Purchasing a Kayak or Canoe

Question

Does anyone know the cheapest way to find one? I've never owned one before but I certainly don't want to pay $1000-$5000 for one, such as those I've seen on the internet.

Answer 1

the first thing you have to answer is, how often will you be out on the water with two or three people?  If the answer is always, then by all means buy a canoe.  Be careful, and test every boat you are interested in first.  Most canoes are very unstable.

The secon thing you have to address is mutiny, I wanna fish, I wanna see the eagle, and my favorite...the kid tips you all in the water for fun...haha.  We all know our friends and family, and if mutiny is going to be an issue then I suggest sit on top kayaks.  There are again very few truely stable boats.  My favorites are Emotion Kayaks.  The Emotion Chrarger is only 300 dollars (you can buy 3 for the price of one canoe) and is great at turning and fun in small rivers and lakes.   The Emotion Exhilarator is super stable and fast(500.00).  Hobie is always great...more money though.

The best place I have found to purchase kayaks and canoes are at Cabellas.  great prices. but the sales staff is not so great so find out what you want and tell them!  Cabellas has a terrible side.  NO TESTING OR RETURNS FOR CASH BACK!  So find a dealer who will let you test first!!!

If you plan on going into extencive training, skirted kayaks are a blast.  But plan on at least 6 months of training.

I hope this helps.

Answer 2

Go to Craig's List.  keep looking under boats, search for kayak or canoe in the general for sale list this will also pick up those not listed under boats.  If you have never owned one before, start with a good used one, if you end up not liking it, you should be able to get all of your money bach when you put it back on craig's list.

I purchased my Old Towne tandem kayak there.  Not for sail.  I will include the link for Craig's List, just go to the area that is nearest to you.

http://portland.craigslist.org/

Enjoy the kayak or canoe.

Answer 3

Tupperware is your friend, for canoes or kayaks. Brand new canoes and kayaks made of flexible plastic (Coleman used to call the material Ram-X, I don't know the actual name of the plastic) can be had for around $300, and they are indestructible and require zero maintenance. You can literally leave them baking in the sun for decades without damaging them, other than fading the color. This also means that you can get a used one on Craig's List or wherever with confidence that however ugly the boat might be (and it might be ugly!), it's still perfectly functional. And, if you have rocky, barnacly beaches like we do here, "higher quality" hull materials will be shredded while your tupperware canoe or kayak keeps on keepin' on.

An aside, simply because the manufacturers who make said canoes and kayaks (Coleman is now Pelican, and Perception also makes great boats) also make these, given that you're undecided between a canoe and a kayak, give consideration to an umiak. It's traditionally (as  in Tlingit or Inuit "traditionally") a woman's boat, because only men were supposed to use kayaks, but of course women needed to carry a lot more gear with them. Not being of Tlingit or Inuit descent myself, I'm quite comfortable in my masculinity paddling around in one. Here's a picture of one version of an umiak, many have just one seat and lots of cargo space. And they're not usually called "umiaks" in the catalogs.

You won't win races with any of these boats, and some "serious" kayakers may snub you. I'll bet you're over it already!  ;)

http://www.pelicansport.com/index.php?la...

EDIT: During the time it took me to type that, Thor posted that leaving tupperware canoes in the sun WILL cause them to become brittle. I have never seen this, but I live in Seattle where we don't get a lot of sun. If you live in a sunny place, go with Thor's answer!

Answer 4

I did a search and found this site with an interesting article on the different types of kayaks and they also are sold on this site for much less than $1000.00

Answer 5

Any sporting goods stores around that rent equipment out?   They usually sell their rentals at the end of the season real cheap.    Get a plastic one too; their cheaper and you can run up on rocks, drop them, generally abuse them without too much damage.   Store them out of the sun though or they will become brittle and break into many pieces if you bump them too hard.