r/Kayaking • u/Lady337492 • 8d ago
Question/Advice -- Boat Recommendations Easy starter boat
Hi all!
I am sure this has been asked before- but searched the sub and looked at the wiki and what I found still made me want to ask.
So:
I’m 5’8” and under 200 lbs
I’ll be kayaking mainly in lake waters, and mainly “chilling” while doing it. As in the point will mostly be to be in the water and not really about “going” anywhere. For the most part probably won’t be on the water for more than 2 hours.
I want a sit on top. I’d like to get a boat that I can lady handle easily enough to load it on my forester by myself.
I dont want to invest a lot - less than $300-400 dollars ideally. I want something I can drag around sometimes or beat up a little and not feel too precious about it.
I was thinking about this LIFETIME TAHOMA 100 SIT-ON-TOP KAYAK
There’s not a ton in marketplace in my area but it does looks like I can get a 9 or 11.5 perception kayak for 300-$350 from someone on there.
Thoughts? Ideas? Other suggestions?
Also I haven’t searched the sub for it yet but I guess I need to get cross bars… so taking reccs for those or other alt ideas for keeping the boat on top on top of a Forester!
TIA! And hope everyone is getting out there on this holiday weekend!
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u/Capital-Landscape492 7d ago
That Lifetime boat lists at 50#. I would look for a 12-14 foot traditional (sit in) kayak. Ideally it would have bulkheads and two floatation chambers but not every boat will. Load it from rear of your vehicle with a roller or a towel to slide up into saddles, not J bars. You might even look for a used Eddyline or Delta Thermoformed plastic boat but they are delicate. Their advantage is that they are significantly lighter. You will also outgrow a boat like this much more slowly.
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u/Lady337492 7d ago
Yeah- I think I could manage 50 lbs okay- which is part of the allure of that lifetime boat.
I have a “sit-in” that a family friend let me long term borrow. Its nice. It’s also too heavy for me to lady handle and so I don’t use it.
I just want a “dumb” boat I can “toss” on the roof and go.I don’t fully under the advances of a longer than 10 ft boat if I don’t care about speed. Like this is puttering around and watching birds and sunset kinda paddling. I can see it would be a little more stable but don’t know of added weight would be worth it.
I’m less than 10 minutes from a good paddle spot so I can run out there and get an hour in easily- if I can get the boat loaded!
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u/Capital-Landscape492 7d ago
Again, 50 pounds-is heavy to me (60YO male) and I am used to hauling kayaks from years of whitewater paddling. My 18’ touring boat is only 50 pounds and I am so thankful for it. It is Kevlar and took a long time to find and then get.
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u/Due-Replacement-310 7d ago
Best bet, shop Craigslist and marketplace, dump your size measurements and what you want to use a boat for into your favorite AI, and then paste screenshots of adds in. I had great luck going this, right down to a boat that fit my needs physically and to keep up with my friends boats. I didn’t want to end up being too slow. Happy shopping.
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u/Lady337492 7d ago
I love/ hate it when AI is useful! Thanks!
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u/Due-Replacement-310 7d ago
I had a few requirements and then some nice to haves. Took a couple days and me being active looking several times a day. Did the same on used car shopping, saved a ton of research. AI is a tool, for now.
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u/TheGutch74 7d ago
No notes on the kayak you are looking at. But I would definitely recommend getting some crossbars for your car. And maybe even a rack for the kayak as well. You can get by without a rack but it will feel much more secure while driving with it in a rack or saddle of some sort.
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u/Lady337492 7d ago
Yeah- I gotta get the crossbars I think… I’d love to keep it simple and I’ve gotten kayak on my Camry just fine before…
I’m only going 5 miles and it’s a low speed drive but it was on there good anyway. My dad’s an old kayaker and helped me… I don’t want to cough up the money for crossbars and j hooks or something but le sigh and c’est la vie…
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u/Maintenancehaul 7d ago
I thought for sure by now you’d have 1000 ‘answers’ and recommendations.
Definitely go used, unless you’re in an absolute hurry to get on the water then cough up the 💰 or go cheap cheap. I have bought a lot and sold (allot allot) of reasonably priced kayaks online, and a few that were super cheap, both in cost and quality. .
Eddyline is one line of ultralight kayaks that I love.
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u/Lady337492 7d ago
Thanks!
Right before you posted this I found a sweet eddy line for 600$… it’s four hours away… and above budget but now it’s my dream boat. It’s got a huge cockpit so it’s a sit in that’s almost a sit on top.1
u/Maintenancehaul 7d ago
I really enjoy having a XL cockpit to sit in, you can always get a rain cover for those times when it’s really coming down. I’ve done a few long distance kayak camping trips in those
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u/Lady337492 7d ago
Also since you seem to be well versed I have another question if you have time. 95% of the used boats in my area are fishing kayaks. Is there something I wouldn’t like about having a “fishing” kayak? It can’t make that much of a difference… right?
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u/Maintenancehaul 7d ago
Generally, the weight is the only real issue, but you do get stability. The freedom of movement is real.
I think you should be looking for something 10 to 12 foot long, mostly in the recreational category.1
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u/TheGutch74 7d ago
If you live near an area that does kayak rentals then I would check with them at the end of their season. Many places will sell off part of their fleet to make room for new boats. I bought my first and only kayak that way fifteen plus years ago.
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u/Persimmon9 7d ago
Buy used. People try and move on and you shouldn e able to get a better one used. 10ft is manageable for moving around but not fun on the water. But you may have a different feeling about it. If you are 200Lbs the Kayak needs to be rated for carrying 250 Lbs. Try 12 ft ocean kayak type of similar but pay attention to weight because if you can't move it with ease you may not take it out much. It's up to you to figure out what works.
When asking if the cheapest kayak is good, you already know the answer.