One weekend my wife left me alone. Considering the heat outside, I became restless and decided to go down to our local Dick's Sporting Goods Store to make an impulse purchase. I selected a Kayak that met my criteria. That criteria was pretty simple. Buy a boat for under $200 and the boat should match the color scheme of my swimsuit.
I rushed home and changed into my swimsuit, loaded some fishing gear, and grabbed my life vest. One of the great things about kayaking is that you absolutely do not need any help to carry, load, or launch the thing. The kayak came with some documents and tags attached but being a man who seldom reads instructions I tossed all that stuff on the coffee table and headed out to the lake.
I arrived at the lake and launched the kayak next to a pier. Now it was time for me to get in. Weighing in nearly 250 pounds I was considering the best way to enter the boat. I chose the simple "just get in" approach. As I planted my foot in the seat the boat shot across the water about 20 feet from the pier. I went air born and landed square on my back in the water. Actually part of the reason I came to the lake was to cool off, so the fact that I got wet was not necessarily a bad thing.
I fall flat on my back into the water and the kayak skirted across the water about 20 feet from the pier. Did you know that an unmanned polyethylene torpedo shaped boat is easily swept away by the slightest wind. Well it so happened there was no slight wind that day, and in fact the wind was quite stiff.
As I surfaced for air I saw my new kayak being swept away at a pretty rapid pace. Fortunately I am a better than average swimmer and was able to retrieve it within a couple of minutes. I pushed it back to shore and thought of another plan. Since I was then already wet, it appeared the best approach was to try to stabilize the boat and enter it from the knee deep water closer to shore. I held both sides of the boat and rocked back and forth a little as I finally slid my legs through the hole and found the seat. It fit a bit snug though.
While the vessel was much more stable in this shallow water the reason was that I was grounded in gravel. I was in the boat, but the boat was on the shore. Even as I tried pushing off with my paddle I was not moving much. I rocked back and forth for several minutes until finally the kayak broke free from shore. The whole thing was very unstable but at least I was in th water and underway.
I was an odd sight though. The front end of my little boat was sticking straight out of the water. The back end was covered in water and it lapped at the edge of the top hole as I paddled. That same stiff wind was blowing me out to open lake. Every time I paddled the front end of the kayak would redirect about forty five degrees. Aside from already being exhausted I saw from the corner of my eye that I had become a significant source of entertainment for a young family who was relaxing in the picnic area.
By the time I had been swept about 100 yards from shore by the wind I drew the distinct conclusion that fishing in these conditions was simply out of the question. If I were to stop paddling even for a moment I would have been swept across the lake. At that moment my primary objective was to paddle back to the boat launch and go home. It took me nearly an hour to paddle back up wind and traverse that 100 yard distance from shore.
It was getting dark as I loaded the kayak on my truck and drove home. I collapsed on the couch with exhaustion. I turned my head to find the kayak specification manual on the coffee table there. I started to read and I learned that my particular vessel had a weight limit of 210 pounds. I learned that it was not designed for open water. My particular kayak was designed for swimming pools or small ponds. I also learned that if any vessel (even a kayak) does go on open water it should be registered and licensed with the state.
What I learned from all this is that choosing a kayak is far more complicated than I ever suspicioned. I also discovered that there are huge variations not only between vessel specifications, but also that kayaks are specialized for specific use. A kayak that is designed for the ocean might not work will in white water rapids and vice versa. So now you don't have to make the same mistakes I did. There are many good websites giving advice about kayak selection and training. Here is one in my bio.
By the way, the spec sheets for these kayaks will not require you to match the kayak color with the color of your swimsuit.
I rushed home and changed into my swimsuit, loaded some fishing gear, and grabbed my life vest. One of the great things about kayaking is that you absolutely do not need any help to carry, load, or launch the thing. The kayak came with some documents and tags attached but being a man who seldom reads instructions I tossed all that stuff on the coffee table and headed out to the lake.
I arrived at the lake and launched the kayak next to a pier. Now it was time for me to get in. Weighing in nearly 250 pounds I was considering the best way to enter the boat. I chose the simple "just get in" approach. As I planted my foot in the seat the boat shot across the water about 20 feet from the pier. I went air born and landed square on my back in the water. Actually part of the reason I came to the lake was to cool off, so the fact that I got wet was not necessarily a bad thing.
I fall flat on my back into the water and the kayak skirted across the water about 20 feet from the pier. Did you know that an unmanned polyethylene torpedo shaped boat is easily swept away by the slightest wind. Well it so happened there was no slight wind that day, and in fact the wind was quite stiff.
As I surfaced for air I saw my new kayak being swept away at a pretty rapid pace. Fortunately I am a better than average swimmer and was able to retrieve it within a couple of minutes. I pushed it back to shore and thought of another plan. Since I was then already wet, it appeared the best approach was to try to stabilize the boat and enter it from the knee deep water closer to shore. I held both sides of the boat and rocked back and forth a little as I finally slid my legs through the hole and found the seat. It fit a bit snug though.
While the vessel was much more stable in this shallow water the reason was that I was grounded in gravel. I was in the boat, but the boat was on the shore. Even as I tried pushing off with my paddle I was not moving much. I rocked back and forth for several minutes until finally the kayak broke free from shore. The whole thing was very unstable but at least I was in th water and underway.
I was an odd sight though. The front end of my little boat was sticking straight out of the water. The back end was covered in water and it lapped at the edge of the top hole as I paddled. That same stiff wind was blowing me out to open lake. Every time I paddled the front end of the kayak would redirect about forty five degrees. Aside from already being exhausted I saw from the corner of my eye that I had become a significant source of entertainment for a young family who was relaxing in the picnic area.
By the time I had been swept about 100 yards from shore by the wind I drew the distinct conclusion that fishing in these conditions was simply out of the question. If I were to stop paddling even for a moment I would have been swept across the lake. At that moment my primary objective was to paddle back to the boat launch and go home. It took me nearly an hour to paddle back up wind and traverse that 100 yard distance from shore.
It was getting dark as I loaded the kayak on my truck and drove home. I collapsed on the couch with exhaustion. I turned my head to find the kayak specification manual on the coffee table there. I started to read and I learned that my particular vessel had a weight limit of 210 pounds. I learned that it was not designed for open water. My particular kayak was designed for swimming pools or small ponds. I also learned that if any vessel (even a kayak) does go on open water it should be registered and licensed with the state.
What I learned from all this is that choosing a kayak is far more complicated than I ever suspicioned. I also discovered that there are huge variations not only between vessel specifications, but also that kayaks are specialized for specific use. A kayak that is designed for the ocean might not work will in white water rapids and vice versa. So now you don't have to make the same mistakes I did. There are many good websites giving advice about kayak selection and training. Here is one in my bio.
By the way, the spec sheets for these kayaks will not require you to match the kayak color with the color of your swimsuit.
About the Author:
Learn more about keyword #1. Stop by Kevin Banks's site where you can find out all about kayaks and how it can help you make the right choice.
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