inflatable kayaks

ALnJane · Newbie

inflatable kayaks

Peter_n_Margaret · Guru

Where would you propose to use it, and how?

Cheers,
Peter

Desert Dweller · Senior Member

Lots of bikes & kayaks hanging off RV's, many of them rarely used. The owners had good intentions but lost their enthusiasm ages ago.

DMaxer · Guru

I think John (Yeoeleven) has one hanging around somewhere.

Dougwe · Chief one feather

Yeh, the bin at Greens BigD. It kept sringing a leak that couldn't be fixed.

Lawson · Veteran Member

Theresa Dam 4-9-14.jpg Hi Jane, I've had a inflatable Kayak for about 3 years now and wouldn't go on a trip without it, (and use it a lot) its made from heavy duty material, its ready to go in 20 minutes and about 15 kg easy to put on the roof rack or to carry to the water from your camp and it folds up into a back pack 70cm x 35cm.

I bought it at Super Cheap but I haven't seen any there lately.

Dennis L

-- Edited by Lawson on Friday 8th of April 2016 09:17:31 AM

-- Edited by Lawson on Friday 8th of April 2016 09:19:36 AM

-- Edited by Lawson on Friday 8th of April 2016 09:20:52 AM

-- Edited by Lawson on Friday 8th of April 2016 09:22:11 AM

DMaxer · Guru

That's right Doug. I remember reading that he had placed it somewhere in permanent storage.

rockylizard · Guru

Gday...

This looks like it the one Dennis has -

http://www.bcf.com.au/online-store/products/Sevylor-Quickpak-Kayak-K5.aspx?pid=288231#Recommendations

Cheers - John

Cupie · Guru

Regular readers would recognise that I am an avid kayaker.

I have two 'plastic' kayaks that I ALWAYS take at least one of them with me & use them on every occasion. (Though I rarely take my push bike with me because of lack of use).

I have no personal experience with collapsible/inflatable kayaks but from my rather extensive reading on the subject, they are getting better all the time.

Before buying one I would try several in terms of paddling, transporting and preparing.

Note that I refer to Collapsible as well as Inflatables.

ALnJane · Newbie

Hi Peter

would mainly be used in protected waters or very quiet bays.

Regards

Alan

JackoFJR · Senior Member

We have a Hard Plactic Hobie we have friends that have inflatable Kayaks , not Hobies they seem to be very good .

DMaxer · Guru

Out in the middle of a lake, inflatable Kayak, a few fish hooks and a fishing knife, what could go wrong?

ALnJane · Newbie

Hi Dmaxer

No fishing, just fun.

Regards

Alan

in transit · Senior Member

We had a 2-person inflatable we bought at BCF a few years ago. It was a "sit in" rather than a "sit on", and quite stable. We would put it in the sea between Townsville and Magnetic Island although not in rough weather. We did get a bit wet mainly due to our skills with the paddles, but we always felt safe.

Ours had dual skins, the inflatable bit was inserted in a heavy duty outer skin before inflating and the result seemed to be quite sound. It was however a bit heavy and not as fast as the hard kayaks of similar length.

Like many, the attraction wore off and we had no trouble selling it.

Hylda&Jon · Guru

My wife and I had this debate for quite some time. I also searched websites, asked questions, checked forums etc, etc.

I was worried about getting a rigid kayak on the roof of the Landcruiser as I have a bit of a touchy back.

I concluded that I would prefer to go for the lightest cheapest rigid one I could find which is only 16kg instead of take the risk on a similar priced inflatable..

Reasons for this decision were: For the price we could afford (about $400 to $500) we wouldn't end up with a very good quality inflatable kayak. Also, after much study I have learnt inflatables are much harder to row and manoeuvre against any decent current as they don't cut through the water nearly as efficiently as a rigid one so, with my bad lungs, they may be a problem where tide or similar is involved.

We ended up getting two rigid ones for $400 each which included seats and oars.

We tried them for the first time on the Clarence River last Sunday and we are very happy. So easy to paddle and steer. We love them. :)

For now I put one in the Landcruiser and one on the roof till we can afford the 2 roof mounts for them. They are also stackable but it's too much of a stretch to get the second one that high.

Hope this helps.

Cheers.

Oka374 · Veteran Member

We have a Hobie i9S with Mirage drive which works really well which we use on lakes and rivers around the country as well locally, Very stable and while it is a sit on type you can stay pretty dry as long as it isn't too windy.
Using the Mirage drive makes it far easier to travel a fair distance and leaves the hands free for taking pictures and fishing (we don't fish

))
It is very tough and rocks etc down't worry it although oyster leases are given a wide berth.

delatite · Veteran Member

Hi Jane

We own 2 inflatable kayaks. Best money and fun we have spent.

Yes they aren't quite as quick through the water as a rigid ones (which we have used also) But you can't beat them for convenient storage size when traveling.

