Live-In-The-Moment
New Member
My wife and I are considering buying a couple of single kayaks, and we would truly appreciate some advice from the many experienced paddlers that read this forum. First, I will give you a little background on our paddling experience and the type of paddling we plan on doing. We have been paddling for about the past 20 years but usually only manage to get out once or twice a year. Most years have included a 5 – 7 day camping trip on the BC coast (Desolation Sound, Broken Islands, Gulf Islands, Sechelt Inlet, etc). We have completed our Paddle Canada Level 1 and gained enough experience to allow us to feel quite comfortable on the water, but we are still very much novices when it comes to skill level. In the future, we hope to take a few more paddling courses to hone our skills, so we are looking for kayaks that we can grow into as our skills improve. However, it’s unlikely we will ever become expert paddlers looking to surf the Skookumchuck. We are nearing retirement and hope to be able to get out on the water a lot more frequently. We would like to continue being able to do unsupported trips of at least 7 days, but also plan to do more day trips. From our past experiences and knowing that we don’t have super light-weight camping gear, we have found that kayaks that approach 200 litres of storage or more make packing much easier.
My wife is 5’3” / 125lbs and I am a 6’2” / 180 lbs / size 12 shoe. Most days we paddle 20 - 30 km and often go 4 - 5 hours without a break so we have learned to appreciate kayaks that have a bit more room in the cockpit so we can adjust our seating position a little and stay comfortable.
We have spent a lot of money on rentals over the years and we are looking forward to the freedom that owning our own boats will provide, but selecting just the right kayak seems like a daunting task. While we have paddled a number of different boats over the years, it’s hard to make comparisons when it’s a year between paddles and the conditions are different each time we go out. I think our lack of experience also makes it difficult for us to detect the nuances of different hull designs. The majority of the kayaks we have paddled have been made by Seaward, Current Design, Necky, or Nimbus. We like the idea of buying local and are leaning toward Seaward or Nimbus. We have read that both companies provide excellent custom service and produce quality boats. I would be very interested to hear people’s preference between Seaward’s hand lay-ups vs Nimbus’s vacuum bagged laminates.
Kayaks that we have paddled and are considering are the Seaward Tyee, Seaward Guide 17 (Probably the high-volume version for me), and the Nimbus Telkwa (Probably the Sport version for my wife, although she has not had the opportunity to paddle one yet). While I am probably leaning toward the Telkwas because their design seems to provide a happy medium between tracking and maneuverability, there are some features of the Seaward boats that we prefer. (gas pedal style rudder system, hatch cover design, etc). Do you think we should be concerned about the future of Nimbus? They seem to be producing a limited number of boats and I am worried they will not be available for service issues in the future. We are certainly open to looking at other manufacturers and models, but these are models that we have rented in the past. Based on our description, what other manufactures and models should we consider? Should we be considering some of the thermoform boats made by Delta?
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and share your knowledge and experience with us,
My wife is 5’3” / 125lbs and I am a 6’2” / 180 lbs / size 12 shoe. Most days we paddle 20 - 30 km and often go 4 - 5 hours without a break so we have learned to appreciate kayaks that have a bit more room in the cockpit so we can adjust our seating position a little and stay comfortable.
We have spent a lot of money on rentals over the years and we are looking forward to the freedom that owning our own boats will provide, but selecting just the right kayak seems like a daunting task. While we have paddled a number of different boats over the years, it’s hard to make comparisons when it’s a year between paddles and the conditions are different each time we go out. I think our lack of experience also makes it difficult for us to detect the nuances of different hull designs. The majority of the kayaks we have paddled have been made by Seaward, Current Design, Necky, or Nimbus. We like the idea of buying local and are leaning toward Seaward or Nimbus. We have read that both companies provide excellent custom service and produce quality boats. I would be very interested to hear people’s preference between Seaward’s hand lay-ups vs Nimbus’s vacuum bagged laminates.
Kayaks that we have paddled and are considering are the Seaward Tyee, Seaward Guide 17 (Probably the high-volume version for me), and the Nimbus Telkwa (Probably the Sport version for my wife, although she has not had the opportunity to paddle one yet). While I am probably leaning toward the Telkwas because their design seems to provide a happy medium between tracking and maneuverability, there are some features of the Seaward boats that we prefer. (gas pedal style rudder system, hatch cover design, etc). Do you think we should be concerned about the future of Nimbus? They seem to be producing a limited number of boats and I am worried they will not be available for service issues in the future. We are certainly open to looking at other manufacturers and models, but these are models that we have rented in the past. Based on our description, what other manufactures and models should we consider? Should we be considering some of the thermoform boats made by Delta?
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and share your knowledge and experience with us,