New kayak owner!

[melonhead]

I will be a tandem kayak owner by wednesday, and cant wait to go on my first kayak trip. But Im wondering where my first trip will be in Alabama. It will only be a day trip, and I live in Mobile, AL. Im willing to drive about 2-3 hours north. So im asking you guys to help me out. Whats the first place I want to put in? Thanks!

[Jdevil]

Congrats melonhead, we just made our own "maiden voyage" with our new Kayaks this past weekend on the Sipsey and loved it!  Check out http://www.alabamawhitewater.com/, which aided us tremendously! Good luck!

[Magic City Matt]

The cahaba has several good areas. The Float from grants mill road to liberty park is a good flat water trip that is close to birmingham. Terrapin creek is awesome up northeast.

Are you looking for more whitewater or flatwater?

[Magic City Matt]

Also what kind of boat did you get?

[Firedog]

Hey melonhead, Check out the Coosa River Whitewater Festival this weekend in Wetumpka, Al. Below are a few links. It is an easy paddle with some whitewater options if you so desire. Otherwise it is a fun, beautiful easy paddle. Carl W.

http://www.coosariverpics.com/

http://www.coosaoutdoorcenter.com/

http://www.coosariverpaddlingclub.com/

[Bahen]

Check out the Bartram Canoe Trail that the state has put in the upper Mobile-Tensaw River Delta.  http://www.outdooralabama.com/outdoor-adventures/bartram/index.htm  All of the put-ins are within an hour's drive from Mobile.

[melonhead]

I am extremely new to kinds of boats etc, so I dont know what the good brands are...BUT it is a 14" Perception Tandem Kayak. Looks good, and looks like a nice starter kayak for someone like myself. Yall got any good info on this one?

[melonhead]

Hey melonhead, Check out the Coosa River Whitewater Festival this weekend in Wetumpka, Al. Below are a few links. It is an easy paddle with some whitewater options if you so desire. Otherwise it is a fun, beautiful easy paddle. Carl W.

http://www.coosariverpics.com/

http://www.coosaoutdoorcenter.com/

http://www.coosariverpaddlingclub.com/

Would love to check that out, but I will be at the hangout music festival in gulf shores this weekend. Thanks for the links

[melonhead]

Check out the Bartram Canoe Trail that the state has put in the upper Mobile-Tensaw River Delta.  http://www.outdooralabama.com/outdoor-adventures/bartram/index.htm  All of the put-ins are within an hour's drive from Mobile.

Which day trails are favorites? Indian Mound looked cool

[melonhead]

Sadly, the 14" Perception Tandem was sold today and I wasnt able to purchase it this wednesday...I found another one online that is a 16" Old Town Loon 160T.

My question for you kayakers is should I buy the 16" or should I look around for a 14"? Im 5'9 170lb, so Im wondering is a 16" tandem kayak too big for me. Thanks for all the help.

[Firedog]

1. Are you after a tandem?
2. If you are paddlin flatwater, the longer the better. More stability, more payload.
3. 16' loon ina very nice boat. I had a loon once upon a time.
4. For flatwater, an Old Town Discovery 158-169 canoe is hard to beat.

I've done sections of the bartram. The Indian Mound trail is good. If you put in at Rice Creek it is a good day there and back.

[Uncle Wayne]

4. For flatwater, an Old Town Discovery 158-169 canoe is hard to beat.

Agree, I have the 169 and love it. Easy enough to handle solo or capable of carrying 3 people plus gear if need be.  It's wide enough that I can stand up in and walk from stern to bow  without flipping the canoe over.  Can't say or do that with just any canoe.  Really handles well in flatwater and up to class 2 rapids (the highest rapids I've ever run).

Firedog, appreciate the info / advice on kayaks.  I've had the fever for some time and have silently been gathering info.

[melonhead]

Yeah, Im after a tandem kayak. The Old Town Loon 160T is the tandem I hope to buy in next week or so. I appreciate all the information/advice, it sounds like a found a good one.

And, ill be able to load more stuff in cases of camping and such with the 16". Thanks again.

[Firedog]

I also have a Wilderness Systems Tarpon 120 SOT for day flatwater trips. WS has a new Ride 135 that is great. I has a new design for even more stability and will carry a load with dry storage compartments. The SOT is great for those that are not sure of a deck style kayak. The best safety feature of the SOT is that it will not swamp and provides a floating platform for you to hold on to till you can get back on board. The downside of a deck boat is that if you swamp, it fill with water and is a handle to drag to the shore and dump. Just my 2 cents.

http://www.wildernesssyst...oducts/angler/angler_ride
http://www.wildernesssyst...ucts/angler/angler_tarpon

[melonhead]

http://www.oldtowncanoe.c...aks/tandem/loon_160t.html

This is the one Im looking to buy. I hear Old Town is the reliable brand to go with.
I plan on getting up to class III eventually.

[Bahen]

Yeah, Im after a tandem kayak. The Old Town Loon 160T is the tandem I hope to buy in next week or so. I appreciate all the information/advice, it sounds like a found a good one.

And, ill be able to load more stuff in cases of camping and such with the 16". Thanks again.

The 16' boat will probably work out a little better for you.  The length will help you out with any waves if you plan to paddle any in the Bay or the Gulf.  And if I am remembering correctly, the back seat on the tandem Loons will slide forward to make it easier to paddle if you are by yourself.  The Loon was a great boat and you still see lots of folks paddling them even though Old Town quit making them years ago.

