Paddling my own canoe

[blackbeard]

Current (nominally April) issue of YM, page 66, "Cruising with Kayaks" suggests that these make better and cheaper tenders than the rubber-duck+outboard. So:
a. Has anyone else tried this, and are they a practical replacement for the normal dinghy, or just a useful extra?
b. The article describes folding kayaks but inflatable ones are much cheaper and perhaps also easier to stow. I'm told that they (the better and more robust ones, anyway) are perfectly adequate as canoes - is this so?
c. Are kayaks any better than dinghies with a choppy sea and a stiff breeze? I must admit, rowing a rubber dinghy with its toy oars into a fresh headwind does expose its limitations.
I imagine there is a certain satisfaction to be gained by taking a kayak up-river from Yarmouth IOW, or Helford, or ...

 

[Lakesailor]

Once thought of this, but the logistics of getting in and out when transferring to the boat in a chop certainly put me off.

 

[vyv_cox]

We canoed extensively for many years before going seriously into sailing. We carry two inflatable kayaks on board, in addition to an inflatable tender. However, they are used solely as recreational toys. There is absolutely no way that I would use one seriously as a tender.
- In the first place, boarding/disembarking from a yacht would be seriously tricky on flat water, never mind in a bit of chop.
- The least desirable property of a tender must surely be that it is liable to capsize.
- Assembling a folding single Klepper on land is quite a job, so I cannot imagine what assembling a double on my foredeck would be like.
- And as for cost, the double Klepper they show costs £2500!

 

[Aeolus]

I've got one and it works fine. A bit of a knack to get into and out of, both at the boat and the landing but very easy to manouver, you're facing the direction of travel, and you go faster than a rowed dinghy. The one I've got is a Sevylor KCC335 two seater which is quite wide and surprisingly stable.

I've been in choppy water and it was fine. A strong wind would probably affect it as much as a dinghy since it doesn't have much of an underwater profile.

Jonathan

 

[PeteCooper]

I've used a Sprey(sp?) single seater and it works fine. It seems quite heavy to paddle but is reasonably stable. It is harder to get into than a rubber dinghy.

 

[Searush]

With a GRP single seater kayak & spraydeck, you can get in it on the foredeck & then slide over the side in a seal launch - if the guard rails don't slice off your head & providing you are able to roll upright again when you capsize.

I may try that this year. But for getting SWMBO, kids & a week's groceries & clothes on board without soaking them - FORGET IT!

 

[damo]

That's what I use as a matter of course - unless transferring baggage I find it much quicker and easier than a tender. A lightweight spray deck helps.

Getting in and out would be a problem with a high freeboard, but I can reach the toerail quite easily (easier and safer than using a stern ladder) then stand up and sit on the deck. It takes a bit of timing if there is a swell, and I drop the lifelines next to the cockpit (quick release clips).

The kayaks are stored inside the lifelines - even on a Corribee you can get 2 on OK - just remember that the green one goes on the right, and the red one on the left /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Even my 70 yr old aged mother managed it, canoeing for the first time to go ashore on Lundy /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif