Kayaking type gift suggestions?

The ball and chain has taken up kayaking as a hobby. So far, she's just been renting one but has indicated that she likes this enough to buy one of her own, so she's borrowing/renting different ones to see which length and type she likes best. At this point, she's not interested in ocean kayaking but rather the local streams, lakes etc. and maybe some of the mountain stuff. Me, I'd probably do the mountain stuff (adrenaline, baby!) but paddling around a lake for 3 hours would drive me batE36 M3.

Christmas is coming up and I'd like to get her something kayak-ish. I know -zip- about this whole thing, so I could use a little guidance. Any idears out there?

gift card to REI, Let her pick out what she wants? dunno, I am bad at that whole gifting thing.

Lessons on how to roll. They're typically held in pools over the winter, and it's a good skill to have.

A nice adjustable paddle. I really do like mine. I'll click the blades around to different positions to change the stress on my wrists.

Waterproof stuff sack. Darn handy for keeping things dry. Some are even pretty (girl like patterns and all).

A kayak tote. Sorta like a busted up grocery cart you put the kayak on to lug down to the pond.

Roof rack. Bonus points for a kayak saddle on it.

Semi-serious note, weren't you two busting up the marriage a few months ago? I take it you two have things working?

Yeah, things were pretty rocky a little while back. Let me just say that anti depressants are the spawn of Satan. Eli Lilly and Co can kiss my ass. Part of agreeing to stick it out was that she needed a hobby instead of those damn things and this seems to be it.

Lots of good suggestions, keep 'em coming!

Jensenman wrote: Yeah, things were pretty rocky a little while back. Let me just say that anti depressants are the spawn of Satan.

No kidding! They have caused the one big point of contention between my girlfriend and me.

If it caused the particular side effect I'm thinking of I completely feel your pain man.

So, does this mean she has been comfortably weened off of them? I've tried to suggest that idea to my g/f, to at least give it a try. But she's been on them so long and is so used to them she's worried about what might happen.

I like the stuff sack idea, they're handy. A nice girl-friendly PFD would also be good.

My concern about the paddle would be depending on what sort of paddling she settles on. I'm reading "mountain stuff" as whitewater, which requires a different kind of paddle than a touring/lake setup. Some stuff is common to all types of kayaking, some is a little more specialized.

for as much as a regular kayak, you could get a kit for a kick ass wood one and put it together together. seriously, they are gorgeous.
http://www.clcboats.com/shop/boats/kayaks/rec_kayaks/CLC-WOODDUCK-12HY.html

Salanis wrote:

Jensenman wrote: Yeah, things were pretty rocky a little while back. Let me just say that anti depressants are the spawn of Satan.

No kidding! They have caused the one big point of contention between my girlfriend and me. If it caused the particular side effect I'm thinking of I completely feel your pain man. So, does this mean she has been comfortably weened off of them? I've tried to suggest that idea to my g/f, to at least give it a try. But she's been on them so long and is so used to them she's worried about what might happen.

Yes, there are some serious side effects for those things over and above the one I believe we are thinking of. She's pretty much off of them now and the, for lack of a better term, withdrawal was really pretty mild.

A little gift you could tack on would be a waterproof electronics bag.

I looked at a couple of the wooden kayaks and yes they are beautiful! I dunno how my metal fab 'skills' (ha!) would transfer to wood so I am a bit leery of tackling a project of that magnitude.

She's found a used 13 foot (IIRC) carbon fiber boat (30 pounds!) for $1200.00 which is a screaming deal but still a lot of $$. She's not sure either of us should plow that much into a kayak right now, so she's thinking of getting a rental or demo boat. If this takes off big time, I might look into one for my corpulent bulk as well, more for mountain/whitewater use.

A waterproof stuff sack might be under the Xmas tree this year and quite possibly an adjustable paddle. She's got a small trailer for the Accord so transport is handled.

Dry Bags (stuff sacks), lessons , roof racks all good ideas. If you are going to paddle "white water" you want a paddle with "feathered" blades ( blades set at 90 degrees to one another). The adjustable paddles are fine on a lake but are not strong enough for white water. They do make good back up paddles. A good comfortable vest, skirt, paddling gloves and shoes are also good things to have

she interested in a guided trip?

A guy who is married to one of megs coworkers is a kayak guide.. or atleast he was before he became a jeweler then now a teacher..

but he'd probably go out.. Super nice guy.

A 13" carbon boat? I'm having trouble figuring what that is, maybe a slalom racer? Watch for those, they're not friendly to beginners in whitewater with nice sharp edges. And they're not really suited for splashing around a lake.

