Inflatable kayak - a way to get about in a marina

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Jamesuk

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I visited the boat show and saw a few companies selling inflatable kayaks but before making any decision to buy one (2 person) I wondered if any of you have used them and which to recommend.

Bottom line... It must be able to fit in a bag. I have access to an electric pump :-)
 
I don't think marinas like kayaks. I have been shouted at twice for daring to paddle into them with a small group of friends. A local harboubormaster does his best to make kayaks unwelcome despite requests by the local chapter of the BCU to enable launching from the harbour - all this in a facility funded by local/EU money and where boats rarely move from their pontoons. Buying a kayak to get around a marina might put you into the not welcome category. I should say that I paddle in howling wind so coping with a marina would not test my skill set.
 
I've had a rather expensive Folbot Aleut folding kayak, a couple of cheap Sevylor Tahiti inflatable kayaks, and some other cheap inflatable thing that had pockets for plastic pipes to form stiff ribs. All of them worked okay as long as the water was flat and there was no wind. In any kind of chop, they were difficult to keep on course. In any strength of wind, they tended to turn sideways. The Folbot had a rudder, but still suffered from the same directional stability problem. I've had much better luck with roto molded sea kayaks.
 
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getting in & out of a kayak from a high freeboard boat is almost impossible, even from the marina pontoon you will need to understand the tricks or be a good swimmer.

Also, once in the water, how will you get out onto a pontoon - this is worth thinking about in any case as a trip or slip at night can leave one slowly dying of hypothermia holding onto a pontoon with no way of getting out of the water. Try it sometime on a warm day with someone on hand to help you & then speak to the marina management about a few pontoon ladders in handy spots.
 
The roto molded sea kayak in my avatar would be unsuitable for use as a tender. It is difficult to get in and out alongside a dock, and it has only two small compartments inside the hull for cargo, plus a small amount of deck space with elastic tie downs. It is also very difficult to launch off a beach if there is any wave action or current. The trick is to get it oriented in the proper direction in knee deep water, and then jump in before it turns sideways. Once underway, it is a great boat for covering distances.

perception_carolina_14_1.jpg


I have another roto molded sea kayak that I use much more often. It is shorter, has a large open cockpit that is easy to get into, and has generous cargo space behind the seat. It doesn't have a rudder, but the directional stability is adequate. I believe it would make a great dinghy for a single-hander.

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I like sit-in sea kayaks much better than sit-on-tops. The sit-on-tops tend to be wider and flatter to provide added stability to compensate for the higher center of gravity of the paddler, which doesn't help their speed or directional stability. Also, the bottom of my pants always get wet when using a sit-on-top, even if I put plugs in the drain holes.

As stated in a previous post, I've tried inflatable and collapsible kayaks, and found them useless in any amount of wind and waves.
 
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Searush said:
getting in & out of a kayak from a high freeboard boat is almost impossible, even from the marina pontoon you will need to understand the tricks or be a good swimmer.

Also, once in the water, how will you get out onto a pontoon - this is worth thinking about in any case as a trip or slip at night can leave one slowly dying of hypothermia holding onto a pontoon with no way of getting out of the water. Try it sometime on a warm day with someone on hand to help you & then speak to the marina management about a few pontoon ladders in handy spots.
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Learnt to row on a single scull on a river, if you can get in and out of one of those with out going in then an inflatablel kayak is easy :-)

As for the wind and tide, no problem sounds like good exercise correcting.
As for the marna... Never a problem if you are on board a yacht in the marina.
 
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We have four kayaks, two rigid and two inflatable; my favorite is the ZPro Tango inflatable three man kayak; not cheap but very good. I wouldn't like to have to inflate it and deflate every day; but it is very stable, roomy and a lot of fun.
 
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