






I do have a Werner corryvreckan. Its 1/2 the weight of the Ainsworth but 3 times the price. The length is 230cm and a joy to use over the summer on a sit on kayak. Its a two piece paddle and it fits in the car. Its one of those paddles I never lend out. You cant abuse it like the Ainsworth, the blades will chip.

The ve air core...... another one at over £300.





Its a short one piece paddle at 191cm I use with the wave ski. The paddle acts like wood in the water. Its not a bad paddle made from carbon fibre. Its really light.


Now I'd love to show you all a picture of my celtic paddle but the site will only let me upload 5 pictures.
Again the price point of these paddles is over £300. The celtics are modular. You can change the blades or shaft in a few mins. Its easy to get new parts for them.

The question I get asked is: what's the best paddle?

For a fun day on the beach with friends or family the Ainsworth. They cant damage it no matter what.

On a summers morning in the surf, the VE.

Flat water on a hot summers day... the Werner.

And if your heading down the coast looking for new water, the celtic due to its modularity.

 

[Confused_Fred]

I was asked a question on Celtic's.... what do you mean modularity?

Watch this:

 

[Confused_Fred]

I was asked.... what's a wave ski?

The simple answer is torture

The kayak weights in at about 10kgs or less. Think of it like a surf board you can sit on.



This isn't for beginner's and you'd to be fit to use one of these. They are a ton of fun if the waters right.

Prices start at around £1000 but you can find them second hand.

 

[Confused_Fred]

I got asked a question this evening the man is about 18 stone and he's wife is into paddle boarding. He's looking for an inflatable.

What would I recommend?

Well he weighs about 115 kilos it's on the limit from most of the paddle boards and inflatable kayaks. The only one I can think of is the NSR ducky It's common boat used on rivers in America and it's designed to take the larger person. And then when looking for it... it seems NRS are now calling it the Star Raven 2 inflatable kayak

​

It will take 180Kg / 28 stone and you can find them online for around £800 in the UK.

Its self-bailing and wont sink, comes with a 3-year retail warranty.

I did think about the Gumotex twist n2/1 which sells for £700 in the UK. It's not self baling and that means that if a wave hits you you're gonna get swamped. I wouldn't trust it on open water and I hate silly seats.

​

Before I go issue warning on manufacturers weights for kayaks. Manufacturing claim maximum load of 130 kilos but in my experience it's wrong. By the time you've loaded on your gear on like your water bottle and everything else we carry down the beach with us, it's easy to over load the boat. it means the boat sits lower in the water and becomes unstable. It's fine on flat water but the moment you start getting a few waves that boat's gonna flip and swamp.

If you're new to kayaking think self baling and sit on.

Leave the five meter boats with cockpits narrower and an airline economy seat to the pros. You don't need one, they a cost of fortune to repair and you won't have much fun. You will spend most of your time learning to master it and the rest of the time in the gym getting the fitness level to paddle it.

 

[Chip_TheViking]

terrifying but then again what an idiot doing this lol

this looks amazing I'd love to try to build 1 of these

 

[Confused_Fred]

I watched the first video and its clear the man's got little idea what he's doing. The man shouldn't have been that far out on a kayak like that. It looks like a hobie fishing kayak clone design for American lakes and rivers. He's got a really cheap paddle and wearing the wrong kind of life jacket for a kayak.

The man was always going to get into trouble. My feeling is he was towed out to that location by a power boat and looking to make a good youtube video.


So lets start with the lifejacket.

You can see he was never going to make it back onto that kayak wearing that lifejacket without help.

The best pfd for beginners is:

BALTIC CANOE - ONE SIZE FITS ALL 50N PADDLE BOARD BUOYANCY AID​

Its a good pfd for under £40 . Its used by kayak and paddle schools. I keep one of these for friends to use and its never let anyone down.

 

[Confused_Fred]

The second video is just a joke. It wouldn't last 5 mins. The boat would flood after the first wave and you'd spend more time pumping out than paddling.

You can buy clear kayaks.



I think these start at round £800 in the UK. Not a fan of the deign and you cant really use them on the sea. You'd be asking for trouble if you took that out, even on a cannel.


I know we all sit at home watching youtube videos dreaming.... but a lot of the content is deign to get views.

The only video you really need to watch is this one.

 

[Chip_TheViking]

The second video is just a joke. It wouldn't last 5 mins.

are you sure you saw the video there's lots of footage of him with it on the water fishing for hours lol
he even makes a MK2 & layers the underneath in fibreglass seems solid.

I think these start at round £800 in the UK. Not a fan of the deign and you cant really use them on the sea.

is there a site you can buy pre-owned from?

 

[Confused_Fred]

are you sure you saw the video there's lots of footage of him with it on the water fishing for hours lol
he even makes a MK2 & layers the underneath in fibreglass seems solid.

Yes.

This man missed off the skirt and fittings for it. You cant eskimo roll the boat without flooding. If you took a turn wrong, you'd flood too. Home made kayak's are a bad idea. They wont meet the UK or EU standards for safety and basically your sticking two fingers up to boat designers who have a lot more experience.

Its one of the reasons I feel sit in kayaks should be avoided for beginner's. You need training to use them. and this puts most people off.

Second hand boats come up all the time on sites like ebay, gumtree and facebook market place too.

You can buy a new transparent kayak on sites like Alibaba dot com for $290 us dollars Its £220 pounds. You will have to pay post and packing, import tax too.

