canoes or kayaks

Pojo,

The type of canoe you require depends on many things, ie, white water, sea faring, expeditions, general fun, etc, etc.

My preference is a two man kayak, if you have a good partner to assist with the control. This can still be used for expedition type canoing.

Or, go for the two man canadian type canoe. A good all rounder with plenty of room.

Geoff.

My wife and I have plastic moulded sit on type kayaks ( Ocean Kayak brand) which are very stable even in choppy conditions. We find them to suit our needs in rivers ocean lakes etc although not as quick as some of the others. A great fun kayak

cheers Dave

Depends a lot on what you want to do with it.

For a good general purpose canadian canoe - have a look at the kingfisher canoe. The stern is cut off so that you can add an outboard.

link text

http://www.ausseakayak.com.au/scskc/product.asp?CatId=1&Prodid=104

Like above . . . so many options.

We have a Coleman Canoe. Would be . . . almost 20 years old. Still going strong.

As Geoff said , it is impossible to advise this person if they do not give the intended useage .

We have a Rosco Bass Catcher canoe. It is Canadian style, but a bit wider and flat across the back. We also have an outrigger for it. Mostly use it for fishing with elec motor on it. When fishing we have 2 moulded plastic seats with backs that we put in. Very comfortable. With the outrigger you can fish standing up no problem.

For that purpose it is excellent. If you want it for general paddleing and exploring, others models may be better. Rosco has a wide range.

Might be looking to sell mine soon. Might change over to a tinnie we can carry on the 4B. The canoe isn't croc proof for our planned trips to Cape etc.

Web site is: www.roscocanoes.com.au

With so many options, let's narrow them down a little shall we?

1) Usage

River, estuary, lakes or open sea. This is the BIGGEST decision. I shy away from the sea, I am scared of it, and the things in it, so I frequent bays, and rivers, so I don't need a sea kayak.

2) Sit on top, or Sit inside.

I have both. The sit on tops are more for all round use, whilst the sit insides are mainly for touring type sea kayaks. Both have advantages over each-other. Sit on top is easier to right after a tip, and get aboard again, and it is the favourite for kayak fishermen, to which there are two good websites devoted to this. GPS, fish finders, live bait tanks, lights, the works... I kid you not. Try this for starters, it's one of my haunts..... Kayak Fishing Forum

3) Double, or two singles.

We started off with a Dagger Drifter Double sit inside, then progressed to a Hobie Tandem Mirage sit on top ( with the foot pedal drives). Both of these lend themselves to solo work, but not very well, so I ended up also getting a Hobie Quest Fisherman, which is also a sit on top. There WILL be times when only one of you will want to go out, believe me. We will buy another single soon.

4) Fibreglass or Roto Moulded Plastic.

Plastic, unless you are REAL SERIOUS about ocean touring.

5) Price.

Expect to pay around $1500 - $2000 for a reasonable new unit. You'll need 2 PFD's, 2 paddles, paddle float, good seating, and plenty of stowage space. Add on the cost off roof racks, mine were $600.00. Winter dry gear will cost around $400 @ person.
Once you've got all the stuff, jobs done, and you don't have to get it all at once.

So to sum up. gonna cost you some bucks, or go second hand as we did on our first unit, to test the waters. We were hooked, and have got a whole plastic navy happening down here.

You get home, toss your stuff in the washing machine, and that's that. No maintenance, nothing. I have put a sail on one of my units, which can be seen on the forum above. There's lots you can do, and lots of places you can get to, whereby a tinny can't get, because it will draw too much water.

Above all....

Have fun...

Wolfie

G'DAY POJO

WE HAVE 2 SEVYLOR INFLATABLES. THAY ARE LIKE SURFBOARDS, BUT MUCH MORE STABLE. WHEN DEFLATED, VRY COMPACT. THEY RUN OUT AT ABOUT $400 EACH. THEY ARE GREAT FOR RIVERS ETC, BUT NBG FOR OCEAN ETC. WHITWORTHS HAVE THEM IN THEIR STORES

CHEERS
LAMBO

Need to know your intended use. Maybe you don't even know yourself?

If you are inexperienced and just want to potter around sheltered waterways, a canoe is probably best. Otherwise get some training and a kayak. Far more manouevreable and faster, which means you can see more scenery or get to those further away fishing spots. You need to know what purpose you want it for before anyone can advise.

pojo, Wolfie has the decision set out for you. You need to decide what you want to do. Whitewater is my choice but paddle it many places including the sea, though care is needed in waves as it will nosedive and roll you. I have a pic of my kayak as my second rig pic posed at Lake Torrens. There are many varied types of kayaks that all have a purpose. Please decide what you want to do. Some will cross to do other things for you.

I have seen the inflatable ones and would steer away as the buoyancy seems too exaggerated, or else fold around you. Sit ins are an unknown to me but have tried surf skis which is a sit on. Too unstable for me :-( My kayak lets my bum sit below water level which is good for stability - lower centre of gravity.

Have a canoe which is fine if you have someone to paddle with always. I like to be in control of my direction. Two kayaks are a positive for two people I reckon.

We have an inflatable because of portability. It is surprisingly stable and gets along quite well. Use it in creeks, rivers, gorges etc. As said above much easier to get back on when in the water.

sevylor

About $475 through Whitworths etc

pojo,

As above depends on use:)))
If its for you and wife & or kids the open canadian canoe is good as you can put a kid in the middle or your camping stuff, we used 20lt screw top drums to keep every thing dry. This can be used on flat water or white water.
Try your local canoe club or retailer both will help.

Scott

I've owned a 3.4m Zodiac which I found an ideal craft for lakes, rivers and inshore sea work - stability was awesome, tough materials (basically unsinkable), and pretty portable - the only downside with it was the (37kg) 15hp motor - required a bit of grunt when carrying it about, and took a fair bit of room in the back of my vehicle.

WRT kayaks, I've always reckoned they're a pretty good idea, but you might want to check out the following pic I came across.




regards
Terry