canoes and kayaks

Thinking of buying a canoe or kayak?

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
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 9, 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 Saratoga 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 Saratoga 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 unspoilt 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 

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.