I don't think its good value for money.

I saw this on ebay this morning. Its a good beginners boat and sold for £40






Sports direct will sell you a new one like this for £300.




You pick up some really good high end kayak second hand for the same price.

 

[Confused_Fred]

Guilty secrets time.....

Every now and then I get tried of coast and head in land. Pack up paddle and boat, then head into London to explore. This is the boat I use.

Advanced Elements PackLite Kayak​

It weights less than 2kg and is good enough for the rivers and cannels in cites. They sell for £300 new but with no pump or paddle.
I'd never dream of using this along the coast, but I may try this summer if the seas dead calm.

And yes my friends do laff at me for using it. It does look like a ww2 life raff issued to pilots... paddles the same

 

[Chip_TheViking]

And yes my friends do laff at me for using it. It does look like a ww2 life raff issued to pilots

I'd use that it looks fun

 

[Confused_Fred]

Just remember there a max loading on that boat of 115kg. In real terms its about 90kg. Don't buy the Supreme Advanced Elements Packlite Kayak version. Its a rip off. The only different is this model comes with a paddle. And you can buy the same paddle for less online.

 

[Chip_TheViking]

hey @Confused_Fred check out this genius, some people should stay out of the water
"now I'm pinned too" hilarious

 

[Confused_Fred]

Seats..........

This week I'm replacing my seats........ yet again. The salt water kills the fittings on them.

Lets start off with new sit on kayak.



This is the new boat I pick up in the sales over the winter. You can see there nothing for me bum on this boat. And anyone who seat on a hard plastic station bench knows it's no bum fun.


I've had to order a moulded foam canoe seat pad and stick it down with glue. These are really hard to get hold of but worth it.





This is the standard seat. Its got 4 fixing points and gives good back support. The problem with these seats is sea water riots the holding clips. With in a few months the clips wont work and you end up cutting them off at the end of the summer. No matter how much you oil them the results always the same.



Back rests avoid these issues, but there not cheap. Almost double the price of seat above but they do last longer. There lower cut so they don't get in the way of a life jack or pfd.



Inflatable kayak seat are good but yet again the fittings riot out in sea water. I did have one a while ago but it interfered too much with my pfd. And I always forgot the pump for it.







If you're out on the water this summer just make sure you find the right seat for you. I cant think of anything worse than a numb bum. Kind of kills the day.

 

[Confused_Fred]

hey @Confused_Fred check out this genius, some people should stay out of the water
"now I'm pinned too" hilarious

Looking at that vid, he's using a sit in kayak.






I don't like these boats. They're sold at places like Walmart in the USA cheaply, The cock pits too big to use a skirt and there not self baling. Any water gets inside you're pumping out by hand. I'm trying to think if I've seen any of these here, but we seem to have more sense.




These are no fun to use and get everyone wet including you.


He shouldn't have been that close to the walls. One wave and he's swamped as you can see in the video. When I think about it he's lucky to be alive. If the boat would have capsized and he hit his head, he's be drown and dead. I doubt anyone would have reach him in time.

 

[Confused_Fred]

Somebody asked me today what's the best way to get a young person out in the fresh air and on the water for the first time. My answer was simple a play boat. Think of them as the BMX is of the KAYAK world.




A play boat is a kayak where you can do tricks and white water. They're light and designed to dip in and out of water. Not really boats for traveling long distances so if you've got a section of canal or river close by its enough. You're not going to be walking miles down the river bank chasing a child. They can operate in a small area like cannels, rivers lakes or reservoirs.

You can buy them second hand under £200 but you will need to outfit them with skirts and other stuff. They require short paddle under 195 centimeters.

Again you need to watch the weight loading on these. The manufacturers might claim 130 kilos but in my experience its best to take off 25% figure quoted.

I had a piranha play boat to my 20s and I had so much fun with it I'd love to own one now but I am over 100 kilos and it's just a joke seeing an old man in one. But for the kids under 18 it's a good way to get them outside in the fresh air. There's clubs for them to join and all you do is drop the little sods off. They're supervised for the rest of the day. You get a call when a half drowned I want to come home

Now I'm off before I order a new piranha firecracker.



OoooOoooooo baby

 

[Confused_Fred]

Why I hate kayaks with hatches in the wrong place.

This is a dagger roam. Its a good boat if you can find one.

• New comfy seat with good support and even little hip pads to help keep you in contact
• special designed thigh straps to really give you edging control
• new bigger foot pedals to give great grip and support
• mesh bag for storage in the back with multiple tie in points
• hide away handles to minimize any rattle
• Drop down skeg

And I would never buy one due to the front hatch. When waves hit the front of the boat the amount of times this hatch lets water in. You can hear the water sloshing around adding to the weight and making the boat a little more and stable.


Waves sport scooter x whiteout not much better.

Most hire companies use these on the south coast. Its a good boat for an hour or two. Its got a silly little hatch just in front of the seat for phones and keys. The rest needs to be tied down on the back. The number of people who lose there trolleys by trying to tie them down in this area is silly. Trolley's go inside the boat !!!


Now this is a greenlander race. Nice boat too. Don't ask how much.

​

The main difference is this boat comes with bulkheads. It means the boat has sections or walls inside. If one compartment floods the rest of the boat won't.

When you're looking for a kayak, always think ahead. Remember all the junk going with you and where you will put it. Never trust the hatches on any kayak and always use a dry bag.