Anyone been kyacking?

[Oss]

Bonnie, Stacy and I each rented kyacks from Croton Point launch which is at the southerly tip past the train station and paddled up the Croton River to the bottom of the rapids south of the dam

About 90 minutes in all

To be honest I was not so comfortable or confident for the first 20  minutes but eventually I got the hang of it


We will see how sore my arms are tomorrow.

Came on up on this cool old house about 1/4 mile from the end of the rapids  Love the stone work  It sits 20 feet or more above the level of the water/nowhere high enough if that dam ever goes


If you hit control while turning the wheel on your mouse you can zoom on the pic

[fudgie]

I have 1 that I use on our lake/pond for fishing. Its a set in type. 1st time was hard to gain control without wanting to tip over. I don't swim nor do I know how to. Hardest thing now is getting in and out without getting soaked.

[Patrick]

Yep. Used to white water kayak in the Adirondacks. Still sometimes fish during the winter in one.

[hubcapsc]

I took a sea kayak short course at Clemson 40 years ago when I was a student.
We had lake Hartwell to do the course on. I remember them teaching us to
"roll"... if you go upside-down while your lower body is in a kayak, you really
want to know how to make the side of the kayak your upper body is sticking
out of to go back on top of the water...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_kayak

-Mike

[Jess from VA]

Reminds me of the movie with banjo music.  

[Farside]

  Love kayaking. It is a great exercise and not hard to master. I just got back not long ago from a fishing weekend in N. FL on a great lake of Lg. mouth bass. My nephew landed the biggest bass, 7.5 lb. It's true that one that big will pull your kayak around somewhat!  

[0leman]

My kids have kayaks, they enjoy taking them to several small rivers around here. And some of the lakes.   Since I am a bit larger than they are, they got a good two person kayak for me.  Little longer than theirs, but still can go where ever they go. 

There is a spring fed river about 30 miles out of town, from the put on place to the springs its about 3 miles.   Great morning trip.  takes about an hour of easy paddling up steam and a bit longer coming with the current.  Kicking back and letting the current carry you.

On our first trip up that river, I tipped over due to the fact I was in one of the smaller kayak's.  I did have a life vest on, as required by OR, and was able to swim to the shore without problems, even though the water temps were in the 60 degree range.  Warm/dry day so dried off fast.   The larger one is less tippy.

I do recommend one trying them out if you live/visit a place where they have them. 

[mhallock]

We just got back from the Florida Keys... stayed at this funky little resort....



Did some kayaking....here is the kayak guard...



Mark

[cookiedough]

Just make sure you get one to support your weight.  I knew I was not going good when my kids kayaks good for 225lbs. and under only 8 foot cheapie ones 150 bucks new which will float up to say 200lbs. at the most IMO.  I gave it a shot and at 285lbs. was about 1 inch from sinking straight down like the titanic.  I paddled gently not rocking at all side to side for water would be coming in and me tipping it over for sure.

they are good exercise though and I would want one to support 300lbs. if getting one for sure.

[Jess from VA]

I prefer canoes.  I even got a merit badge in them.

Canoes are real boats.  Kayaks aren't; if I want to go swimming, I just go swimming (without my clothes on).  



Course, to get the merit badge, they made you paddle out in deep water in the lake and swamp the canoe, then shoot it up out of the water to get it 2/3 empty, then climb back in and bail out the rest, alone (with your clothes on). 

[Rams]

Bonnie, Stacy and I each rented kyacks from Croton Point launch which is at the southerly tip past the train station and paddled up the Croton River to the bottom of the rapids south of the dam

Correct me if I'm wrong but, isn't it easier to paddle down the river? 

Rams

[pais]

   I've been kayaking for awhile now. Bought a canoe, thought the family would enjoy it, thought wrong. Sold the canoe and bought a sit on kayak. It was easy to find a nice quality used one at a reasonable price. I absolutely love it! I'm fortunate to have the Cuyahoga River very close by. Current Lab(Layla) and previous Lab(Janey) have gone with me many times. Learning curve was involved with the dogs ingress and egress. Because of my size, I needed a longer kayak. So there is room for the dog to enjoy the ride.   

[RDAbull]

Once.  Never again!
It was the sit in the hole type and as I am a rather large fellow, I filled the hole pretty well.
All of my friend watching thought it was funny when I rolled over and couldn't get out.   The bumping my head on the rocks was just a plus up for them.
Might have had something to do with the amount of beer we had at the river.

[0leman]

Bonnie, Stacy and I each rented kyacks from Croton Point launch which is at the southerly tip past the train station and paddled up the Croton River to the bottom of the rapids south of the dam

Correct me if I'm wrong but, isn't it easier to paddle down the river? 

Rams

Not sure about OSS, but sometimes you can only go up stream from where you put in since no place to out in at the upper end of the stream/river.  BUT coming back is always more fun.   

