Over the weekend, we took a ~3 hour kayak 'tour' in Austin on Lady Bird Lake, to see the bats at sunset.

Really enjoyed the time on the water & the general experience.

Kayaks were sit on tandems, can't recall the brand/model, but they were just molded 'plastic' with no seat backs, but didn't take much effort at all to move along at a decent clip.

Definitely made me want to look into maybe picking one up, guessing most use would be on the smaller lake we have nearby, maybe elsewhere, but am guessing almost 100% freshwater, if that matters.

Thinking tandem, as we enjoyed it together. Have no idea between sit on vs sit in.
Challenge will be transport, as I have a Chevrolet Malibu & she has a Flex without the roof rack.

A quick browse on the local Craigslist shows a staggering variety of styles & a wild gap in price from a couple hundred to $2k+

Was it a Jackson Riviera tandem? They're a solid, basic tandem boat.


The best thing for you to do would be to spend a season renting and demoing different boats to get a feel for what you like and don't like. Most people you ask will tell you what they have and that it's the best thing ever, but what works for one person will not work for another in the kayaking world.

Either of those vehicles will be fine for transport. There are a whole bunch of companies that make racks that will bolt to anything, and some people just lay a couple pool noodles on the roof and strap the kayaks down on top of those.

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:
Over the weekend, we took a ~3 hour kayak 'tour' in Austin on Lady Bird Lake, to see the bats at sunset.

Really enjoyed the time on the water & the general experience.

Kayaks were sit on tandems, can't recall the brand/model, but they were just molded 'plastic' with no seat backs, but didn't take much effort at all to move along at a decent clip.

Definitely made me want to look into maybe picking one up, guessing most use would be on the smaller lake we have nearby, maybe elsewhere, but am guessing almost 100% freshwater, if that matters.

Thinking tandem, as we enjoyed it together. Have no idea between sit on vs sit in.
Challenge will be transport, as I have a Chevrolet Malibu & she has a Flex without the roof rack.

A quick browse on the local Craigslist shows a staggering variety of styles & a wild gap in price from a couple hundred to $2k+

The definitive shopping and learning authority is Austin Kayak they everything at very competitive prices. Austin Kayak

I've rented a lot of kayaks and my preference is for a 12-14' Sit On Top.

Don't ever get a tandem kayak. Don't do it, don't think about it and walk right past them. It will bring out the nasty in your SO because they will want to paddle one direction at their own cadence and pace and you will want to do things differently. The person in front just paddles to move the boat while the person in back does the same but is also the rudder. Just don't do it.

My personal preference for renting and eventual will be a Wilderness Tarpon. An extremely good blend of maneuvering and stability. You'll learn that a longer boat is actually faster than a shorter one.

You will spend hours on their site.

Additional info:

SOT are extremely stable and all the decent brands have support for your low back. $800-1,200 is reasonable for a new kayak. If you take the time to learn the features and why something is on the kayak, you'll see that they are a good value for the money.

I assume these guys are convenient to you. Probably a good resource.

https://www.austinkayak.com/

Sit in is lighter and easier to transport on top of vehicles. But may be easier to capsize. And you should probably carry a pump for water that enters the cabin from leaks or splashes etc.

Sit on is heavier but can be very stable. Water can drain out automatically from the cabin. You fit for fishing gear, rudder, even a motor. But even small single is heavy.

Can you hook up a kayak trailer using a hitch?

I have wilderness tarpons. Good quality. May consider sit inside next time just for transport ease but no real complaints. 12 foot is good compromise between speed, weight and maneuverability.

Thanks for the suggestions. We have a local place that has them already on the water, and maybe 1 or 2 that will rent/deliver.

We definitely had some paddle contact with the tandem in Austin. The rear is mostly at the mercy of the cadence of the front, it seems. I was actually able to propel us pretty well solo & let my wife relax in the front (her back was not a fan of not having any back support).
I think the group we used had Ocean Kayak Malibu II XL boats.

I'm in N Houston, the Austin Kayak isn't local, but not a terrible drive for a good deal.

I have access to a truck on occasion (2008 Tundra with the smaller crew cab).

Neither of our cars has a hitch, so rooftop carry would be the likely method, as I doubt it would fit inside the Flex, even with the seats down.

