canoes and kayaks
Thinking of buying a canoe
or kayak?
Choosing a canoe or kayak is a very similar process; both move across
the water powered by a paddle and are used for similar purposes. But there
are a few obvious differences. Canoes are traditionally paddled with
single bladed paddles and kayaks with double bladed paddles. Most canoes
are symmetrical in shape when viewed from the plan view (above) and are
generally used for purposes which involve load carrying capacity i.e. two
people and all their gear. Of course there are specialized craft such as
racing and white water canoes.
Kayaks come in a huge range of designs. A surf or white water kayak
varies considerably from a touring or sea kayak. When selecting a kayak
you'll need to look at the use you have for the craft to analyze your
requirements. Is it mainly day trips with the occasional weekend trip
away? Surfing? Touring? Once you have determined this you can better
decide which craft meets your needs If you need a small craft most of
the time and a large touring craft twice a year, you would most probably be
better buying a small day trip craft and hire a larger craft for the odd
occasions it is needed
So the question
remains
Where do I want to
paddle and what do I want to do?
Paddle
calm lakes and protected waters
Paddle oceans and large lakes
Go fishing in my canoe or kayak
Adventure
racing , Ocean racing or fast training craft
Surf,
snorkeling or scuba dive
Surfing ocean waves
Paddle
fast moving rivers or rapids
Calm lakes,
protected waters
Whether
you're interested in overnight camping or just a great days paddle, there is a kayak or
canoe suitable for you.
The day paddler can choose from a variety
of craft, both canoes for two persons or kayaks for one two or three persons.
A very general rule in looking at craft is that width=stability and
length = speed. Of course that makes no mention of hull design !! So maybe
you need stability as the first priority , so look at the wider
recreational craft, or the boy racer will need to find the longest,
narrowest craft.
Recreational craft are designed with a
variety of paddlers in mind, but generally they have stability as a first
priority. The range of fun craft include the Drifter
10.1, Discovery series single
kayaks as well as the Drifter 12 double kayak, which are designed for day paddling with enough
room for lunch and perhaps your bird watching book. Generally shorter than the touring
kayaks they are extremely stable yet nimble enough to get into any area of interest. Also
great for fishing they allow you access to those hard to reach places, but
also check out our specific Fishing Kayaks.
The range of touring craft starts with Discovery group of kayaks which are ideal for
day or extended touring and includes the Coorong and Discovery13 and 15 kayaks, as well as the
range of sea kayaks.
They are generally longer, more sleekly designed for fast movement over distances at the
same time allowing for easy carriage of gear. The Coorong, Discovery 15 and
Contour kayaks, for
example, come
complete with sealed compartments as well as a surf style rudder ready for
estuary touring.
There are also canoes available for river and calm area touring including the
Rover Canoe. Canoes are excellent craft for traveling the mighty rivers of Australia such as the
Murray River - allowing you to explore many of the backwaters and billabongs where
abundant bird-life and wildlife can be found.
Sit in
canoes and kayaks in this category
Sit on top
kayaks in this category
Oceans and large lakes
Sea kayaking is a growing area in the sport of
canoeing, with South Australia's rugged coastline provides fantastic scenery and the many sheltered bays and
beaches allowing easy access points. Sea kayaks are generally longer than the
estuary craft with most being in the vicinity of 5 meters in length, and are
equipped for long distance touring and are considered the top of the line
in touring kayaks.
The sea kayak range includes a number of single kayaks as well as the
Trinidad double which are all specifically designed to take the rigors of sea touring. Also
suitable are the latest range of sit-on-top kayaks.
Sea kayaking is
the fastest growing area of paddle sport, as there are many kilometers of
un spoilt and largely unexplored
coastline in the area. Sea kayaking can cater for a large
number of paddler requirements, from day paddling to full blown
expeditions of several weeks.
Many people buy a
sea kayak style craft simply because it can fulfill many functions,
including river and lake paddling, but also give the ability to paddle in
rougher conditions with confidence and if you want get involved in
expeditions at sea. Remember not all sea kayaking is high skill level but we find that paddlers soon get addicted to the "call of the
sea".
Fishing
Kayaks
Yes there are now kayaks that cater specifically for the fisherman. We
have had so much demand lately for stable kayaks with rod holders and
other equipment fitted that we are setting up a special place on the site
for them. See them in store.
Click here to go directly to our FISHING
KAYAK section
Adventure
racing, Ocean racing or fast training craft
We also have kayaks that cater specifically for
Ocean racing, adventure racing and paddlers who want to just get out there
on a seriously quick craft . Check out the latest range of skis from Spirit
Skis to suit paddlers from mild to wild.
Sit-on-top kayaks for surf,
snorkeling and scuba diving
The latest innovation in the area of kayaking has come in the form of the new sit-on
kayaks. The sit-on is a kayak hull with a non-enclosed deck, so there are no worries about
getting your legs out of the kayak if you happen to capsize. They are used for a range of
pursuits such as surfing, scuba diving or snorkeling platforms. They are also
perfect for fishing, swimming or tackling the surf.
Surf kayaks and
surfing ocean waves
The latest craze in
"canoeing "is surf kayaking. Just take a small white water rodeo
kayak out in the surf along Australia's coastline and you can get amongst
it. Generally paddlers learn their craft in a more forgiving craft such as
a sit on top kayak and then progress to the lower volume more radical
craft. This is one of the most daring, exhilarating sports in
"canoeing".
Fast
moving
rivers or rapids
Whitewater kayaks are kayaks that are designed to turn quickly, so they can
maneuver down and through the rapids. The hull designs will be short with a
large amount of rocker (banana shape) and can have flat planing hulls or
more rounded designs. The advent of the more radical craft has seen a huge
variation in designs.
You will need to
assess your level of ability as well as the range of water conditions that
you wish to paddle. These type of white water kayaks are also used for
surf kayaking, with the smaller, flat hulled kayaks being preferred as they
give the greatest performance in maneuvering and tricks.
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