Hi Everyone, first time post here! I'm looking for a recommendation for a first kayak. I'm mid-fifties, fit and with good experience, although thirty years ago, of white water (slalom and racing) and surf, although no actual sea kayak experience.
What I don't want to do is buy a boat that will be 'easy' at first and then find six months down the line that I've caught up with it and it leaves me looking for something 'harder'. At the same time I don't want to spend all my time swimming! Can anyone help please?

Yes! My standard advice: Buy an inexpensive used boat that you can try out sitting in, to determine whether you will be comfortable sitting in it. Most sea kayaks are about 17 feet long and about 21-24 inches in the beam. By paddling this boat, you will learn what is important to you about boat design and construction, and about sea kayaking. You will try out other people's boats. You will learn and grow. You will undoubtedly not keep this first boat, or you will add other boats to your collection. NOBODY can tell you what first boat to buy that will suit you for the rest of your paddling career. Just check out Paddling.net boat reviews--you'll see that everybody loves their boat: it's the greatest boat in the world. This tells you nothing. Buy a cheap boat and start paddling it.

Based on my own (and recent) experience, I would have to second SM's advice

Hey John:

where are you geographically? What areas do ya wanna paddle? River? Lakes? Ocean? some combo of these?

is fitness the driving goal? Or are you more into day touring, with the occasional camping trip. Do you want something very stable for fishing or photography?

What's your height, weight, inseam and shoe size? Yup that all matters in sizing a kayak.

I agree w. the demo, demo, demo approach, and strongly agree w. getting a used boat. If you share some specifics I'll throw out some suggestions to try, as will others.

Yeah, and most reviews on paddling.net are mostly happy talk and people self-congratulating themselves on their choice. I've been guilty of the same thing, it's new owner bliss and it does add bias.

However, I also review lots boats I don't own, when I'm not in the market, and have demo'd some boats for manufacturers, so I try to be more objective.

Thanks Guys, I appreciate the input. I think that I'll find a demo day or two and have a go to start with and then buy a used boat as SM suggests. I always knew that finding that 'sweet' boat would be a difficult task. As for my size, I'm 6'0", and about 190 lbs. I intend to start with some easy Day Trips and move on to touring and more challenging paddling. Suggestions of some suitable types to try would be most welcome. Thanks.

John,if you hook up with a local sea kayaking club or association, you'll gain access to lots of used boats. Our group, the Jersey Shore Sea Kayak Association (JSSKA.org), just in September, listed the following used boats--

NDK Explorer 1,700
Impex Currituck carbon/kevlar 1,900
Nordkapp LV 2,000
Perception Eclipse 650
Current Designs Caribou 1,300
Wilderness systems Sealution II 350

A potential buyer could likely test-paddle many of these boats. Somebody is going to be a happy purchaser and user of each of these boats, sooner or later. There's a used boat nearby, waiting for you.

Hey John if you swing back & read this.

At your size the kayak world is your oyster. You are in the sweet spot for many, many models.

As you demo boats, pick the one that makes you feel just a little bit "tippy". You'll shed that feeling rapidly and enjoy a more responsive boat than won't bore you in a season.

Try to demo on a day w. some wind and chop. All kayaks are nice to paddle on calm days w. glassy water. You want to see how they feel when it's not.

Take a lesson or two - you get to try a boat or two for a good chunk of the day, and you get introduced to skills that'll aid your boat control regardless of what you buy.

As said, there are many boats for you to consider. Here are - in no particular order- some good all-rounder seakayaks 16 and up for beginners, fun boats that'll help you learn and stay fun after you do.

