TT Kayaking Club

“ahhhh, gotcha....but is there any other way?lol. when i got mine in the water the first time, i was like.....uhhhm..wonder how you get this dang thing?.....so i pretty much ended u[ doing it the way you described.....only the word cockpit NEVER entered my mind.......not that there's anything wrong with that....


perhaps a breast reduction would help with your cronic shoulder problems.....”

“LOL! Please, I already have a big enough bird chest.

Using a paddlefloat is another good solo way to get back in. It's good for deep water. People that are really good can also climb back in an overturned kayak and roll it back over.”

“ewww, dang...i never though of trying to get into one in deep water.....that's would be TOUGH!”

“Ah, the paddlefloat makes it relatively easy. It does take some practice though. The trick is not to capsize, then you don't have to worry about it! :-)”

“We did have a couple sit on tops, but we were at the weight limit and they were'nt very stable, So I gave them away. We have a canoe, and will use it next weekend. But I really want a pair of yaks, and a new tent, and 2 new backpacks, and a simerlite stove, and...and...and.... I gotta ski man....




(Monkey boy shakes head vigorously) Sigh..... I'll never get a kayak!!!!!”

“The Mrs. and I did all the training for self and assisted rescue while sea-kayaking....

The worst had to be practicing the capsized double!!!!”

“lol”

“oohhh my kayak paddles came today!!

its funny becasue they are sitting in my office at work.
I love having my gear here.

~sigh~

just waiting for July 11th to come!!”

“whatcha end up gettin maple?”

“I paddled around Fort Desoto Park/Mullet Key today. I circled the entire island (10 miles), and ran into THREE pods of dolphins. I came really close to one pod. I saw them swimming in my general direction, and paddled closer and came to a stop. They got within 15 feet of me! Probably about 10-15 in the pod. Three different times a dolphin would come up for air, and stick his head out of the water to get a better look at me. It was killer making eye contact with them. They slowly went about their way, and I paddled on. The other two pods I saw came about 30 feet away or so. It was awesome!”

“Very cool, Artex!

I haven't had my kayak in the water in a week or more. Hopefully, one night this week, tho. And, definitely, next weekend!”

“Artex, WOW!!! that sounds amazing. How odd it must be to have the animals checking you out. I would love to kayak in an ocean one day.

We are hopefully going out today in our boats. We've got some yard work but I bet we'll have enough time...”

“Birch and Tarabull.. hope both of y'all are able to get out on the water soon.

I just got back from another ocean paddle. Saw yet another pod of dolphins, I was about 30-40 feet away from them. Not as cool as yesterday's experience, but it's still awesome seeing them. I equate the frequency of seeing them with deer in the woods, but dolphins are a bit cooler. :-) I paddled out to the northern end of Honeymoon Island which was practically empty. I just chilled on the beach for a bit and went for a swim. Fought a 15 knot head on wind and 1-2 foot chop for the 3.5 mile paddle back and got a great workout.”

“Got out today for a short river and lake paddle. It was VERY hot and muggy so we looked for a spot to swim. A pebble strewn section of river presented itself so we stopped, we were just gettin ready to hop in when some horse riders came up. They walked their animals in the water to drink and as the last one walked out it shat in the river, a big flotilla of horse dung. The rider said "thanks" I said "thank you for the..." and pointed to the crap barges as they floated by. She said "i cant control where they go" . Obviously!!!!!!

So we packed up and headed out, never did get a swim either.”

“Yuc! That's awful, birch!”

“Eeeeeeew! Stupid horse folk.”

“I can't believe that I've overlooked this thread for so long. I hit the water a few times a week on some tributaries fo the Elizabeth River, Eastern Branch. One is right across the street from my house, so all I have to do is walk across the street.”

“What do you guys think of this kayak?”

“That's Tarabull's baby! I think Sass and Birch also have that model, but I might be wrong. I own a Perception Shadow, and really love the design. Perception is probably the biggest kayak maker, and they have a very good reputation.”

