Kayak or SUP
Jun 13th 2021, 9:55 am
#1
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Kayak or SUP
I thought I or someone else had posted a thread about kayaks or SUPs but I can't find it so here I am!
I had previously been thinking of buying a SUP but recently been thinking a kayak would be better. I tried out an inflatable kayak yesterday at Malyi-to and was quite disappointed. Maybe it was because I was sitting in the front and I had to have my legs bent because I was so close to the front of it! This made it difficult to paddle and the kayak being wider than I expected difficult to paddle without shifting my arms further out. A friend was in the rear seat and he mentioned he had to shift his arms so far to being able to paddle. I don't have any experience with kayaks, only sailing a dinghy, so is this normal? I'm certain canoes are much narrower.
Maybe the solution is longer paddles.
I found the kayak to be a bit unsteady at times and wondered if the keel was missing because it was difficult to go forward in a pretty straight line. One reason for not going forward cleanly enough was both my friend and myself seemed to be paddling out of synch!
The kayak we had a go in belonged to Malyi-to plasz which is run by Zip's and it was free for the grand opening yesterday.
I had previously been thinking of buying a SUP but recently been thinking a kayak would be better. I tried out an inflatable kayak yesterday at Malyi-to and was quite disappointed. Maybe it was because I was sitting in the front and I had to have my legs bent because I was so close to the front of it! This made it difficult to paddle and the kayak being wider than I expected difficult to paddle without shifting my arms further out. A friend was in the rear seat and he mentioned he had to shift his arms so far to being able to paddle. I don't have any experience with kayaks, only sailing a dinghy, so is this normal? I'm certain canoes are much narrower.
Maybe the solution is longer paddles.
I found the kayak to be a bit unsteady at times and wondered if the keel was missing because it was difficult to go forward in a pretty straight line. One reason for not going forward cleanly enough was both my friend and myself seemed to be paddling out of synch!
The kayak we had a go in belonged to Malyi-to plasz which is run by Zip's and it was free for the grand opening yesterday.
Jun 13th 2021, 11:20 am
#2
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Posts: 2,096
Re: Kayak or SUP
Inflatable kayaks are not efficient boats. Any inflatable boat will have a higher resistance through the water than a rigid hull and the softer the inflation the more the resistance. I would not recommend an inflatable hull of any sort unless you needed the particular properties of an inflatable which are unsinkable and the ability to deflate to reduce size for transport and storage.
As you have found out paddling an inflatable kayak is a disappointing experience on several aspects. A rigid hull kayak will be easier to paddle with thinner sides, have less resistance through the water and can (should be) equally unsinkable. Also a rigid hull will be more robust than an inflatable and easier to repair in the event of damage. Directional stability will also be better in a rigid hull.
If you want to try kayaking please try a proper wood or glass fibre kayak.
On a personal note I find a canadian canoe an easier paddling position - I have never tried a SUP
My experience of inflatable boats is extensive. 25 years diving and instructing, including instructing boat handling. In the early years most small dive boats were inflatable, primarily because of their unsinkability, my own was 3 compartments and would support 1 ton with 2 of the compartments destroyed. And I can attest to the unsinkability having had the boat totally swamped in Tor Bay and still afloat and motoring.(with a full load of divers on board). But I never deflated it, it had a trailer and I put up with the inefficiency of the hull by using a bigger engine and consequently more fuel. Today most dive boats (and small rescue boats are RIBs that is glass fibre hull with inflatable sides which have the advantage of unsinkability with the efficiency of a rigid hull - but when I started they hadn't been invented.
By the way you can also get inflatable SUPs but all the reasons against inflatable kayaks apply the inflatable SUPs
As you have found out paddling an inflatable kayak is a disappointing experience on several aspects. A rigid hull kayak will be easier to paddle with thinner sides, have less resistance through the water and can (should be) equally unsinkable. Also a rigid hull will be more robust than an inflatable and easier to repair in the event of damage. Directional stability will also be better in a rigid hull.
If you want to try kayaking please try a proper wood or glass fibre kayak.
On a personal note I find a canadian canoe an easier paddling position - I have never tried a SUP
My experience of inflatable boats is extensive. 25 years diving and instructing, including instructing boat handling. In the early years most small dive boats were inflatable, primarily because of their unsinkability, my own was 3 compartments and would support 1 ton with 2 of the compartments destroyed. And I can attest to the unsinkability having had the boat totally swamped in Tor Bay and still afloat and motoring.(with a full load of divers on board). But I never deflated it, it had a trailer and I put up with the inefficiency of the hull by using a bigger engine and consequently more fuel. Today most dive boats (and small rescue boats are RIBs that is glass fibre hull with inflatable sides which have the advantage of unsinkability with the efficiency of a rigid hull - but when I started they hadn't been invented.
By the way you can also get inflatable SUPs but all the reasons against inflatable kayaks apply the inflatable SUPs
Jun 13th 2021, 12:22 pm
#3
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Re: Kayak or SUP
Thanks.
Will look into the rigid type.
Will look into the rigid type.
