The post whore thread.

[Irving]

Mine are 8ft and they barely fit in my attic, and lay down perfectly in my 8' trailer. I can put them on the roof of my van, but my van can't get up 4wd trails. My 4wd doesn't have a roof rack (and likely never will unless I custom build one) so that's where the trailer comes in. I want a nice, big, 12ft fishing kayak, but I'm not sure where I'd put it and it wouldn't fit on my trailer until I mod the trailer.

[BuffCyclist]

I can see that being a problem.

I'm planning on stuffing mine inside my car, being a hatchback is nice and only about 3-ft will stick out the back. I'm more than okay with this but only because my drive to the water is so short. If I was taking it outside our community on country roads at 45-mph, I'd want it on the roof or something else and then it'd be way more of a hassle.

Most of the rotomolded sit-on-top styles are 60-65lbs. And with my back in its current state, I keep thinking maybe I should just get a cheap Pelican sit-inside style, as those weigh ~40-45lbs. On the other hand, since I'm not lifting it over my head, and don't have to carry it far, the extra weight shouldn't be an issue.

Good thing I've got all winter to figure out what I want!

[Irving]

I tell you what though, having a trailer with JUST the kayaks is awesome because they weigh nothing and my weak little SUV can still pull them over the pass with no trouble.







I added this rod holder


This paddle holder


And these rod holders


I eventually added an anchor trolley as well. This is no doubt one of the cheapies you've been looking at. If you've got the storage and the money, I'd probably just buy something better like you were talking about.

[Irving]

You might consider an inflatable stand up paddle board. They are still in the $300+/- range, very wide and stable, and weigh next to nothing. You only fill them up to 15 psi, which sounds easy, but it's no joke with the little bike pump. If you got enough anchor points, you could still latch your gear (and even an anchor) onto it if you wanted.

[Irving]

Oh yeah, here's how I got them home. I stopped by whatever that sporting goods place that went out of business in 2016 to see if they had any Kayaks. I ended up buying all their kayaks and a Ruger 10/22 that day.

[BuffCyclist]

Nice lookin' kayak! There's definitely something to be said for having whatever boat works for you both on/off the water and modifying it to make it your own. The paddling community seems a lot like the motorcycle community. No one cares what you paddle, as long as you're out on the water paddling.

Similar, the Lifetime Tamarack at Walmart is a 10-ft kayak, but people simply put a stadium seat on it, add some other fishing specific things and bam, they've got a fully rigged fishing kayak. The thing is, I'm looking for a kayak to use 75% of the time for just paddling, and maybe 25% of the time fishing. And I've heard that the Tamarack isn't the best paddler, but functions. It's still in the running though, and if I can't get a good deal on a Pescador in the next 9-mo, I may end up just getting the Tamarack and modifying it. At least then I won't care about scratching it up since its only $250.

eta: HAHA! That's awesome! Exactly how I plan to transport whatever kayak I get. A 10-ft would mostly fit inside my car, but the tailgate definitely won't close, so I figure no reason not to get the 12-ft for better paddling. Also, hadn't looked into SUPs at all, not sure how that would do with my back. Seems like it would be more twisting than paddling a kayak, but who knows.

[Irving]

Hmmm, yeah the side to side with a single paddle would probably be a lot more twisting. You're either standing or kneeling. I suppose you could kneel with a longer kayak paddle. They don't turn that well, but they do cruise pretty fast. Plus, when the wind is at your back, you can just stand up and act like a sail and you really cruise that way!

I don't worry about scratching mine at all, they are probably in dismal shape. For the record, I've got a Grand Caravan that is 8ft from behind the front seats and I wouldn't want to put a 12ft inside it. I can't even imagine that in a car. I wouldn't get too caught up in how fast or nimble someone rates one kayak over another. You don't own one now so you have no reference point. You should be able to go to a kayak expo and try different models out though. They had one up at Barr Lake one time that we went to.

[Irving]

I like that kayak you linked. I also fantasize about more carrying capacity so I can take my gear and paddle across a small body of water and camp in the less crowded areas.

[Gman]

House officially sold today. Now just to get the one here bought!

Woohoo! Congrats!

[BuffCyclist]

Yea, people tend to speak pretty poorly about the Big Box type kayaks (Pelican, Lifetime, etc), but the reviews that I've read about the Tamarack are pretty awesome. There's a guy that owns a kayak shop in California (Headwaters Kayak) that does a Youtube video series on various kayaks (see here for the Top 5 Under $500: Part 1 and Part 2). He doesn't even sell kayaks this low quality, and yet he understood the Tamarack following. He said if it was his money, he'd buy the Tamarack and go custom all the way.

Here's the video of the guy that did the original Tamarack mods: Mobbin Outdoors

Like I said, I haven't ruled out any kayaks yet and keep weighing the pros/cons of the sit inside vs sit on top. I've done some sea kayaking before in Alaska, and what I remember, being a taller guy, I had a lot of trouble getting my legs into the sea kayak. I know they make roomier kayaks than what I used, but it's just one of those things that sticks with you.