Looking for newbie advice

[italiankayaker]

Hey all I am a total newbie to kayaking, never been before. I first got interested in it when I was out with my boat and saw people kayaking around. Thought it looked relaxing and started to look at kayaks to see what I would like.

A little info on me I am 6'2'' and about 270ish. I would like to kayak on rivers such as the Merrimac, Charles, plum island and some smaller rivers and streams in the North Shore area and southern Maine. I do like to fish and am pretty big into photography. I will mostly just be paddling around enjoying the sights and sounds, maybe fishing once in a while and taking pictures.

Should I get a SOT or sit inside kayak? I have been looking at SOT's, specifically the Wilderness Systems Tarpon 140, I have sat in it and i find it very comfortable, haven't paddled it yet but am going to soon. Any one have any info on how these perform, are they pretty stable, would it be good for what I want to do with it, is that length a good length for my height and weight?

Once I get out on the water, where are good places to paddle in this area? (North Shore)

Any other advice you would like to give to a newbie?

Sorry for all the questions, thanks in advance!

[brambor]

14 feet sounds a little short to me. I would look into the line of the new sit on top fishing kayaks from what I read about your description of usage.

[eneumeier]

Sorry for all the questions, thanks in advance!

If fishing is your main interest, go see Joel at New England Small Craft on rt. 1 in Rowley. He will fix you up with the right boat. If you want a sea kayak for the ocean, my Gulfstream might fit you well. See the personal classified page or send me a message at eneumeier AT earthlink DOT net.

Liz

[Doug]

For sit-in glass boats which you will probably want soon anyway, I suggest the following.

Try them all before you buy...

Aquanaut HV by Valley

Assateague by Boreal Design

Xplore X by Tiderace

Cetus HV or possibly Cetus "Classic" by P&H

Gulfstream by Current Designs

You can't go wrong with any of these boats.

Doug

[Phil Allen]

For sit-in glass boats which you will probably want soon anyway, I suggest the following.

Try them all before you buy...

Aquanaut HV by Valley

Assateague by Boreal Design

Xplore X by Tiderace

Cetus HV or possibly Cetus "Classic" by P&H

Gulfstream by Current Designs

You can't go wrong with any of these boats.

Doug

Doug' s suggestions are good ones. I think the assateague is made by Impex though.

Phil

[JohnHuth]

In addition to my sea kayak, I have a Wilderness Systems Pamlico - 16 ft.

It has a reasonably amount of hull space to mess around with fishing gear and is pretty easy to troll with. I've caught my share of blues and stripers with a fly rod in it. Obviously, you can't go out in really big waves but I've handled it in some surprising conditions.

On the other hand, fly fishing out of a sea kayak is more of a challenge - it can be done, but it's not easy. I think landing a bluefish in the middle of a busy channel in a sea kayak has about the 'highest degree of difficulty' I can imagine.

[italiankayaker]

I paddled the Wilderness Systems Tarpon 140 and 160, Wilderness Systems Pongo, and a Ocean Kayak sit on top. This is all I have paddled in sit on tops because everything else seems cheap compared to the WS Tarpon and that's not the way I want to go. I want comfort and features. The others don't seem to have that. I don't like the feeling of a sit in kayak, the WS Pongo, too tippy and don't like not being able to move around that much.

I am pretty sure I am going to go with the WS Tarpon, just dont know the length I want, but I was thinking maybe the 140 as it tracks ok, and turns ok. The 160 takes a bit more to turn even with the rudder. The WS Pongo I didn't like at all, it just feels way to tippy, I guess all sit in kayaks are like this? The Ocean kayak felt like paddeling a tank and was not comfortable to sit in at all.

The Tarpon 140 got a litte wet by my feet but I didn't mind it. The 160 was not very wet at all, guess because it's a bigger kayak, can handle more weight.

I paddled these kayaks in a river that was very calm.

Anyone know how the Tarpon would handle in a river with a little current or in an open bay or on the ocean with some waves?

Again does anyone have ANY advice for a newbie? I haven't gotten much from you guys who I'm guessing are mostly experienced kayakers.

[spuglisi]

I paddled the Wilderness Systems Tarpon 140 and 160, Wilderness Systems Pongo, and a Ocean Kayak sit on top. This is all I have paddled in sit on tops because everything else seems cheap compared to the WS Tarpon and that's not the way I want to go. I want comfort and features. The others don't seem to have that. I don't like the feeling of a sit in kayak, the WS Pongo, too tippy and don't like not being able to move around that much.

I am pretty sure I am going to go with the WS Tarpon, just dont know the length I want, but I was thinking maybe the 140 as it tracks ok, and turns ok. The 160 takes a bit more to turn even with the rudder. The WS Pongo I didn't like at all, it just feels way to tippy, I guess all sit in kayaks are like this? The Ocean kayak felt like paddeling a tank and was not comfortable to sit in at all.

The Tarpon 140 got a litte wet by my feet but I didn't mind it. The 160 was not very wet at all, guess because it's a bigger kayak, can handle more weight.

I paddled these kayaks in a river that was very calm.

