novice wrote:
I'll doublecheck availability of rentals in my area but I was thinking
of buying a small kayak under $500 and use it to build up my paddling
muscles. maybe 9 ft long and 3ft wide. i need to store it in apartment
and carry on small sports car. Is this dumb?

Unfortunately, what you'll wind up building up is lots of bad habits and
the wrong muscles. If you want a play boat/poke boat for drifting
around the edges and maybe chasing a fish, a poke boat is OK. But it is
not going to help you train for racing. You'd be better off joining a
club and saving your money for a used Looksha II or Epic 18.
Just a few concerns:
Balance is totally different - in a poke boat, you can get away with
slop -slouching, leaning against the backrest, letting your head bob
side to side.
Stroke - it is absolutely impossible to get a good racing stroke when
you can't get closer than 45 degrees to vertical. Plus your paddle
length is going to be 15-20cm too long, the stroke will start too far
back, end too far back, etc, etc
Steering - those boats don't steer - so all your energy is going to go
into keeping the boat straight instead of learning to paddle and go fast.


Chime in folks, what have I forgotten?