While not an expert, I have paddled quite a bit and owned a number of kayaks over the years.

Currently have a tandem sit-on-top from Perception as well as single sit-on-tops from Ocean Kayak and Pelican. I prefer them to sit-in kayaks for ease of access and stability. Ocean Kayak is currently my favorite brand. CS is top-notch. Perceptions are nice, but can be pricey.

You can get seat backs/pads to go over the molded seat areas for more support and comfort. I don't like the attached/built-in folding seat backs and pads that come in some boats, but that's personal preference.

Yakima and Thule both make a multitude of roof-top carriers for passenger cars and SUVs. You can also go with foam blocks and straps for a car roof top if you're looking for a budget-friendly carrier.

Academy sports has decent prices. Ocean Kayak brand makes some nice boats. Bass Pro/Cabelas also has some nice ones.

I live on a lake and have a pair of Ocean Kayaks tandems. The XL I think. Fun and stable boats. Paddling solo is way more fun and less relationship stressing though. My wife paddles one way, I paddle another kind of thing. Mostly I find I put the seat back in the middle solo position and we each take one out.

We thought the kids would paddle a bunch hence the tandems. Never really happened. If I did it again I would still get a sit on top but a single. Faster, tracks better, lighter to haul in and out, etc.

I agree that two kayaks would be more useful than a larger tandem. I have a cheap 8' sit on by Lifetime that my friend (or grandsons) generally use, and a better 10' Perception sit in that I prefer.
I first bought the 8' one just to play around on our pond and local stream, basically just to see if I enjoyed kayaking (which I do). It was only around $150 at Dick's including the paddle and it has a 225# capacity. The shorter ones are easier to transport and are more maneuverable on water but longer boats track better and are faster. I think if I were to buy another one it'd probably be a 12' sit in. A friend has a home on a large lake and has 5 kayaks from 10' to 17', his favorites are the 14' and 17'. But they generally stay there at his house, when he takes one somewhere it's usually one of his 12' ones.

Here's the 10' Perception on the local stream.





My friend in the little 8' Lifetime at High Point Lake, PA a couple days ago.

I'd go to the canoe and kayak store in your town and ask them. Those people are enthusiasts, and will know what questions to ask, and be able to give you some solid information.

Cruising around or fishing? Speed or no? What kind of water, flat or moving? Rough water or smooth? All sorts of things that you don't even know are relevant.

What's the advice universally given here about a novice buying a new gun? Rent before buying.
Same with kayaks.
Sit-on-tops are easy, stable, practical--but IMO not nearly as much fun because they don't glide through the water the way a good sit-in kayak does.
Take your time, go to the local kayak place that can put boats on the water for you to try out. It doesn't take much time in one for you to decide if you like it, and if it feels stable enough for you.

See this is why you ask because I totally disagree. Sit on tops are more fun to me because on my lake I enjoy jumping off and swimming and then getting back on the boat to paddle some more. Try doing that with a sit in kayak.

They are faster. Sit on tops are more versatile.

quote:

Don't ever get a tandem kayak. Don't do it, don't think about it and walk right past them. It will bring out the nasty in your SO because they will want to paddle one direction at their own cadence and pace and you will want to do things differently. The person in front just paddles to move the boat while the person in back does the same but is also the rudder. Just don't do it.

This, for sure.

And sit-on-top is definitely my preference, having worked with both. But in FL, we almost always use the sit-on-top for the ocean.

If you want to test the depths of a romantic relationship, get a tandem kayak...ask me how I know...You'll find out right quickly if you are paddling in the same direction...I have one for 'those' days and just picked up a Feelfree Lure 10 for for kayak fishing days in the Everglades...Perfect for me, fairly easy to load on top of a SUV, great seat (adjustable), stable and tracks well; Good luck with the tandem, you will most likely need it, lol;

All true. On days where we just set up the one kayak and go I adjust my expectations. I row when and how she rows. I paddle in the direction that she wants. Etc, etc. The best part is when she gets tired I get to paddle for both of us. Lol

And she sits in front, reading a book, right?

