inflatable canoe / kayak

[Lightspeed]

0111001

I was in the same boat as you ( yes, pun completely intended) re not having the space for a rigid Kayak, so I went the inflatable route last year.

And I made some mistakes....

Inflatable kayaks, like everything else come in many different forms. I ended up purchasing what was marketed as an adventure / expedition tandem kayak which had multiple air bladders and large built in storage compartment that doubled as a ruck sack to carry the brute in.

Provided I inflate the kayak to its maximum inflation pressure it performs realatively well in terms of paddling efficiency, but not as well as a rigid kayak. As for stability, my one is far more stable than its rigid equivalent.

The great thing aboy inflatables is their load callying ability. You could carry a huge weight of equipment in one of these if necessary.

We have used ours extensively on both fast flowing near white water rivers as well as slow meanering ones.

Accessories that I'd recommend are as follows:

Paddles: For slow rivers asymetric sectional paddles are most efficient, however for fast flowing rivers and for general adaptability I found the same tye of paddle that can be dis-assembled into two halves and the include T piece handles allow it to be used as a pair of standard canoe paddle. While not as efficient as the asymetric paddles the adaptability means that we now tend to use the kayak as a canoe ( more upright position) this is much more comfortable for us and has allowed us to cover much more ground without getting sore muscles.

Gloves: The thickness of the walls of an inflatable are considerably thicker than thse of a rigid kayak. For me this has meant an uncomfortable paddling action which caused me to get severe blisters on my hands. For next season I have ordered kayak specific neoprene gloves to overcome this.

Buoyancty aids: Of course! Lots of manufactureres sell all black ones.

Exposure protection: It is very exposed even on inland rivers. you need to have hats sun glasses and sun block in summer months. Also waterproofs and wet suits are a good idea as the weather gets colder. We also wear wind-surfer style neoprene shoes that have proven to be a good choice.

The Kayak itself: If I was to have the money to invest all over again I'd get a high pressure GUMOTEX inflatable. These things are not pretty, but are bullet proof construction, extremely durable against abrasion, very efficient in the water, and come in suitably low profile colours (green and black)