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"KD" wrote in
m: Hey Sergey, As I read more, I'm beginning to realize how important the fit is. I've had some back problems and occasionally get leg cramps - probably would be much more comfortable with a sit-on-top or a surf ski. A lightweight ski would get more use because it would be so easy to launch. From what I've seen Serge seems to be very pro surf-ski's. There's nothing wrong with that but just because one person likes one type of boat that doesn't mean that it's the most appropriate style for everyone. There are also quite a few folding boat advocates, traditional greenland style advocates, wooden boat advocates, and many more. Also keep in mind that for very long distance touring, closed cockpit kayaks are almost exclusively used. Some expeditions make take several weeks and cover several hundred (or thousand) miles. Obviously comfort is a concern but expedition paddlers managed to be comfortable with a closed cockpit boat. To answer one of your other questions: You don't necessarily need to learn how to roll if you paddle a kayak with a spray skirt, though I don't think getting a SOT or surf kayak so that you don't have to learn how to roll makes much sense. Learning how to roll is not that difficult and it's a lot of fun. If you paddle a closed cockpit boat with a spray skirt you will, however, need to learn how to peform a wet exit and a self resue. For one of the clubs I paddle with first timers have to perform a exit before they are allowed to use a paddle. It's a remarkably easy skill to learn. I'm going to borrow a Scupper Pro for a while and see how it works for me. For your climate and location that's probably not a bad choice. One of the cool things about kayaking is that you can go just about anywhere where there is water and you'll likely find someplace that will you rent you a kayak. SOT kayaks and surf skis are nice for warm water climates but if you someday find yourself in Maine or the Pacific Northwest you won't see too many SOT kayaks. The water is just too cold to be sitting in it for any length of time. Learning to paddle in a closed cockpit boat will increase your options. While Serge recommended a surf ski I would suggest otherwise. A surf ski is a pretty narrow focus style kayak and for someone just getting into the sport having something a little more general purpose makes more sense to me. If you're like many others, you probably don't really know the kind of paddling you'll most like to do. When I bought my first kayak I bought one for a specific purpose because I assumed that was the kind of paddling I wanted to do. Then I tried a different style boat. I owned that first boat for three weeks before I started looking for a new one the suited the style which I discovered I *really* preferred. |
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