P&H Capella - diff lengths. you'll likely fit best in the 166 or 167. They come in both roto (even numbered models) and composite (odd numbered)
P&H Scorpio - the longer 17' one. (plastic version of Cetus)
P&H Cetus MV - the middlesize of the range - composite

Necky Chatham 16 or 17 - avail in roto or composite
Necky Elaho
Necky Looksha series

Hurricane Aquasports Tracer (thermoform)
Seaward Infiniti (the larger one)- thermoform
Nigel Foster Legend (built by Seaward in composite)
Eddyline Fathom, maybe the Fathom LV; Nighthawk 17 (thermoform)

Valley Skerray - roto or composite. No longer made but very
findable at great prices.
Valley Avocet - roto or composite
Valley Qajariaq (hard chine, composite)
Valley Aquanaut LV (roto or composite)

North Shore Shoreline - roto or composite
North Shore Atlantic - ditto

NDK Explorer (Composite)
NDK Romany Surf (plastic)

Impex CatForce 4 - composite only

Seda Ikkuma - composite

Wilderness Systems Tempest 165 or 170 (roto or plastic)
Dagger Magellan or Meridian (old school, discontinued, plastic)

Perception Essence (plastic)

Current Designs - Solstice GTS (composite) Gulfstream (composite), Sirocco (plastic version of Gulfstream). I would not suggest the Caribou for a beginner, tho it is a very fine boat.

There are also many "old school" models of a vintage that are no longer made but considered classic. Sometimes the designs are a bit dated but the boats are seaworthy. Just be sure to check condition esp in regard to bulkheads, floatation, coaming, etc. and that, if plastic, it's not too brittle w. age.

Seakayaks don't have to be 17 feet, or even 16 feet, to be seaworthy and exciting to paddle. In your size range check out the P&H Delphin, the Dagger Alchemy (the L version), Tampico 140L by Hurricane Aquasports,
the new Eddyline Samba, Impex Hatteras, Wildy Systems Zephyr 155 or 160.

This is just a sampling. Buy this year's 2010 Gear Guide from Canoe and Kayak mag, you'll see hundreds of makes and models listed. Then go w. what you have locally in the way of dealers.

Consider joining a paddler's club as people in them are generally very friendly about letting others demo their boats. They are often multi boat owners w. years of experience so tap into all of that.

Happy hunting

Being often the Contrarian, I cheerfully disagree with Katabatic about the Current Designs Caribou--it is a fine boat for just about anybody, beginner or not. Plus, I find the Caribou almost heart-stoppingly beautiful.

SM I cheerfully attest to the heartstopping beauty of the original Caribou. Disclaimer: I have the Suka, the smaller, slimmer, lower volume version, in my eyes breathtakingly beautiful also, so that's my declared bias.

Wouldn't recommend the Suka for beginners, either. On a few outfitter websites it's described as being for the "small, seasoned intermediate paddler".

The Caribou pre-2010 (the regular and S versions) is 21" wide, has a pronounced V hull in the forefoot, and the rest of the hull tapers all the way back in a V. It is a boat that requires some attention, it will not "take care of you" as other boats will.

A self-described beginner like the OP may be able to handle one if he has exceptional balance and mobility... most beginners, no, and that is not dissing anyone.

CD reworked the design considerably for 2010 as the 10 year license w. Barry Buchanan had just expired. Not anywhere near the same boat in both dimension and hull/deck design. The cockpit is larger, the deck higher, the deck profile quite different, and there is far less of a hard chine and V hull presentation along w. a flatter belly.



They also moved the cockpit back making it more fishform than cockpit neutral, like the original Caribous and the Suka. Fishform decks are generally more stable (Avocet, Romany, Capella and Explorer are good examples)

So paradoxically this new Caribou would make a good beginner boat so I'll agree w. you there.

One of my regular paddling partners has the older Caribou, and I've paddled it several times. Didn't notice any particular attention needed. Your experience with the Suka may not be an accurate guide to the behavior of the Caribou (you may have paddled a Caribou; if so, disregard this remark). I also (as the Contrarian) have found swedeform hulls to be just as stable as fishform; my partner with the Caribou thinks swedeform is more stable--so there you are. Just confirms my notion, often stated, that the boat is less important--by far--than the paddler's experience, mindset, skills, expectations......

JohnSmith,
Have you noticed the little flashing icon at "My Stuff" at the top of the page? Click it.

The OP is a self-described beginner so I offered some boat models accordingly.

SM, from what you have posted here, you doubtless have sufficient paddling experience and skills considerably beyond beginner level. And if someone is your "regular paddling partner" they are prolly similiar to you in those respects.

