r/Kayaking

I've decided to get off the shore and want to try my hand at fishing the Great South Bay on Long Island. I have no plans to go offshore, but would like to try the Long Island Sound (close to shore) at some point. I fully expect to upgrade to something better in a few years, but I want to start out with something I can pick up used from Marketplace or CL.

I'm looking for something that is easy to paddle and be used for both fishing and just paddling around the Bay. I've never been in a kayak, but I did grow up canoeing.

From what I've read I'm looking for something around 12' or longer, but I'm stuck on whether I should look for a sit-on or a sit-in. The sit-in fishing kayaks I'm seeing look to have large openings that shouldn't be bad to get in/out of.

And are there any brands I should steer clear of?

I appreciate any input y'all might have.

Got a kayak for a really good deal on Fb marketplace. I'm rather fluffy, and it took some patience to keep checking back for one I could afford and had a high enough weight rating.

I could not be picky about color. It's not horrible, but it's not what I'd hoped for.

Is it worth painting the sides and top? I was going to leave the bottom the original color, knowing it will rarely be seen, and will be in water and likely scuffed often.

I know scuff, clean, and use a compatible paint, but didn't know if it would still be worth it.

Hi Y'all. I took a whitewater kayaking class last summer and really missed the boat on getting into the sport. One big thing for me was my hesitancy to flip and how frustrated I'd get when I'd have to bail and "reset".

I have a pool at home and was thinking about trying to find the crummiest, cheapest kayak simply to practice rolling over.

Is that a worthwhile pursuit or is it more like "find the kayak you want and practice in that one".

I'm hoping that some practice and learned skills in a "dummy" kayak will transfer over to a real one.

Otherwise I'm just gonna get an IK like the AIRE Tributary or Tomcat or something. Haha.

Thank you!

I think it'd be cool to kayak around Isle Royale, but I'm not sure if I have enough experience to do so safely. I have kayaked many times but only in calm waters. I have never used a sea kayak, only the shorter recreational kayaks. I can confidently wet exit, but I can't constantly self rescue. Should I get some practice using a sea kayak in Lake Michigan before tryng Isle Royale? I would not be doing this solo, but with at least one other friend.

Edit: Some people are responding to this like I'm an idiot so let me clarify: I am not talking about starting from the mainland and kayaking the full circumference of the island. I am talking about renting a kayak for a couple days from Rock Harbor Marina on the island, and traversing the island through a combination of hiking and padding. Please correct me if I am wrong but I see no reason to paddle far from the shore. I have hiked on the island before and I am aware of how big it is. The thrust of this post is that I saw on the Isle Royale NP website that they recommend sea kayaks in the park, which raised some questions for me: 1) how different is using a sea kayak vs a recreational one? 2) how different is kayaking in Lake Superior vs Lake Michigan (where I am used to kayaking)? 3) What experiences would you recommend to get used to these differences?

I'm in Michigan, so access to lots of water. I am 5'7", sub-200lbs, and I prefer sit-in kayaks. I've always rented kayaks, but I'm looking to invest in one of my own. I live in an apartment, but would get a storage unit for winter storage. Budget is under $1200.

I've kayaked on Lake Huron, the Pine river, and a host of other places, so ideally the kayak would be suitable for all of these. I don't need a sea kayak at this time, but I'm not sure if a day touring style would work for all the rivers or if it would be too long.

I do value having a lighter kayak if possible since it's just me, but open to exploring all options. TYIA!

So sick of getting swamped by jet skis and pontoon bros who think the lake belongs entirely to them. Was out on the reservoir yesterday morning in my touring yak, explicitly staying near the shore. This guy in a massive wakeboard boat blasts past me maybe 20 feet away

Like, I literally just used recademics to grab my boating safety certificate a few days ago because I occasionally take my grandpas old tin boat out to fish. So the right-of-way rules and wake zones are super fresh in my head. It took me a couple hours online to learn basic water etiquette. Why is it so hard for these guys with 80k boats to understand that non-motorized vessels exist and we don't want to capsize just because you needed to show off your wake?

I swear the bigger the engine the less they care about anyone else on the water. Considering getting a gopro for my life jacket at this point just to have some peace of mind lmao

My father passed and I now have his Pungo 120 kayak. It's in great condition but it's a little too heavy for me to use without someone around to help load/unload it. Whether it's my car or the water. Is there anything out there to help with this? So i can take it out without needing help. Any information is greatly appreciated. Thanks.