What is a good price for a Kayak and/or Canoe?

Question

I've really started to become interested in watersports as of late, but I have no previous experience with them. With that said, I've been speculating about getting either a canoe or kayak, but I do not know what is an appropriate price range for either. I would prefer not to get ripped off.

Also, I know, like all things, quality can affect price, but is there really that much of a difference when it comes to quality with these products? Thanks! 8-)

Answer 1

You should be able to get a new one in 300-350 dollar range. Someone tried to sell my son a used one for that amount. What if it had a small hole or something? Do you have Gander Mountain stores nearby? They have good ones

Answer 2

Huge difference.   Think of it like cars... is there really a difference between a Kia Rio and a Porsche 911?  You bet there is.   Which one would you rather drive?  

There are 3 kayaks in my family, and 2 canoes.

See if you see the difference between 2 of the kayaks:

http://kayaker.com/new/products/boat.asp...

and

http://www.qcckayaks.com/kayaks/model.as...

Top boat is called a "recreational" kayak, made of plastic. It weighs 58 pounds.  Huge cockpit, wide, stable; it's made for inland lakes, slow moving rivers, and is a great beginner's boat.   It's 13 1/2 feet long, and 27" wide, and it only has 1 sealed storage compartment, which means if you capsize, the whole front end of the boat will get VERY heavy and full of water.  It's relatively slow, but fun for a lazy day paddle or float trip.  It's not for open ocean at all, and not for whitewater.

The bottom boat is a performance sea kayak, and is made of kevlar with a gel coat overlay. It weighs 47 pounds. It's got two massive storage compartments that are water tight, one at each end of the boat.  If this boat flips, you can right it, and get yourself back in.   The two end compartments keep it at the surface of the water.  This boat is 16 1/2 feet long and 23" wide.  It's fast, and very efficient - you can use a boat like this for cardio workouts, and I regularly leave other boats in the dust.  It's carrying capacity (with the hatches) allows me to go camping for a week or more at a time.  The cockpit is smaller, so that you can wear a spray skirt on it to keep large splashes / waves from filling the cockpit, because of this, this boat is ocean friendly, as well as large lake or river (think Lake Michigan or the Mississippi). Not for whitewater.

I bought both boats new, the Perception was $550.00 on sale; it's now discontinued, and probably available for $300.00 used.   The second boat was around $2700.00.  Materials, construction, hull design, and outfitting all have a big influence on the boat cost.  

Same thing goes for canoes.  You can get a plastic canoe at d**k's sporting goods, it will float, it's really stable, weighs a ton, and you can probably stand up and walk around in it because it's so barge-like.  You can also get a canoe that is made of a kevlar or royalex lay-up, it's more responsive to your paddle strokes, is light and easy to transport, and is more fun to paddle.

Just based on materials of a boat alone: what are you more likely to put on the car and go to the water with - the 95 pound barge or a 50# lay-up?  

Please note:  there are plenty of great low-priced boats.  Just picking out the recreational kayak I bought - I test paddled 6 different models in that price range, and had a really hard time getting many of them to turn - I felt like I was lost on an ice berg and couldn't control them.  There are lower priced boats that will work better for your size / weight, and there are some that you'll hate.   The best way to figure out what you want is to test paddle a boat at a dealer, or try renting a variety of boats before buying.  See what works for you.   The problem with big box stores like d**k's or Gander Mountain is that they carry only 1 or two brands of paddle craft, they carry the lower end models, and there's nowhere to test paddle them.

Check out the links below, there's so much info to read up on - paddling is really fun - but unfortunately many people buy the cheapest boat they can find without ever test paddling it, and because of the boat they've selected, end up hating paddling, and don't realize why.  

Good luck!