Anyone know how the Tarpon would handle in a river with a little current or in an open bay or on the ocean with some waves?

Again does anyone have ANY advice for a newbie? I haven't gotten much from you guys who I'm guessing are mostly experienced kayakers.

There are some very experienced paddlers here and even some experienced kayak fishermen. But...most people here favor sit inside sea kayaks that I'm sure you'd find more tippy feeling than a Wilderness Pungo. It would be benificial for you to look through the safety info link on this site for some basic info that would be helpful to anyone getting out on the water in a kayak. For more feedback on the kind of boat that you're shopping for you might try searching out a club dedicated to kayak fishing.

[Big Jaguar Shark]

Again does anyone have ANY advice for a newbie? I haven't gotten much from you guys who I'm guessing are mostly experienced kayakers.

As a former newbie the best advice I can give you is to take some classes to learn some basic boat handling/safety skills. You'd be amazed at what you don't know that you don't know. Charles River Canoe and Kayak gives such lessons, but I believe there are some guides on this board that might be able to steer you towards some other resources as well.

Dustin

[tyson]

Anyone know how the Tarpon would handle in a river with a little current or in an open bay or on the ocean with some waves?

If you find a Pungo tippy, PLEASE don't go out on any open water, waves or current. You are favoring boats and paddling "style" that are not well suited to these conditions.

Most of the folks in this group thrive in and love such conditions and that is why we paddle the boats that we do. IMHO, if I didn't get wet, I didn't go paddling.

If you are interested in learning to paddle in these conditions, you can find a wealth of knowledge here as well as opportunities to learn. ...but you will need to be prepared to challenge some of the preferences you have already expressed.

Cheers!

Ty

[brambor]

If you would like to join some of the trips posted here then you will have a very hard time to keep up with the faster 'sit in' kayaks considering that you are new to the sport.

But if you don't really care about joining these trips then I think those sit on top fishing kayaks would be a great choice for what you described (as I recommended in my first reply). They are made with greater initial stability in mind (i.e. stable while you are futzing around with fishing tackle).

Primary skill in getting out onto the water is to be able to reenter your kayak in case of a capsize. This is what you should practice in calm water first and then progress to practicing it in bumpy water as well. Sit on top kayak is a little bit like a large life preserver ring. If you tether your paddle with a paddle leash to the kayak and if you hold on to your paddle in case of a capsize then you should be able to reunite with your boat. --- the next thing is to be able to get back up without tipping over:

1. From the side, behind the seat, get your hands across the kayak and launch your belly onto the kayak deck while your legs still dangle in the water. Kicking legs like during swimming will keep you more horizontal (that is a good thing)

2. Place the leg closest to the boat into the cavity where the seat is and then the second leg. Now you should be laying on your belly on your kayak.

3. shuffle a little to get your belly into the cavity of the kayak seat.

4. carefully turn around and sit up.

This could be aided better by using a paddle float. For sit on tops I recommend a foam paddle float that you can have strapped in your bungees. (that could be a followup reply if we go that direction)

In general you did not see a wealth of newbie advice pouring out because it was hard to pinpoint which direction you will be heading with your boat choice and usage.

[Deb Millar]

I paddled the Wilderness Systems Tarpon 140 and 160, Wilderness Systems Pongo, and a Ocean Kayak sit on top. This is all I have paddled in sit on tops because everything else seems cheap compared to the WS Tarpon and that's not the way I want to go. I want comfort and features. The others don't seem to have that. I don't like the feeling of a sit in kayak, the WS Pongo, too tippy and don't like not being able to move around that much.

I am pretty sure I am going to go with the WS Tarpon, just dont know the length I want, but I was thinking maybe the 140 as it tracks ok, and turns ok. The 160 takes a bit more to turn even with the rudder. The WS Pongo I didn't like at all, it just feels way to tippy, I guess all sit in kayaks are like this? The Ocean kayak felt like paddeling a tank and was not comfortable to sit in at all.

The Tarpon 140 got a litte wet by my feet but I didn't mind it. The 160 was not very wet at all, guess because it's a bigger kayak, can handle more weight.

I paddled these kayaks in a river that was very calm.

Anyone know how the Tarpon would handle in a river with a little current or in an open bay or on the ocean with some waves?

Again does anyone have ANY advice for a newbie? I haven't gotten much from you guys who I'm guessing are mostly experienced kayakers.

The boats you paddled sound like they'd be fun and in keeping with what you'd like to do kayaking. My motto has always been: "Different boats for different folks" and, to quote an instructor, "There's a boat out there for every butt."

I can't offer you much advice beyond suggesting that you use the boats you're looking at for their purpose, which is in fairly uncomplicated water and as a stable platform for fishing. I will tell you that a PFD, no matter how well you think you can swim, is an absolute necessity when on any form of H2O.

For a website that represents a bit more diversity in paddling, try www.paddling.net.

Happy paddling and fishing. I admire anyone who can wrangle a big Striped Bass or a nasty-toothed Bluefish into a kayak, any kind of kayak.

Deb M