“They're 1/2 of that at Sierra Trading Post right now!!!”

“Than again, maybe not. They were $400 something in the catalog I just got in the mail yesterday, but I don't find them on the website. That seems to happen a lot lately, the catalog has killer deals but they don't have the stock...maybe worth a call?”

“I had a really cool paddle today circling Caladesi Island. It's great since it's a state park, and it remains largely wild and you can only get to it by boat. I opted to paddle along the western shore first. A nice 3 foot ground swell was rolling in from the south, thanks to tropical storm Claudette. Combined with glassy conditions, it made paddling a lot of fun. It reminded me of when I was a kid, and I used to ride my bike over dirt mounds at construction sites as fast I could. After about 3 or 4 miles, I decided to land on the beach and eat lunch. There was hardly anyone in sight, which was fantastic. Before eating, I dove in the ocean and swam around for about 20 minutes, having a great time playing in the surf, swimming in the clear water, and floating on my back while smiling because I had the whole place to myself. I hiked around the beach a little, picking up a few interesting seashells but deciding not to take any. After eating lunch, I portaged my kayak about 50 yards over to a lagoon which led out to the other side of the island.

I observed a really large osprey, but unfortunately he didn't let me get to close, despite being more than safe perched 100 feet up in a tree. I saw a bunch of other egrets and/or herons in the lagoon, wading along the edge and walking their funky walk.

I rounded the island and saw a mangrove trail and decided to paddle in and check it out. I saw on the map that several kayak trails ran within the interior of the island, and this looked to be one of them. I paddled along it for about a mile and a half, unsuccessfully dodging several large spider webs and their inhabitors along the way. The trails were narrow for most the way, requiring me to only use half of my paddle to fit through and paddle easier.

After a while, I got pretty sick of all the spider webs. Nobody must had paddled though here for quite some time, they were everywhere! I kept reminding myself of my brother getting bitten by a black widow here in Tampa a few years ago, and just wanted to get out. I found a side trail that led east, took it, and found the open water once again, much to my relief. It felt good to use my full paddle and haul ass on the ocean again.

At one point on the paddle back, I heard a motorboat coming from behind me at full speed, and the guy wasn't changing course. I couldn't see the driver, so I knew he couldn't see me. I stuck my paddle up in the air and waved it. The a-hole then turned, but only a little, and still flew by me at full speed from only 15 feet away. He totally had more than enough room and time to make a wider turn around me, but the a-hole chose not to. I shot the boat a dirty look, and would have flicked them off or yelled at them, but the only people on the boat looking at me was a guy in the back and his 7 year old kid.

Aside from that, the trip was great. I ran into some other sea kayakers at the take out and chit chatted with them a little. There's a cool comradery in the sea kayaking world, much like there is in backpacking... it's really cool. Both sports seek solitude in a sense, but conversely, they're hardly considered anti-social activities. I guess it's knowing that we share an appreciation of connecting with nature while challenging ourselves physically and mentally at the same time. Some people just don't know what they're missing. :-)”

“Thanks for the trip report Artex....

*POUT*.....I think....”

“Had a great paddle today.

Birch, Sass & Abby
Laqtis, P.O. & Max
Dhutch
and myself

We put in the water at 10:30 and paddled the Huron River beginning at Island Lake Rec Area. The first third of the trip was a piece of cake. The last two thirds were a bit trickier w/ the number of trees we had to maneuver. We had such a great time. Got off the river at 4:30 this afternoon and a few of us finished w/ a BBQ dinner at a yummy restaurant. I'm so exhausted, but I feel great!

The weather was perfect. Some clouds and prolly about mid-70s.

Pics to follow shortly...

