Taking a Kayak/Canoe Travelling Forums

Rightz

Having used one as a child and loving it I considering looking into getting one when travelling europe in my motorhome.

Question is, is this a good idea?

First theres the storage

- on the roof (problems with height, wind, theft)
- in the van (obvious space issue)

(and done forget about the paddles)

Then weight - would this make a difference?

I could always get a blow up one.

Does anyone have experience of this?

Many thanks

Stapeler

We have an inflatable Neva lll which I purchased on Ebay, Approx £80. It's 8-9 feet when inflated, deflated it's about 20" x 20" x 15" (ish). Weighs approx 20kgs. Excellent for rivers/lakes and can accomidate 2adults & 2 childres. I bought an couple of oars from Lidl, a few lifejackets and a rechargable inflator. We tend to leave it packed in the boot.

peejay

Hi Rightz;

I would say 'inflatable' is the way to go. We have had a double one (Helios 380) for several years now and take it with us virtually everywhere we go in the summer months. Storage wise it packs down to large rucksack size which we store in the garage, but with our previous van which had no exterior storage we used to bung it on the roof with no problems along with the paddles.
Expect to pay £150+ for a single and £300+ for a double for a decent quality 'proper' inflatable.
I would say the best ones are Sevylor, Stearns and Helios/Gumotex.

pete

marionandrob

Likewise

we have a Sevylor Colorado 2 person inflatable that we bought at the NEC show 18 months ago, they are brilliant fun, just make sure you dry them properly before packing them away.
We found the footpump supplied with the kayak not much use so obtained a cylinder one that pumps on both the up and down stroke on e-bay ( put the hose on the other connector it also deflates the kayak as quickly).
I think we paid about £320 for ours with a couple of double ended paddles and a hank of nylon line for mooring lines.

have fun

zaskar

We had a Sevylor a few years ago but HAD to get rid of it before SWMBO issued divorce proceedings!!!! Very Happy

The dammed thing was a nightmare and we could never keep it online. Also, although the bow looked pointed, the lower part of the bow that was in the water was actually curved and so it used to "snow plough" the water in front of it building up a heck of a bow wave and inducing massive drag. It was shear hard work and took the enjoyment out of it for us.
As I said, this was a few years ago and I'd be interested to know if Sevylor have improved the design on later models cos I really would like one again. I'd also like to know if the Helios suffers from a similar design fault or if its a lot more "aqua-dynamic".

peejay

Hi Zaskar;

Its all in the paddle action, my Helios steers beautifully and keeps a lovely straight line, cutting through the water with no probs.
I haven't actually used one but the Sevylor is one of the best selling quailty inflatables on the market, haven't heard of anyone else having problems with them - no offence, but perhaps you were doing it wrong Rolling Eyes

pete

zaskar

delboy42

I have an inflatable kayak , its a sit on top jobby with a paddle that comes apart for storage . Its great as i can leave it in the van all the time and its great on a nice day at the beach to mess about in the surf with ,it is quite light to carry and inflates very quickly . Cost £60 on ebay
Delboy

RichardnGill

Thanks for the links as I too have been looking into getting Kayak but know nothing at all about them. The inflatable option looks to be the best bet for M/H use but are they safe?
Will one be ok for me and my 12 year old daughter? (aprox 21 stone combined weight)

I think the Sevylor Colorado or similar would be my best option.

One more question, can you just put one of these in to any lake in the lake district and have a paddle about,or do you need a licence?

Richard...