Wilko wrote in
:

John Fereira wrote:
Wilko wrote in :

My guess would be that equipment costs for
sea kayaking (I'm not talking about recreational class boats that
sometimes sold as sea kayaks for beginners) are significantly higher
than for ww paddling.

You have a point there, John. For a starting paddler, it's probably
quite a bit more expensive if you buy everything new (I'm not familiar
with 2nd hand sea kayak prices).

And that's a good point as well. The used market, at least for a boat and
paddle, is a good way to get started.

Like a used car, the price you can expect to pay relative to what you'd pay
for the same model for a new boat can vary significantly depending on the
model, and then of course the condition the used boat is in. About 10 years
ago I bought a Valley Canoe Products Skerray (fiberglass) used for $1100.
At the time I think a new one sold for just over $2000. I could probably
*still* get around $1000 for it if I wanted to sell it. I've seen five year
old NDK Romany's advertised for $1900 and they'd sell at the price because
they're a desirable model.

I'm not so sure that the hobby as a
whole costs more though, especially since boats and paddles do wear out
on whitewater, especially when (ab-)used by beginners, and the 2nd hand
prices of used boats remind me of those of used cars... The moment you
walk out of the shop, devaluation of the boat has already started.

That's true, but except for some sea kayaks used in rental fleets, rarely do
you find boat that have deteriorated in terms of performance significantly.
I doubt that most would find that my 17 year old Skerray paddles measurably
different than a brand new Skerray (if one could find a 1989 model still in
shrink wrap).

I guess that when we're talking about the cost of the two branches of
kayaking as a whole, a lot depends upon where you live. In my country,
a lot of people sea kayak, simply because flat water and the North Sea
are
available. Getting to whitewater involves long drives (at 6+ US$ per
gallon) and with our 40% tax (BPM and BTW) on cars, driving is a lot
more expensive per driven mile than it is on the other side of the big
pond.

Then again, if you live in Colorado, sea kayaking might be the more
expensive hobby, purely based on the distance from the nearest
available salt water (Unless Salt Lake city counts... ;-))

Some of that also depends on how satisfied you'd be paddling waters that
fall short of mecca status. One certainly doesn't need salt water to enjoy
paddling a sea kayak. Although I live about 4 hours from salt water, in 15
minutes I can have my boat in the waters of a lake that is 40 miles long,
and if I had the time, through the use of the NY State Canal system could
reach the St. Lawrence River (where I'll be paddling in a week or so) which
empties into the Atlantic Ocean. It's about an hour and a half drive to the
Great Lakes where I could encounter conditions every bit as challenging as I
could find in salt water.

For those with class IV skills, how many would be satisfied paddling a class
I-II river if it was in their own backyard? How far you're willing to drive
to paddle also depends on what kinds of waters you're willing to settle for
and that is largely dependant upon ones experience.