I absolutely love kayaking. A year ago, next week, a few of us (Birch, Sass, le Subtil and I) took a 5 day canoe trip on a MI river. It was such an amazing trip that ever since, I've had my heart set on getting a canoe or kayak. I'm so pleased that I was able to follow through with it. This is definitely the way to go in the warm months. Oh, and it won't suck in spring and fall, either. :-)”

“On a river like that, kayak was the way to go. Canoe needs more water (and not in the boat). We had a great time! We went back and stayed at the beach until 4:30 or so, finishing up our lunch and swiming a little. I seemed to have gotten some sun.

During our stay, Kerry was talking kayak a lot. I've learned from the past not to turn down a gear offer. We'll shall see.....

We'll have our pics up sometime soon, I need to grill some dinner.

dHutch - Have fun!”

“Q might get a kayak???? Awesome!!”

“Awesome you guys hit the water today also! I forgot to mention I took some pics today also. I'll try to post them tomorrow.”

“Kewl!

It was a good day. =)”

“I miss canoeing. :(”

“T-bone, great pics for sure!!! Thanks for taking them. I may download some...”

“Pathman - So, why don't you go canoeing?”

“So much fun. Q it's great the your better half enjoyed the canoeing! It was nice to finally meet your wonderful family. The day was perfect the paddling was fun and the people, as always, awesome! Throw in a spa-like mudbath and what could be more enjoyable. lol”

“lol Diane! Spa like?”

“i was wondering what everyone thought about this kayak.
i'm not to happy with my inflatable (please not I told you so's)
calwater said he has a friend who has one and i may try it out.

i like it cause it's only 9ft and i may be able to make room for it in my apartment.
so any thoughts?

old town otter”

“Bummer about the inflatable, maple. But yes, it's true, a solid, "real" kayak is worth the extra money. I'd worry about gear storage and paddling performance with the kayak you posted. I know the price is right, but you get what you pay for. The one you posted would probably only be good for paddling around for a few hours at best on a calm lake.

Does it have to be around 9 feet? Size does matter when it comes to kayaks. If you got a longer one, say 14 feet plus, you could safely take it out on the ocean. I know that's something that's interested you. Even for rivers and lakes, I'd recommend getting one that has storage hatches so you can fit gear, and you need length for that. With a little hunting around, you can get a used one for under a grand. And there are ways to store it up against the wall or from the cieling, saving you space.

Just my two cents.”

“i wish i had room. that is my biggest problem. i would love to get a longer one but just have no room. not even on the wall.

it's either a short one or get rid of the kids.

like i said its a hard choice LOLOLOL”

“can anyone rec a kayak under 11 ft?”

“How about 13.2? Hoist it up on the ceiling! STP has a Perception Catalina on sale for $490 right now. Not a bad boat.”

“yes, i pulled out the measuring stick and i don't care whos head it hits. I WANT A REAL KAYAK!!!

I want a recreational. not really into the ocean thing yet, so i'll stick to lakes and class 1 to 2 rivers.

trying to keep it under $500.00

i wish there was a place that offers demos here. but i can't find any.

maple (pass wrod hell)”

“I'll second the nomination for the Catalina. That's a great boat for the novice/casual 'yaker at a great price.”

“thanks sass, but I can't find the link for it. can you post it for me.

Maple”

“I had a dream last night that someone gave me a real kayak and I went whitewater kayaking in it.....ahhhhhh...what a great dream!”

“That's an EXCELLENT deal for the Catalina. Maple, if you can, I'd jump on it. Products sell out quickly when STP has great deals like that.”

“but i cant find item the web.

need link!!!!!

pretty heavy

50lbs..”

“I looked at STP for the Catalinas 2 weeks ago. There in the catalog but not online. I think they're all gone, but it might be worth a call. WWW.seirratradingpost.com”

“just called, they are all gone.


hmmmmmm :(”

“you can borrow my dream kayak...”

“Too bad! That was a great deal. =( It was an additional $100 for shipping anyways, so it woulds been over your budget anyways. I'll keep looking for you Maple.”

“Perception (kill the volume first, )

Current Designs”