Recommend me a Kayak!

Questions new members commonly ask e.g. Which kayak should I buy?
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laneends
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Re: Recommend me a Kayak!

Post by laneends »

If you unpack the kayak at waters edge, carry your gear to the box, then pull the yak then the smaller ones you could drag, but preferably not the PA. The sport you could carry.

If using a trolley then you need beach wheels. Regular wheels in soft sand would be harder than dragging an empty yak.
logoderm
Apprentice
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Joined: 10 Oct 2014, 21:00
kayak: Hobie Compass
Real Name: Martin

Re: Recommend me a Kayak!

Post by logoderm »

Wow - thanks for all the great advice guys. You really are a fantastic supportive community!

Lots to consider. I think it’s best for me to go down to SLH Hobie to have a closer look at each model and preferably try them all out when they have Demo days.

I will also have a look at other brands such as a native watercraft as kindly suggested by Bluesmartyboy.

Thank you all!
peatop
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kayak: dune PA14
Real Name: Peter
Location: Clifton springs

Re: Recommend me a Kayak!

Post by peatop »

If the beach wheels aren't within your budget you can always follow some of the diy ones, from that thread section, the popular wheels seem to be the kmart green machine wheels with a few layers of yoga matt foam glued around them, the bigger the diameter the easier the yak is to pull.
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Bluesmartyboy
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Joined: 01 Jan 2019, 18:32
kayak: Native Watercraft Titan
Real Name: Mark
Location: Tarneit

Re: Recommend me a Kayak!

Post by Bluesmartyboy »

logoderm wrote:Wow - thanks for all the great advice guys. You really are a fantastic supportive community!

Lots to consider. I think it’s best for me to go down to SLH Hobie to have a closer look at each model and preferably try them all out when they have Demo days.

I will also have a look at other brands such as a native watercraft as kindly suggested by Bluesmartyboy.

Thank you all!
Capacity Watersports on Cochranes road in Morrabin are the Aussie distributors for native...

They will hire you out a yak for you to try and then take the rental price off the total if you buy !
logoderm
Apprentice
Posts: 32
Joined: 10 Oct 2014, 21:00
kayak: Hobie Compass
Real Name: Martin

Re: Recommend me a Kayak!

Post by logoderm »

Hi All,

I ended up buying a second hand Hobie Compass in great condition with a set of Trax beach wheels. I settled on that in the end as it is lighter and easier to handle than the PA12 or Outback and appears to have pretty good primary and secondary stability as well.

Looking forward to trying it out in PPB.

Thanks for all the advice.
Jacko
Lord of the fish
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Joined: 24 Apr 2013, 21:23
kayak: Hobie Outback
Real Name: Robert
Location: East Doncaster

Re: Recommend me a Kayak!

Post by Jacko »

Congrats on your purchase.
I bought a 2nd hand 2010 outback off a VYaker as my first yak in about 2013.
I upgraded to a new one when the new seats and sounder mount in 2017.
If the compass was available when I upgraded I probably would have considered it as they are a bit lighter than the outback.

Enjoy your kayak and be safe on the water.
Post where & when you are launching on the VYAK Fishing trips threads, you may find other VYAKers are launching and fishing not far from your beach box and you can learn from them what works and will suit you with mounting, storing, layout of gear etc.
logoderm
Apprentice
Posts: 32
Joined: 10 Oct 2014, 21:00
kayak: Hobie Compass
Real Name: Martin

Re: Recommend me a Kayak!

Post by logoderm »

Jacko wrote:Congrats on your purchase.
I bought a 2nd hand 2010 outback off a VYaker as my first yak in about 2013.
I upgraded to a new one when the new seats and sounder mount in 2017.
If the compass was available when I upgraded I probably would have considered it as they are a bit lighter than the outback.

Enjoy your kayak and be safe on the water.
Post where & when you are launching on the VYAK Fishing trips threads, you may find other VYAKers are launching and fishing not far from your beach box and you can learn from them what works and will suit you with mounting, storing, layout of gear etc.
Thanks Jacko. Yes I will be storing the Compass at home for the next few months and car topping it to different places whilst I learn how to use it. Being lighter than an Outback will help me load it on to the roof.

I will definitely post if I plan to go out sometime and hopefully there will be some other VYAKers to show me the ropes and give me some advice.
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