Really quick to inflate - only takes 5 minutes with a foot pump.

We find ours extremely stable, really comfortable seating with the cushioned backrest and very tough - even withstand our staffy's claws!!

We have used then on Lake Eildon, Lake Nillahcootie and Merimbula. Able to paddle against the tidal current without a problem. Handle boat wakes and light chop without a worry. Have no intention of taking them offshore or out in really rough conditions - really horses for courses. For lakes and calm estuary or rivers they are great!! biggrin

Snail · Senior Member

Hi Jane,

I have 2 inflatable kayaks the outer skin is like a canvas with 2 inner inflatable compartments. I have used them many times all trouble free, they fold up and have their own backpacks to carry them, the oars are in 3 parts and also fit in the backpack.

I would recommend them as long as they have a tough outer skin.

Snail.

Radar · Guru

In my hunt for a inflatable kayak. One was priced at sub $200 and one around $550 being a bit longer.

Would the owners be kind enough to state what sort of price they paid and if they would buy again or go better if there was another option of inflatable kayak.

I would like one, like the idea of being able to store in a spare locker, light weight, not needing to place ontop of car is a real bonus.

Dunmowin · Guru

delatite wrote:
Hi Jane
We own 2 inflatable kayaks. Best money and fun we have spent.
Yes they aren't quite as quick through the water as a rigid ones (which we have used also) But you can't beat them for convenient storage size when traveling.
Really quick to inflate - only takes 5 minutes with a foot pump.
We find ours extremely stable, really comfortable seating with the cushioned backrest and very tough - even withstand our staffy's claws!!
We have used then on Lake Eildon, Lake Nillahcootie and Merimbula. Able to paddle against the tidal current without a problem. Handle boat wakes and light chop without a worry. Have no intention of taking them offshore or out in really rough conditions - really horses for courses. For lakes and calm estuary or rivers they are great!!

Like Delatite, we had two Sevelor Kayaks, one x single, one x double, dog used to travel on front of double. We found them easy to use on lakes and calmish water. The issue of them (for us) was having to climb to the Thule to retrieve them, inflate them, get them to the water. Have fun. Get them back to the 4WD, dry them off, deflate each cavity to the max, roll them up and climb back to the Thule.

For an elderly couple, one of whom is asthmatic, the novelty wore off. After trying to sell them on commission in a boating shop in Inverell, we sold them on ebay to another soon to be grey nomads.

We paid $149 for 2person, and $129 for 1 person, total outlay at BCF for kayaks plus all peripherals $432.80, at BCF in December 2011. Peripherals being pump, life jackets x 2, oars, paddle leash x 2.

Don't get me wrong, we did have a lot of fun in the few times we used them, but like the bike that sits on the front of the van, they rarely got used.

delatite · Veteran Member

We only paid $90 for each of our Sevylor kayaks as they were 2nd hand, but hardly used by the previous owner- they were moving interstate so we selling off heaps of stuff. Our win!

You can buy them new for $169 including paddle at BCF.

The kayaks only weigh 5.1kg so they are pretty easy to cart around.

When using them and only travelling short distances , with the plan to reuse again, we simply partially deflate one of the air chambers, then we can fold the kayak a bit and it fits in the back of the Cruiser. We just lie and old bed sheet in the car to catch any drips left on them.

Recoup · Guru

We got a Sevylor double with an electric motor on one side , runs very quiet but not fast. One word of caution with inflatable , don't put to much pressure in the air tanks , with the sun hitting the boat , the air will expand and it will bust the seams of the tanks .I made myself some valves ,and if the pressure gets to high I can release it a bit. Also when fishing , watch out for your hooks , and fish with spikes like Redfin . Cheers

in transit · Senior Member

Would the owners be kind enough to state what sort of price they paid and if they would buy again or go better if there was another option of inflatable kayak.

We paid about $500 for our 2-person kayak. It weighed about 20Kg and fitted in one big bag with pump, oars, skeg, mooring line and a towel to dry everything (more or less).

Oka374 · Veteran Member

A new Hobie i9S is just under $3k in Oz, we bought ours secondhand/3 years old in excellent condition with upgrades to the Mirage drive and rudder for a fraction of that.
Pedals make it very easy to cover distance without getting tired and leaves the hands free for pics etc.

Radar · Guru

Hi AlnJane, like me I hope you gain some real good information from all these replies.

I may buy the shorter cheaper inflatable kayak new but I am going to hang off a little while hoping a suitable longer one comes on the second hand market.

Hopefully see you all on the water later on this year.

Thank you for your replies.

Cupie · Guru

Radar wrote:
Hi AlnJane, like me I hope you gain some real good information from all these replies.
I may buy the shorter cheaper inflatable kayak new but I am going to hang off a little while hoping a suitable longer one comes on the second hand market.
Hopefully see you all on the water later on this year.
Thank you for your replies.

Good idea to hang off for the longer ones. The closer to 4 meters the better.