It's self evident that boat skills (developed over time) and personal traits like balance (either inherent and/or developed over time) are the X factors in determining which boats feel stable to which paddlers. So we could trade anecdotes all day on what feels like what to whom.

But if we look at the seakayaks (offered by guides, instructional schools and outfitters) you'll see few if any
hardchined, very Vhulled boats w. 21" beams offered to newbies. You'll see a lot more Avocets, Romanys, Capellas, Explorers,Scorpios, Tempests, and others from my list.

Thus my recommendations - not based on anecdotes but industry practice.

In any case the OP would be wise to demo a number of boats and pick one that initially feels just a little unstable, relying that in time he'll settle in and enjoy the liveliness of the boat rather than get bored w. it in a season, which was his concern. Perhaps the Caribou is such a boat, perhaps not.

One cannot be sure that the relative ratios of hard-chine to soft-chine or no-chine hulls in the guide/outfitter fleets does not represent (only) the relative ratios of such boats being offered to the public. Hard-chine kayaks are just not as easy to find as other hulls. But I've seen no evidence to indicate that hard-chine boats are less used because of any perceived lesser stability. The important thing is to get into a boat and start paddling--start the process of learning about sea kayaking, and about what part the boat plays in one's own kayaking evolution.

SM, I feel we are talking crosswise at each other.

The Caribou (original design) is not a good beginner's choice simply because it is a hard chine boat. Chine is but one factor in boat design and means very little taken in isolation in re stability or anything else. There are dozens of nerd posts on other boards devoted to arguing the merits of hard vs. soft chines as though they were some secret special sauce.

Pls. reread my posts in their full context. I did not state that hard chined boats are inherently unstable.

In fact, racing kayaks such as the Epics, T-bolts, etc are U hulls, with minimal chine. They are far less stable than most production seakayaks, hard or soft chined.

Just to restate- kayaks which are 21" beam or less, w. a pronounced V hull that continues past the forefoot of the boat well along the entire hull are frequently not stable enough for a beginner. Chine doesn't matter. Examples of such boats: Sultan Azul, Prijon Barracuda, Nordkapp and Nordkapp LV, P&H Bahia. And the original Caribou. There are hard and soft chines among them.

I never said hard chined boats were less used because of perceived lesser stability. If anything they have greater secondary stability as the chine provides a secondary plane.

Your statement about relative ratios of various chines in the guide/outfitter fleets not representing the relative ratios offered to the public has to do with what? The public buys plenty of niche boats from minor brands, they buy old boats no longer in production, etc.

There are probably over 500 production kayaks these days, of course guides/outfitter/schools would only offer a fraction of them.

I never posited such a relationship anyway.

Common logic says that outfitters/guides/instructional schools will offer confidence building boats for their clients/students so that they have a positive learning experience.
The boats that they offer would give a novice a starting point, and a reference point, for a good first seakayak.

Of course everyone should try the boat(s) they are considering as an intended purchase - be it their first or fifth boat. That's a non-sequitur.

Most people who pursue a skill will evolve in it.Another non-sequitur. But isn't it a good thing if one has a boat that's friendly to learning and more tolerant of the usual mistakes made in the process? There are plenty of fine seakayaks for sale barely used and cheap because someone got caught up in the hype and bought a boat that was too much for them.

The OP asked for some ideas for boats that wouldn't have him swimming frequently, yet not bore him in a short time. I gave him a list based on characteristics. You gave him a list based on what your local club has for sale. He can try whichever ones he wants and some more that aren't on either list.

Lists are just a starting point.

Really, it's becoming pointless to me whether or not the Caribou is on your "list" and not on my "list".

I guess if I were an unceasing shill for Current Designs like another poster is for "their brand" I would say the Caribou is the ideal boat for everything - light, strong, fast, tracks perfectly, turns like a sportscar and fits like a SUV. Perfect for everyone everywhere in all kinds of conditions. LMFAO.

K, take the day off and have a good, long paddle. I'll be going out tomorrow.