[DIGGER]

Looks like you guys were having a lot of fun.   Kayaking is my second sport just under motorcycle riding.
 Oss I have been kayaking for quite a while now.   I kayak fish.    I fish lake sommerville for white bass and black bass mostly.    I have a Hobie Outback with a pedal system, and a Cobra Fish and Dive I use for mostly salt water fishing.   Both of my kayaks are rigged up for fishing.    I have been for several years now going with a group of about 10 guys occassionally to the High Island/Bolivar area on the Gulf of Mexico and we put in at the beach and in a group go about 1/2 - 1 mile out and fish for Bull Reds and Sharks.   It is a lot of fun.   Here are a couple pics of some of my bigger fish I have caught.  The shark was about 6' long.  

[The emperor has no clothes]

Bonnie, Stacy and I each rented kyacks from Croton Point launch which is at the southerly tip past the train station and paddled up the Croton River to the bottom of the rapids south of the dam

About 90 minutes in all

To be honest I was not so comfortable or confident for the first 20  minutes but eventually I got the hang of it

A long, long time ago in a faraway land, I lived in the village of Kotzebue for a time. Back then there were still a few traditional Inuit hunters that used seal skin kayaks. I tried to use one once. It was near impossible, and I was a young man in good shape ! I tried for hours to get the hang of it. Never did. I gained a lot of respect for them dudes after that. I think the prospect of starvation and death played a big roll in them being proficient with those boats. Also, they said every boat was different in their balance, and they got used to their boat and wouldn't switch. It was similar to this.

These new plastic kayaks are like Lamborghinis.

[DGS65]

I keep a kayak on my boat I don't use it much but my wife enjoys it.
I believe the is a place in cold Spring that rents the and gives tours on the Hudson. 

[cookiedough]

Looks like you guys were having a lot of fun.   Kayaking is my second sport just under motorcycle riding.
 Oss I have been kayaking for quite a while now.   I kayak fish.    I fish lake sommerville for white bass and black bass mostly.    I have a Hobie Outback with a pedal system, and a Cobra Fish and Dive I use for mostly salt water fishing.   Both of my kayaks are rigged up for fishing.    I have been for several years now going with a group of about 10 guys occassionally to the High Island/Bolivar area on the Gulf of Mexico and we put in at the beach and in a group go about 1/2 - 1 mile out and fish for Bull Reds and Sharks.   It is a lot of fun.   Here are a couple pics of some of my bigger fish I have caught.  The shark was about 6' long.  

I am impressed, that to me would be a once in a lifetime experience in a kayak being pulled all over by a 6 foot shark.  cannot imagine your drag set pretty darn loose to allow the shark to not break the line ASAP.  Most not even close experience I have had is in a 10 foot jon boat being pulled 5-6 feet on a river with about a 10 lb. carp on 6lb. light action rod.

[Bighead]

I have 1 that I use on our lake/pond for fishing. Its a set in type. 1st time was hard to gain control without wanting to tip over. I don't swim nor do I know how to. Hardest thing now is getting in and out without getting soaked.

You really should learn to swim if you use any type of watercraft. No matter your age. Very easy to do. Relax is the first step. Taught myself to swim when about 5 yrs old. All the older kids
Who knew how were jumping off a diving board and me sitting in the shallow end and I had enough dad watching Inwent and bailed off the diving board and cursed if I didn’t swin to the side of the pool   Never looked back.

[saddlesore]

I live about 500 feet from Lake Michigan so it was easy to go almost every day. 
Kayaks have two tipping points.  If you are afraid to go beyond the first one you'll miss out on a lot of handling skills that can keep you from tipping over.   
BTW a neighbors brother drowned when he tried a white water kayak, he flipped over and could not get out.   I tried to get in the kayak, it was hard to do that too.

[DIGGER]

Looks like you guys were having a lot of fun.   Kayaking is my second sport just under motorcycle riding.
 Oss I have been kayaking for quite a while now.   I kayak fish.    I fish lake sommerville for white bass and black bass mostly.    I have a Hobie Outback with a pedal system, and a Cobra Fish and Dive I use for mostly salt water fishing.   Both of my kayaks are rigged up for fishing.    I have been for several years now going with a group of about 10 guys occassionally to the High Island/Bolivar area on the Gulf of Mexico and we put in at the beach and in a group go about 1/2 - 1 mile out and fish for Bull Reds and Sharks.   It is a lot of fun.   Here are a couple pics of some of my bigger fish I have caught.  The shark was about 6' long.  

I am impressed, that to me would be a once in a lifetime experience in a kayak being pulled all over by a 6 foot shark.  cannot imagine your drag set pretty darn loose to allow the shark to not break the line ASAP.  Most not even close experience I have had is in a 10 foot jon boat being pulled 5-6 feet on a river with about a 10 lb. carp on 6lb. light action rod.

We use 30lb test monofilament with a wire leader and a 14/0 hook.  We anchor out and your anchor rope ties to a floating device that in turn ties to the kayak with a snap on device.  When you catch a shark the reel is set with a light drag and the line starts screaming off.   You then unsnap from your anchor and let it go.  The floating device will make it easy to come back to.  You then crank down onnthe drag, rear back and set the hook and go for a sleigh ride.   That shark pulled me about 1/2 mile down the beach....quite a adrenaline rush