There are loads of boats on Craigslist. Many people get the latest hot playboat every year, so you can get some great deals on used equipment. Touring boats not so much, but they're out there. I saw a nice Dagger Redline with a full set of gear for $400 locally, that's an excellent beginner/intermediate whitewater boat that can even be used when you're not surrounded by foaming water. It'll do spins, but if you want cartwheels it's probably time for something smaller

Don't the touring guys use feathered paddles as well? I know they tend to be longer with smaller blades, which gives you less torque and acceleration but nice cruising speed. I can tell you that it would be tough to find a touring paddle that puts up with what my paddles have swallowed.

I haven't seen the CF boat, but yeah it's probably a real high performance boat which would trade straight line stability for speed and maneuverability. She is thinking more of a molded plastic touring boat as well, at least for right now and is pretty much sticking with the 12 to 14 foot range, that seems to be a pretty good balance between stability, speed and maneuverability in some of the creeks around here.

About paddles: as I say, I know -zip- about this stuff. Are there different lengths depending on height, boat length, etc?

I'll probably get her a Pelican case for the cellphone etc also. The one for my MotoCam is a real nice piece, good quality and well sealed.

ignorant, she's gone on three guided tours so far and has had a ball!

Paddle selection tends to depend on intended use, not necessarily the boat it's being used in (on?). Although intended use tends to inform the type of boat being used as well :)

I'd recommend stopping by your local kayak shop and spending time chatting. They don't tend to be high-pressure places, but staffed by people who love the sport and really know their stuff. This probably isn't the case at a big box sporting store that carries camo kayaks between the guns and the home gyms, of course. But a good local should know more about the sort of water you're going to see (to me, "creeks" involves nutbars bouncing off rocks as they try not to eat a tree when they go over a waterfall) and should be able to make informed suggestions for boats and paddles.

The nice thing about the dry bags and the Pelican case is that you don't need a kayak to use them.You can take them on your guided trips as well.

If you two are even vaguely interested in building one yourselves, then do it. I build the Chesapeake Light Craft MillCreek kayak with my own two hands. I had nearly zero woodworking experience prior to taking it on. Just a set of plans. I'm right proud of that little boat.

BUT... it's a lot of work. If you/she wants to go paddling now, don't try building one yourself. Hold that thought for later.

Just a few observations:

Paddles are kind of a personal choice. Let her pick out her own.

CLC wooden kayaks are absolutely stunning, but the build process is probably 1000 times more involved than you would imagine. I have assisted with two builds and have the plans for a third. Plan on dedicating many months (6 or more) to the project, as well as an area at least the size of a garage bay. Anything nearby will eventually be covered with dust or epoxy. I also built a Locost, and that may have been less stressful. The fact that I am obsessive when it comes to details may be clouding my opinion here, but this may not be a good "couple's" project.

For a first kayak, skip the carbon fiber, fiberglass and wooden boats and get a plastic one. The others are a lot prettier, but the plastic ones are made from recycled milk bottles and they are incredibly durable. If you scrape it on the rocks, take a razor blade and smooth out the gouge. If you dent it, leave it out in the sun and dent will usually pop right out. You will never need to make significant repairs to a plastic kayak.

I delayed my start in kayaking by several years because I was stubborn and wanted a beautiful fiberglass sea kayak. I should have been enjoying myself in a plastic boat instead.

Get her a gift certificate for for gear like a partial wetsuit, gloves, gel seat, rack or offer to buy her the paddle of her choice.

Make sure she demos the exact boat she's thinking about before she buys.

take her to the east coast canoe and kayak fest at JI county park.

she can demo like a billion boats there and pick a nice one, as long with take classes etc.

http://www.ccprc.com/index.asp?NID=472

From the sounds of it she is still feeling out what kind of kayaking she is interested in.

Perhaps getting her on a guided tour or some lessons would be a good way for her to figure out what kind of kayaker she is. Most kayakers seem to be either tourers (lakes ocean) or adrenaline junkies(whitewater, surf).

Your local kayak shop should be able to tell you where to go for lessons or tours.

My wife and I have tried both. I dragged her out on a tour in the Puget sound, and she dragged me out to a river for a white water trip. We enjoyed both, so I don't think you can really go wrong.

Good luck

I would recommend a waterproof electronics bag. I capsized in a local lake when the wind really got whipping (1-2 footers out of the blue), and I lost a Phone, an MP3 player, and a GPS unit.

How about a nice orange one?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7661142.stm

Why is it, when reading this thread... I hear banjos?

Is that a squealing pig?

I've also helped build a CLC boat. My buddy called it his "$20/day kayak habit..." since the entire build cost him about that much after kit purchase and construction started. At the same time, he found it addicting and subsequently built 3 more boats (a strip-built canoe, a strip-built baidarka for a friend, and then another baidarka for himself). in part to help justify the number of woodworking tools he bought for the project. I have plans and strips cut for a baidarka of my own.

For strictly river-stuff, I'd probably choose a CLC Millcreek or one of their canoes.

SoloSonett wrote: Why is it, when reading this thread... I hear banjos? Is that a squealing pig?

There's t shirts that say 'Paddle like you hear banjo music.'