I recently purchased my grail Kayak! I never thought I'd own one of these because it was $3,100 new and you just don't see em used all that often. I picked up a Wilderness Systems Zephyr 160 Pro touring kayak. I also recently purchased a 11ft Dagger Zydeco for my son which is also a sit inside Kayak but is more entry level.

The Zephyr 160 Pro is such a SWEEEEEEET boat.

While rediscovering my love of kayaking and canoeing over the past few days I have realized that the perfect "all rounder" is probably in the 13-15 ft range. But as I think about it even something that bridged the gap between my 11ft Zydeco and 16ft Zephyr would still be a compromise. With the longer and skinnier kayaks you sacrifice stability for speed and tracking with the main sacrifice on a larger boat being maneuverability. The smaller, more "entry level" boats are wider, super stable but don't track well and tend to be slow.

I suppose Kayaks are a bit like handguns. Sure the Glock 19 & Sig P229 are excellent allrounders but when it comes to conceal carry or competition there are different and arguably better choices. That is why it's good to have more than one gun. The same logic applies to kayaks in my opinion. The smaller entry level boats are FUN but it's nice to also have a touring Kayak for those days when you really want to paddle somewhere.

I've found the Ocean Kayaks Malibu too a great kayak.....can seat 2 or 1, very stable, paddles easy....in the size range you're looking for......

quote:

Originally posted by jimmy123x:
I've found the Ocean Kayaks Malibu too a great kayak.....can seat 2 or 1, very stable, paddles easy....in the size range you're looking for......

OC's Malibu 2 (or pretty much any of their other models) would be an excellent example of the entry level (fun, but slow and stable) yak he's talking about. That's why they're so often found in large number at rental outfits. Easy for anyone to enjoy. Nothing wrong with that, but the man just bought a truly exceptional ride, trading up from a really nice one.

For me, the sweet spot turned out to be my WS Tarpon 120. I almost went for the 140, but I liked the extra maneuverability of the 120 since we're in narrow spots whenever we can find them. It's also more stable on the bay.

OP: How much did that Zephyr set you back? I've never seen one used around here.

-Rob

We've owned 2 Ocean kayaks(Scrambler) for many, many years and they're still going strong. We like the sit on top model because we do a lot of snorkeling from them and we can just roll off them into the water.

You might as well have a boat for every occasion. Storage is a little tougher than handguns, though.

quote:

Originally posted by sasquatch28:
You might as well have a boat for every occasion. Storage is a little tougher than handguns, though.

Concealed Carry is a pain, too.

Congrats! Nice boat! I had a Prijon very similar to that years ago.

Wife and I just bought a sit on top, tandem. Have been away from paddling for 20 years and forgot how much we love it! Gear is just as addictive as it is for shooting though. Got a great deal on the boat, spent 5x more on gear that I got rid of years ago

Stickman has the right of it. And just like the perfect handgun everyone has their own opinion on what is the perfect kayak.

Like BurtonRW, I was tossed up between the Tarpon 120 and the 140 but I went for the 140. He and I could probably run out of beer discussing the differences/advantages between just these 2 models.

We are fortunate to have a retailer here in Jax with a 22 acre lake out back that allows you to test drive kayaks so I was able to try out various models to narrow it down. Being able to switch back and forth between the 120 and 140 really helped.

I'm not in to kayaks but along the Dan river I noted two kayaks that were propelled by inboard mounted jet pumps. I didn't know there was anything like that.

For a great sea kayak I would recommend a Natural Designs boat, built by Dan Ruuska in Seattle. His whitewater kayaks were the Outrage series, but the ocean boats used s different name. They were so well designed that a rudder was not needed, and they paddled excellently in quartering seas. Dan used to be an aeronautical engineer, and used those skills to build the best kayaks available.

They were built with vinylester resin and S-glass, and held up extremely well in the river.

quote:

Originally posted by SpinZone:
Stickman has the right of it. And just like the perfect handgun everyone has their own opinion on what is the perfect kayak.

Like BurtonRW, I was tossed up between the Tarpon 120 and the 140 but I went for the 140. He and I could probably run out of beer discussing the differences/advantages between just these 2 models.

We are fortunate to have a retailer here in Jax with a 22 acre lake out back that allows you to test drive kayaks so I was able to try out various models to narrow it down. Being able to switch back and forth between the 120 and 140 really helped.

Our outfitter is in a marina on a wide, quiet river. Test paddling was essential.

-Rob

Nice boat!

I have never owned a kayak but loved my canoe growing up...when got sober almost 2 years ago I told myself I would reward myself with a kayak once I lost my beer weight...I am down 70lbs and hopefully will be buying as boat towards end of summer

BurtonRW,

I got the Zephyr for $800. It is a great boat, fast, light and with the skeg down it tracks great. It's a damn good looking boat too...even in its obnoxiously bright color.

We are INCREDIBLY fortunate to live on a small lake. The pic in my original post is our dock. I took this pic from my Dagger Zydeco a few nights ago.



We have a decent sized lake not too far away (Salem Lake) and I can't wait to get the Zephyr out on a much larger lake to see how much distance I can travel in a few hours.

For me the perfect kayak doesn't exist.
First of all, Feathercraft, maker of the best folding kayaks, went out of business.
Second, I need a kayak to be very light to carry, I injured my back the first time getting a rotomolded kayak off the top of our van.

I've tried a Pygmy Boat Penguino 145 at their shop, it weighs about 36 lbs. and was stable and easy to paddle, it's designed for photography and bird-watching rather than expeditions or speed. I might still build one of these.

But if I were going for beauty, without doubt a strip-built kayak would be the way to go.

Here's an example:

sjtill,

That is a gorgeous kayak! Is there a reason the stern of the kayak is designed like that? I like the different aesthetic of the boat you posted.

I'm building a 17ft okume, fiberglass and carbon fiber stitch and glue touring kayak designed by Chesapeake Light Craft. (A Shearwater 17 model) I really need to finish it.

Well, maybe the ideal kayak is bigger than I initially thought. I took out my wife's blue Zephyr 155 (15ft 6 in) for the first time yesterday. At 175 lbs the Zephyr was sitting kinda low when I was in the cockpit. I leaned a bit too much without a sprayskirt on and took on some water and soaked my back. . Time to get a spray skirt. This Zephyr does have a somewhat narrow width (22.5 inches) so it's a bit more tippy than I expected. I have a workout app that tracks speed, distance etc and paddling As hard as I could I was able to get the Zephyr up to 7 mph top speed briefly. It cruises at a 4 mph pretty easily. I can't wait to see how my larger fiberglass Zephyr 160 performs.

I like these plastic kayaks. My fiberglass Zephyr is glassed damn thin and is easy to ding. The heavier plastic boats are MUCH harder to damage. When it comes to paddling and performance fiberglass rules but getting in and out of a plastic boat and not having to worry about dinging it on the dock is nice.