My tandem is an Old Town Twin Heron, 13.5', basic but serves our (her) purposes;

quote:

Originally posted by pedropcola:
See this is why you ask because I totally disagree. Sit on tops are more fun to me because on my lake I enjoy jumping off and swimming and then getting back on the boat to paddle some more. Try doing that with a sit in kayak.

They are faster. Sit on tops are more versatile.

We always pull up to shore, preferably up to a large rock, and tie off the boats when it's hot and we want to swim. But you're right if you want to swim off a kayak and be able to get back on, a sit on is the way to go. In cooler conditions especially in choppy water I find the sit in offers a lot more protection from wind and waves.

If I was in P250UA5's scenario a couple living in the south, intending on using the kayaks mostly in hot/warm temps, and carrying them on car roof racks, I think I'd buy (2) 10' kayaks either both sit on, or one sit on and one sit in.

I have:
Sit-in:
2 10’ Perceptions
1 10’ Third Coast
1 14’ Pelican
1 17’ Feathercraft (folding)
1 17’ Folbot (2-person folding)
1 17’ Chesapeake Light Craft (that I built)

Sit on top (SOT):
1 13’ Perception tandem

The 10’s and folding kayaks fit in our 5th wheel toy hauler. The 10’s would be 12’s if we had a bigger 5th wheel. Being displacement boats, longer and narrower is faster and more efficient for a given displacement. The 13’ stays in Florida while the 14’ and 17’ CLC stay in Michigan. There’s 5 of us.

Obviously, I like sit in. Lake Huron water between Rogers City and Cheboygan is cold (under 50 degrees Fahrenheit) in May. It gets warmer in June and is tolerable in July. There’s no way I’d paddle a SOT in cold water.

I’m terms of recreational kayaks, SOTs aren’t really more stable than sit in. Sure they are wider, but that stability gets negated because you are higher above they water which raises the center of gravity. Being wider and you being further from the water means you need a longer paddle to reach the water without banging the sides. Longer paddles are heavier and require more effort do to the extra leverage from being longer. Wider kayaks have more wetted surface and require more effort to paddle. SOTs tend to be heavy. My 13’ Perception is 85lbs. The 14’ Pelican is 50lbs and the 17’ Folbot is 65lbs.

On the plus side, SOTs are easier to get on. You also can’t swamp them, so going out in rough water can be fun. You can do rough water in a sit in, but you’ll want spray skirt and flotation bags or a sea sock which is beyond beginner level. Recreational sit ins usually have wide long cockpits that don’t lend themselves to spray skirts and sea socks.

For a beginner, 12’ will allow you to paddle a several miles on calm water while still being able to get around downed trees on narrower rivers. It’s a versatile length. I wouldn’t get a tandem for all the reasons others have listed. I went out on the Peace River with a church group just before we left Florida for the summer. I was in one of our 10’ Perceptions and my 14 yo old son and his buddy were on the 13’ Perception SOT. Both of them swim 2.5 hours 6 days a week and yet I paddled circles around them. At one point, I turned my kayak around and paddled it backwards up river so they could catch up.

Things I do with my SOT that you wont in a Si... sit sideways with my feet in the water, sit with my legs crossed, turn around and face the other way, straddle it like a horse feet in the water, lay down, stand up.

If you're comparing apples to apples hull shapes, a SI moves the same in the water as a SOT. Because what's not touching the water doesn't matter.
If you're not, then there's no point in discussing it, that's just silly. A super wide recreational barge is never going to move through the water like a sea kayak for example.

We have a 16 foot tandem Old Town Loon and we love it.

It tracks straight due to its length but is heavy at 75 pounds.

As far as people having difficulty paddling with 2 people, I have not experienced this. Kayak paddles are 2 sided and should not cause abrupt changes to the trajectory of the boat if the paddling is off cadence. I could see this happening in a canoe with single paddles but not a kayak with the proper paddles. Maybe the fact that ours is 16 feet helps with that.

As others have said, renting one would be a good idea...

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quote:

Originally posted by cas:
Things I do with my SOT that you wont in a Si... sit sideways with my feet in the water, sit with my legs crossed, turn around and face the other way, straddle it like a horse feet in the water, lay down, stand up…

I can put my legs outside the cockpit and dangle my feet in the water while leaning back. If one really wanted to do that other stuff, I’d suggest a paddle board, then you could do yoga or Tai Chi to.