Looking to buy my first kayak

May 2012

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[dyljack]

I am looking to buy a kayak, I live in Port Lavaca and mainly fish at Indianola or Olivia. I have never owned a kayak before but it looks and sounds like a lot of fun. It seems alot of members on texasflats have hobie kayaks, I am guessing they are the best?  There are alot of kayaks for sale on craigslist, is it best to buy new or used? What should I be looking for and what is an ideal length that I need for the bays? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thank You

[Night Wing]

I suggest you go and look up kayak dealers in your vicinity. Most kayak dealers have something they call "Demo Days". This is where you can demo ride a few different brands of kayaks so you don't make the wrong choice of spending your hard earned money and finding out the perfect brand of kayak isn't perfect and it's the wrong yak.

Many people have many different brands of kayak models. On the Texas Kayak Fisherman kayak site, many more people have Wilderness Systems and Ocean Kayak models of kayak and the Hobies are not well represented. Many of us fish offshore out in the Gulf and we use a paddle for propulsion. Don't get me wrong. The pedal drive kayaks are very easy to get from point A to point B and won't tire you out. However, if the pedal drive breaks down while you're two or more miles offshore, the pedal drive kayaks are difficult to paddle with a conventional paddle because they're wide yaks. You'll need a backup spare paddle to take along with you even if you buy a Hobie pedal drive kayak because of the possibility of something going wrong with the pedal drive.

The link to the TKF index forum for all their forums is listed below. You can read a lot about kayaks there they have at least 22,000 members. If you like the TKF site after some lurking, become a member. The Saltwater forum is a great place to learn about kayaks and the BTB (Beyond The Breakers) forum is the offshore yak fishing forum were we fish for surf run specks, reds, pompano, spanish mackerel and king mackerel. The TKF site is the best place on the entire internet for saltwater kayak fishing in my opinion.

http://www.texaskayakfisherman.com/forum/  

I don't own a Hobie. I have a 2004 year model Ocean Kayak "Scupper Pro TW" which OK discontinued a few years ago. However, RTM has copied the SPTW and they call it the "Tempo". The link to it is below. The SPTW and the Tempo are made for small framed people since the seating depth is 7.25 inches and the seat width is 17". If you're a big person, your hip bones won't be able to fit into the seat since your physical body frame is too "wide". This yak is very good for offshore, bays, saltwater flats, saltwater marshes, large rivers and lakes. Fast, stable, easy to paddle, easy to maneuver, light in physical weight at 56 pound so it's easy to load and unload from a vehicle and tracks straight even without a rudder. The link to the Tempo is below so you can see what I paddle.

http://rtmkayaks.com/products/sit-on-top/tempo

One last item. If you don't have many or any kayak dealers near you or the dealers don't have a Demo Day, consider becoming a member of TKF and make a topic stating where you live and see if any TKF members will let you demo one of their kayaks in the models you like. The best place for this topic is the Saltwater forum which gets tons of posting traffic every day. TKF is has many members all along the Texas coast.

I hope this info helps you out.  

[Lance D]

I have a hobie outback, ocean kayak torque & drifter and a wilderness system t-140. Each kayak has advantages. The outback is a pedal (mirage) drive and will move over greater distances with less fatigue on you arms.
The drifter is extremely stable but slow and a wet ride.
The torque is battery powered so you are tied to the battery life.
The T-140 is faster than the previous 3 yaks if paddled by hand but not as stable as the torque or drifter.

I highly reccommend you try a few yaks and decide which one works best for you.

Prics is going to be another factor. From bigbest to lowest on my yaks it is:
1 torque
2 outback
3 T-140
4 drifter

Good luck on your decision and the best kayak is the one that works best for your fishing style.

[dyljack]

Thanks for all the help and advice. I am not sure where to try out some yaks in my area but I am going to be looking. I was out at the beach today and I saw a couple of yaks out in the water and I really want to try it.  I have another question and it may seem a little strange, but would you consider kayaking dangerous and what is the biggest danger once you are out in the water?

[Night Wing]

Anything is dangerous if you don't take the proper precautions and/or use a lack of common sense.

As an example. It's not wise to go two or more miles offshore without having someone else with you on that trip. Secondly, have a VHF radio where you can talk with one another because you won't always be fishing alongside one another. Another advantage for a VHF radio is you can call the Coast Guard on channel 16 if something drastically happens to you.

Also, always wear a PFD which stands for "personal floating device" or in layman's terms, a "lifejacket".

As for common sense. It's foolish to try and go offshore, from the beach, with huge waves breaking in the surfzone. One capsize in the surfzone and the yak could bang into your head rendering you unconscious. You can drown unless your wearing a Type 1 commercial PFD since these lifejackets won't let your face lay face down in the water. These PFD's turn you on your back if unconscious so your face stays above the water line. PFD's come in three "main" designations. Type 1, Type 2 and Type 3. Most people use Type 3s since they're comfortable to wear, but won't keep your face out of the water if you're unconscious. Type 1s won't let an unconsicous person drown, but they're uncomfortable to wear. So, there are tradeoffs.

If a yak hits your head and doesn't render you unconscious, you can get a severe concussion. A yak being propelled by waves is like a missile.

In closing, kayaking and kayak fishing isn't dangerous unless...YOU...make it so.

[Lance D]

Night wing hit it on the head. I highly reccommend you go out with someone who has experience the first few times. Stay in the bay till you feel comfortable then slowly move to more challenging areas, do not get cocky and over estimate your skills. I have been yakking for 5 years and still have things I will not do.
Just use common sense when on the water.

[dyljack]

Thanks for taking time to answer my questions. I am going to the Houston Fishing Show and hopefully there will be kayaking booths so I can gather more info and get a better sense of what I need/looking for.

[Lance D]

No problem, good luck at the show.