Hello! I am new to this forum, and I will introduce myself with an apology for the inane subject matter of this message.

I am a plus-sized woman, but I am more active and sporty than most people expect. Last July, I tried sea kayaking for the first time, and I loved it! Fortunately, the touring company I used had "sit-on-top" kayaks, so I did not have to worry about squeezing my shapely hips into a traditional kayak. I have really wanted to do more kayaking, but I'm afraid of embarassing myself when it's time to get outfitted.

To make a long story longer: Is there a standard size for most kayak openings? If so, what is it? Do experienced kayakers look down their noses at people who have "sit-on-top" kayaks?

For those of you who would tell me not to worry what other people think, thank you for your kindness. For those of you who would tell me to lose weight, I appreciate your advice, but it is not going to help me at the moment. I leave for New Zealand in two weeks.

Again, a trite thing to worry about in this mixed up world, but any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Lady Grey

Of course there are plus sized kayaks with larger cockpits, but even so, there are limits. The simple answer is to visit some kayak shops and try on some boats on the floor. If you can't get in and out of them on the floor, or ground, you're probably going to have a real problem in the water.

The sit on top might be your answer and who cares if some folks aren't all right with that. You'll soon find out that there are as many different kinds of paddlers as there are different kinds of Kayaks.

Depends on if it is more of a touring boat (sea kayak), transitional boat, or a recreational boat. That is the was Current design splits them up as do others. Good dealer can steer you to the proper boat and fit. I would hit a few different dealers and compare their advice and product lines. Each boat is different and there are many out their.

My boat is a Current Design Solstice and I am about 215 and 6'. I bought it used and had to swap the base seat to a wide base seat for comfort when moving my hips to get rotation. When you sit in a boat it may be comfortable but it is after using it a while say 30 plus minutes you may find it uncomfortable with proper hip rotation for a better stroke.

My Solstice cockpit is 16" x 32" and it fits me nicely. I bought a CD Extreme used and will swap the seat out to wide base and it is 15.5" and just under 30". The CD Titan has a cockpit of 18" x 34" and that would fit a guy of 300 lb. I would guess. Their is no standard size kayak just as their is no standard size person. The kayak companies want everyone in a boat so there is something for 99.5% of the population.

Transitional and rec boats tend to have larger cockpits to make it comfortable for people renting or just starting out. I think some may panic about a tight cockpit and escaping. Instinct will get 99% of the people out of the boat.

Good thing is paddling made me lose some weight along with thinking before I eat crap. It also tightened up my stomach muscle a bit. Good work out and tons of fun to boot.

Poke around in here as the dimensions are listed.

I bought two sit on tops last year then the Solstice and Extreme. I think even though they require more energy to go X miles they will still be fun. If friends come over they can use them to try paddling. They will be fun on those hotter days where I like to drop my legs in the water and play.

As far as looking down on a SOT kayak if someone does that you are better not knowing them anyway. I wish I knew how many different kayak there are out there it seems like thousands. SOT is usually wider for more stability and that makes it more energy dependent than a true sea kayak.

That said I want my honey to get a composite sea kayak to go with me next year because when you paddle with SOT and a sea kayak the speed difference becomes a problem. I use so little effort to paddle while she struggles to keep up. When we both go out in the SOT it is more fun as I am not crawling with my paddling and she does good and we can cruise together.

The subject matter if fine also as nobody here was born in a kayak paddling. I did enjoy reading about 8 kayaking books recently. I also bought about 9 videos all which help my knowledge even though I started July 6th of the past year. I just bought Edith a Sea Kayaking for women book by Shelly Johnson. It is available in the store on this Sea Kayaker home page. Just got it yesterday so I have not looked at it. I did purchase her regular Sea Kayaking book and it was great also. I didn't get bored reading all the different books as they all seemed to stress different areas more.

If possible rent a few different kayaks for at least an hour each to gauge if you are comfortable and enjoy the handling of the boat.

Enjoy your trip to New Zealand.

Typical cockpit size is 800 mm long by 400 - 460 mm (16 - 18 inches) wide for Q-kayaks Penguin, Shearwater and Skua, the first two being common rental kayaks though there are others, possibly with wider cockpits.

Not sure who rents out SOTs in NZ.

We have a neighbour at our holiday home who's wife has a Penguin and the only time he tried it he fell in and I had to do a rescue. He bought a SOT, a short one and has since got a longer one with about as long a waterline as his wife's kayak. Yes, he is "heavy".

So, having said you are broad(?) just how much beam, height and weight? Incidentally when I designed my partner's kayak I ran a ruler over her, a rough weight check and told her to "Cut along the 'dotted' line." She is a little heavier than me but as I'm 6 foot and about 150 lb, most people are heavier than me.

Secondly, your trip to New Zealand - for how long? There is our training weekend 12-13 February (near Christchurch) but expect you will miss that but you can look at -

http://www.sportsground.co.nz/canterburyseakayak

and our national forum in April -

http://www.kask.org.nz/events

in the Marlborough Sounds.

Alex

Thanks, magooch! I'll bite the bullet--and take along a shoe horn!!

So much good information, DogPaddle. Thanks a bunch. I'd love to go out with my "honey." Sounds like a bit of paradise.

Cheers again, Alex. I don't leave the US until the 13th, so I'll miss the training weekend. I'll be in New Zealand for four to six weeks--basically until I run out of money. (I'm "between jobs" at the moment.)

Oh, and there's no chance I'm going to tell you how "broad" I am:-) I'm going to have to suck it up, go to the dealers and try some cockpits on for size . . .

One of the Q boat range to try would be the shearwater ,same hull as the penguin but with a rounded deck which allows more room in the cockpit . Another boat is the Eco behsig ,it has a big cockpit and is a great boat, fast and can pack some gear in it.It was designed by a kiwi and should be common in NZ.A good mate of mine got 30th in the long plastic section of the avon descent a few years ago (includes long plastic skis etc) and he is a big boy,correction ,was a big boy,6 foot 6 and 130 kls ,but since paddling ,the weight has melted off him. Manufactured by Perception kayaks.

The Shearwater is a Penguin (as Wavehog said) but with altered deck to give more room in the cockpit. Visually it looks to be the other way round. Both are 4.8 metres long, relatively short. The Eco is a big boat and I'd suggest that's the one to look for in NZ for a large paddler. Other NZ kayaks - the Seabear by Paddling Perfection also takes (needs) a lot of weight. I would never recommend it for anyone under 100 kg. The Beachcomber by Barracuda is a VERY light kayak, same length as the Penguin but has far too much rocker so will actually NEED weight to get it down into the water. In wind it just skids sideways when I paddle it.

Cockpit sizes are another thing altogether, you could look them up on the web.

Alex

Wondering about rental,purchase or both? Call ahead if you are renting on vacation to see what is available.

More great tips. Thanks, guys!