First time on a kayak

[vlad]

Thanks for the exelent advise and comments guys! I am taking all this on board.

Tomcat, thanks for the offer! I know the place very well. I fish there for bass at LLangelynin every summer.

 

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I'll be happy to join you this year (hopefully with a kayak of my own).

[Mark Crame]

Dizzyfish; excellent post. It is true that most of us who are commenting on the different kayaks have put a few miles under our belts. You anaogy about riding bikes is spot on - it doesn't take long at all to get used to the feeling and often the feeling of instability (obviously falling off cancels this) is perceived rather than actual. Sit on tops ARE very stable, obviously compared to something else. In my case against very occasional plays in fibreglass kayaks and a wooden homebuilt open canoe (that had me holding on constantly). I can stand on both of mine, and have done so on river and sea. However, this is wobbly and I don't do it for long. There is no practical application for doing so anyway.

 

The Trident has a high seating position which does increase the feeling of instability and many people don't like it because of this. I never felt it to be of great difference personally. Keeping a straight line is generally down to paddling technique (or a rudder, which the Trident benefits greatly from) however I found that with certain wind/current effects it would always pull to the right.

 

How many hours? I can't speak for the others as I believe them in many cases to be far more advanced than I as both anglers and paddlers. However, spend one day on the water, playing and practicing and paddling and getting a feel for things and all will become natural and fluid. Ideally do this on a slow river on a day where there is little wind. Then, every time you go out you'll find it becomes easier to paddle and you'll ache less. When you feel comfy ten have a splash about at the beach, playing in surf and paddling up and down a hundred metres out or in the surfline. I'm exceptional in that I get to go out at least a couple of times a week at this time of year (most nights in the summer), as for the last year I have had the beach a few hundred metres away and the river a mile or so and I'm a mature student and freelance photographer nwithout too many demands on my time other than school runs and childcare and so have had a very steep and rapid learning curve but to be honest the basics were gathered very, very quickly.If you know any experieced kayakers then ask them to show you paddling technique if not, the book by Derek Hairon I reviewed last week has a lot of useful info to get you off the blocks. Most of all, USE this board for help and advice because there is a lot of advice to be had and it's where i learnt most from.

 

Here: my first plays with a sit on top. Not that long ago:

 

http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/forums/Prowler-t65206.html

[snakey1]

It is obviously possible - I keep reading the reports and seeing the fantastic photos of richi, overrun, mark and the others and wondering how many hours I would have to put in before I could reach that level. My problem is one of time - what I would like to know from the yakkers is this - Do you have to keep practising ie. going out regularly; or it it one of those sports where after a certain amount of practise, something clicks and then balance is not a problem and even if you only go twice a year - you do not forget (ie. like riding a bike).

To be honest dizzyfish before buying my elite nearly 2 years ago i had never kayaked before either on an SOT or in a normal sit inside yak (but i did used to surf about 25 years ago don't know if that helps).i have only ever taken the yak out on the sea so the learning curve was steep and occasionally painful to start with but to be honest the only time it has ever felt unstable is in the surf either going out or coming in( this has improved with experience). i have had the yak out in some relatively rough conditions and once out i have always felt confident in the yaks stabilty. I know some people have felt that the elite is more "twitchy" than the 13 but i haven't found this. so I think its really down to the individual person but getting out as often as you can must help i'd have thought(i managed to launch about 45 times last year and covered about 350 miles in doing so and certainly feel more confident now than when i started).

Edited March 4, 2008 by snakey1

[boomphat]

Very pertinent point. I had never paddled ever until buying my Drifter in summer 2006. Which I chose because wide = stable to me at that time. I bought a Prowler 13 soon after, and as it was narrower it seemed very wobbly to me at first. Now I am happiest in my Scupper Pro which is narrower still.

I would say that a Drifter is very good for wide people and learners, but once you get your balance on the water (not long) you will be happier in the narrowest kayak that you can fit in.

Vlad... did you step into a floating kayak from that jetty at Orcop lake? You need to get your bum in the seat first, or you will always fall out. Difficult at Orcop because of the slope and the clay.

[vlad]

Hi boomphat!

I sat in the sit of the yak first but still capsized immediately. On the second attempt I was ok though.

[jasper3]

After reading the forum for more than a year, I finally got to try a real kayak yesterday the 1st of March.

From all I read in the forum and saw at the kayak exhibitions, I decided that the best kayak for me will be the Manta Ray 14.

I wanted to try also the Prowler 13 and the Moken before I by my first kayak.

Thanks god I tried to paddle a kayak before I bought one. I couldn't believe how far from the reality I was.

 

I went to the Herefordshire and Borders Canoes and Kayaks where Paul gave me to try first a Prowler Elite 4.5.

It looked really beautiful!

I stepped on it from the platform and sat on the seat and immediately capsized!

Yes, two seconds after I sat in a kayak I was swimming in the freezing water.

I did not give up. Soaking wet I sat in the kayak again and tried to paddle it. I did not capsize any more.

For my big surprise I found that the kayak was very wobbly, much more than I anticipated. It was very difficult to control it. Whatever I tried to do with the paddle it just kept drifting towards the bank blown by the strong wind, and I could not make it turn away from it. It beached and I had difficulties getting it back in the middle of the lake.

I was horrified when I imagined being on this yak in the sea with the wind and waves and the strong current.

There was no way I could do some fishing and keep balance at the same time. It was horribly wobbly.

 

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After 10 minuets I managed to gain some control over the yak and land it.

 

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Paul told me that I am too heavy for the Prowler 13 and the

Manta Ray 14.

 

He gave me to try the Prowler Big Game.

It was completely different ballgame. The yak was rock solid and I felt relaxed and secure.

 

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I still find it difficult to paddle it but at least did not fear capsizing any moment.

 

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I did not consider buying this model after the comments in the forums were that it is slow and difficult to paddle. But at the moment I would not dare to go in the sea with any other yak.

 

The conclusion I arrived at is that I first will have to learn to paddle a kayak properly before I commit to buy one. I hope when I achieve that I may be all right with the faster models.

 

I will recommend all novices who read this forum to do the same. Especially the ones that are over 200lb like me.

 

I would be most grateful if someone could recommend a good sea kayaking course for beginners!

 

vlad that was a great report, i think the first time we all got in a yak, we were all tensed up, this does effect paddling and makes a difference to the motion of the yak, as soon as you relax and go with the flow of the yak ,you will find it easier,

i have a Big Game and find it very stable, i hope you find the right yak for you and start your yak fishing quest soon, the exmouth meet will be a great place to meet people with a vast range of experience , there will also be loads of kayaks to try

jas

[vlad]

Thanks jasper3!

I am comming to Exmouth!

[jerseytrev]

vlad its a bit like riding a bike really if you had never been on one it seems imposible to start with .but you would be suprised after a couple of trips ,you would wonder what all the fuss is about. there are some big lads here so you are not alone get some one on one tuition and you will really enjoy it . keep us posted on your progress

[jasper3]

vlad it would be good to see you at exmouth. jas

[ACKOMEISTER]

A good starter for any begginer is the new nintendo Wi game thats just out its for big bass fishing in a kayak, its fab you sit in your yak on the floor, paddle cast land fish and its just like being in a yak, it even takes into account wind and currents. Its a laugh buts its the next best thing to the real thing and only costs 39.99.