sunflower
Outdoor Activities

Take classes, get experience, shop carefully before buying a kayak

After answering some questions about what kind of activities and commitment we wanted to make to watersports, such as did we want to paddle on a lake or go camping, we arrived at some initial conclusions.
We pretty quickly decided that canoeing was probably not for us, neither of us was keen on kneeling in a canoe for any length of time..  see my last column about being a skier!  So that left kayaking..  but what kind we still had to figure out.
To get us started I found a kayak paddling class. Most kayak shops, including REI, have them so start your search there.  Another great resource is the various kayak clubs that are in our area, such as the Washington Kayak Club (http://www.washingtonkayakclub.org/) located in the Seattle area and Whatcom Association of Kayak Enthusiasts: WAKE (http://www.wakekayak.org/). These clubs sponsor classes, some rent kayaks, and are always looking for folks interested in kayaking.  Their members can be great resources for getting answers to questions.
We took a basic paddling strokes class, through Vashon Island Kayak (http://www.vashonwatersports.com/) that taught us the basics about kayaking and introduced us to the paddling techniques used to get a kayaking moving and pointed in the right direction.  A basic strokes class will cost you approximately $60 and takes about 2 hours with most of it spent sitting in a kayak paddling.
After that you can come to a decision on whether or not kayaking is really something which you want to explore more. Once you have made the decision that kayaking is fun and you feel pretty good about having some basic strokes down, now it’s time to get some seat time and continue to explore sea kayaking.
Gulf Islands Evening1I do NOT recommend going out and purchasing a kayak until you have paddled a variety of different boats and have determined what you want to do, i.e., day trips, lake paddling or overnight camping trips. It is important that you experience how different boat designs affect your comfort, especially seat comfort, boat stability, and boat handling.
I learned this the hard way by going out and buying a kayak based on our initial feelings of what we wanted from a kayak.  Once I built up my experience, I realized I had made a big mistake and now had a boat that was too big, unresponsive and, in general was hard to paddle because of its size.  It also helped me get into some bad habits when I started going on overnight trips, too. Because of the boat size, I ended up over-packing the boat, adding to the handling difficulties.
As a result, I suggest you wait until you have paddled a variety of boats.  Kayak rentals are available through kayak shops and each shop tends to have several different brands of kayaks.
Another great way to try many different kayaks is to find a kayak symposium in your area. The symposiums are well-attended by many different kayak manufacturers. They invite people to try them out at a very nominal charge, usually $10-15 for the day to paddle any boat at the symposium.  Usually held in spring or fall, you can search for them online. You’ll find that kayaks are like a shoe, you can tell pretty quickly whether or not if you fit and it feels right.
Another recommendation is to check out your local kayak shops and see if they are offering any day trips. These are usually 2-4 hour paddles to local destinations in a guided group setting and may include a lunch/snack stop.  This is a good way to meet other paddlers, learn more about paddling, getting to know your local waters and gain paddling different boats.
What has been your experience shopping for a kayak?
See you on the water!