[pr8hdff]

   The Bartram is a cool place.  Several places to camp if you want to do an overnighter.  Also has a lot of wildlife to see.

[wirerat123]

Honestly from my experience, if you plan to go to class II+ I wouldn't suggest a tandem.  While it can be done, it's certainly going to be much harder to do.  Tandems are typically only good for flat water type runs.

If you want to do running water rivers it's best to invest in two single person boats.  I'm not saying it can't be done because a couple of the whitewater companies actually build tandem whitewater boats.  I'm just saying tandem is going to seriously effect boat control and ability to hit that much desired line, plus rolling is going to be totally dependant on BOTH people having a strong roll and be in sync with each other.

For slower water rivers, lakes and ponds, that boat will do well for you and a friend.  On faster moving water where maneuverability is king, it's going to be a big hinderance and seriously steepen the learning curve.

2 single person kayaks > tandem in every way, including flat water.  That's my advice.  My girlfriend will promise you the same thing.  This is coming from a couple that have plenty of river running and lake experience between us.

If I were you I would look into the Liquid Logic Coupe series.  The price is pretty close to any of those boats you mentioned, but it is a crossover type boat that handles flatwater and whitewater very well.  It has nothing but positive reviews thus far.

http://shanesliquidlogic....pe-series-sit-on-top.html

Most reviews I have read will say it is the most versatile boat money can buy, and some have even run them in class III and IV whitewater.  And for a new boat they are really not very expensive.  I wouldn't be surprised if it is actually cheaper than what you are looking at.

[melonhead]

Thanks for the advice on Class II+. I finally found a tandem kayak even though I said I was a new owner about a month ago. I spoke too soon haha. Im picking it up this week. Its an Old Town Twin Otter 14 ft.

Honestly, I would rather have 2 single kayaks rather than the tandem, but my girlfriend is completely new to water. So when shes trained, well trade in the tandem one day.

Ive been pretty pysched about getting on the water. Hoping for a Bartram Trail paddling in a couple weeks.

One question to anyone: Whats the least expensive way of transporting a kayak? Or even how to. Im not finding alot of tutorials online. Im driving from Mobile to B'ham to pick it up. Thanks guys

[wirerat123]

One question to anyone: Whats the least expensive way of transporting a kayak? Or even how to. Im not finding alot of tutorials online. Im driving from Mobile to B'ham to pick it up. Thanks guy

Well if you are set on not getting roof racks before you pick it up, you can go buy one of those kayak carrier sets.  What I did back in the day because it could cover the entire roof of my car was get a couple of the thicker funnoodles, cut them to the width of my car, and a couple of bungies and ratchet straps from Wal Mart.

Funnoodles - $4 each for the really fat ones

Ratchet Straps - like $4 each for the single seperates.

I've also split one side of a funnoodle and used it on the tailgate of a truck to prevent damage to boats.  Those things are handy if you think outside of the box, and cheap, $1 each for the smaller ones at the dollar store..

Bungies - a couple bucks, I had them lying around already.

Esentially about $20 and I could transport multiple boats without damage.

I'd cut the funnoodles to the width of my car, toss two boats on top, ratchet them down cross ways near the front and back of the roof, then use bungies to secure the front and back to the bumpers.  Never had a boat come off my car EVER.

Now I have a pathfinder with racks lol.

[melonhead]

Wirerat123, Im trying to visualize this but im wondering how you put the foam noodles on the top and keep them there. Maybe I misread, but it sounds like my type of idea of getting this kayak from Bham to Mobile.

[wirerat123]

I just place them in the spots that look to be most vulnerable to getting contacted by the boat, place the boats on, adjust them as needed, then use the pressure of the boats sitting on them to hold them in place.  If you are afraid of the funnoodles moving, you can feed a rope through the hole in the center to secure them.

It really works, and it's really cheap.  I have bought those kayak carriers before, and figured out I don't like it any better.  In your case it's just one boat with a really large cockpit.  Most likely the entire cockpit is going to be over the roof of the car.  The Canoe kits you can get for about $20 at most sporting goods stores would work great, it comes with 4 pads that fit on the edge of a canoe (Or a kayak cockpit rim), and the straps you need.  The funnoodle is cheaper to replace if parts are lost and more versatile, but if this is the only boat you are getting for a while the roof top canoe carrier kits might be a good investment because it is a better option.

For multiple boats I prefer the funnoodle route until you can get some real roof racks.

Here is the canoe carrier:

New kayak owner!

installed:

New kayak owner!

That will work on the cockpit rim of a tandem kayak.  And it's maybe $10 more expensive in the long run.

[melonhead]

Thanks Wirerat. We went with the kayak carrier which definitely worked out over funnoodles because we drove a ford focus hatchback with a hump for the hood of the car. Its sitting in my girlfriend's apartment and cant wait to get out on the water this week.
Old Town Twin Otter 14". Hell yes.

[Southlady]

I would suggest any of the creeks around Mobile first. I live there myself. You and the girlfriend will want to learn the about the 'yack in slow water first. Preferably without a lot of motor craft arouind. You WILL tip over. Don't worry about it though. You'll get the hang of it pretty quickly. Tandem is not for white water like you've been told before. But have a ball with it. I do.

[melonhead]

Weve been to the bartram canoe trail twice so far. Its been a blast so far. Although, Im working in Dauphin Island with the oil spill, so I havent had many chances to go kayaking. I want to start local with Mobile and then broaden our kayak trips. Maybe the escatawpa, and then the Florida/Bama statelines. Thanks for the advice