Occasional inflatable Kayak use - L-Jacket or buoyancy aid

[oldmanofthehills]

Bouyancy aid. An auto inflatable life jacket is impossible to swim in and a manual-inflatable one gives zero protection if the wearer is stunned.

All kayaking or canoeing should be done buddy-buddy same as scuba. I'm not saying I have always obeyed that however. But you have to assume you might need to swim at some point. Wash can tip you and corrective strokes that seem easy in the training pool can be muffed when needed in anger.

Sounds fun done right though

 

[solent clown]

If not you could always invest in an inflatable with a sail . They might be just the thing for a trip along the Hamble.
Have you found any useful guides for exploring the Hamble by Seyvlor as I'm sure the must be a lot of places under that bridge where only mobo can go which might be interesting?

It used to be possible to get all the way up to Botley and the old slip. I have no idea if you still can. there is a pontoon upriver of the bridges accessible from the country park. Probably not supposed to use it, but it is there...

 

[solent clown]

Our huge tandem grp kayak is about 18ft long, has lockers front and rear, and beer can holders. It came from old stock of a Polish company specialising in hunting shooting fishing trips. It is stable, enormous, and too much for us to drag around nowadays so never gets used any more. We have been looking at inflatables too so please do feed back on your experiences

 

[TheEcho]

The fancy buoyancy aids with pockets on the chest will make it harder to remount an inflatable if you fall in. It will not be a problem if you are strong, have good technique and a mate to hold the kayak still, but if not, the ones with a smooth front will make it easier to get the upper body out of the water and onto the kayak.