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Originally Posted by Fawn
I sold my kayak but my packrat sister has 2 so if she sells them I'll let you know. We are living together now (well, I'm only there part time) so I'm hoping she'll keep them both so I can use one of them! having packrat siblings rocks ;-)!
And fawn. if you do decide to buy a kayak I'd first recommend that you try out as many as possible to see what works best for you. Around here they have "demo days" in which all the kayak dealers bring hundreds of them down to the water and you can try out as many as you want for free. There are sooo many different kinds for different water conditions and uses. So knowing what you want before you buy is important. But don't buy new - check out Craigslist, etc... for better deals.
Also, you look petite and loading a kayak on your roof rack - or what ever you plan to use - can be a problem for many shorter people. Even the fairly small lightweight plastic ones can weight alot too. Also, are you close to water so you can transport it without hassle? Do you have a vehicle to tote one around in? Then you have the storage issue - do you have room to store one? Are you willing to pay to store it? My sister rents a space down at the marina for $20/month for both kayaks and so can just put them right in the water - although she does worry about someone cutting the lock and stealing them as they are very expensive ones. She also, like me, has a truck with a shell and racks (kayak racks) so that she can take it places easier. But, even though she is mega-strong she is short and it's REAL difficult for her to load her kayaks (big, fiberglass, ocean kayaks) alone. She has a step stool and rollers on her racks but still struggles.
If it was me, I'd persoanlly just rent a kayak whenever I wanted to use one rather than buy unless, like Float On, you'd be using it alot. they can be a hassle and you can usually rent one for a few bucks a hour in a variety of places rather than have to store, load, drive to your destination with it, unload, load again, drive home, unload again, clean and store everytime you want to use it.
ETA: You might also look at some of the blow up kayaks as they are suppose to be reall great (never tried them myself). Gary (AKA SimplyGIB) has one and uses it on all kinds of water but said they were best for river kayaking on class III or smaller rapids. Probably be great on lakes and other protected waters and gentle rivers and you wouldn't have to deal with any of the above mentioned issues like storage or transport.
Check out http://www.seaeagle.com/SportKayaks.aspx for an inexpensive inflatable kayak that a lot of the RV'ers use. It is what I plan on getting when I get back to the States where I can use it.
Come over to the dark (stuff!!!!) side, we have cookies!
Oooo! Ladies! Thanks for the kayak advice. I went white-water rafting with the kiddos on the Occoe river (class III-V) rapids, which got me thinking about getting a kayak. The only bodies of water around here are Lake Springfield (the infamous Lake Springfield that gave 1/3 of the participants in a triathalon a few years back a rare protezoan intestinal infection) and Lake Petersburg (much cleaner--I have swum there.)
I like the idea of trying a bunch of them out before buying one (or renting for now.) My long-term goal is to get a second-hand RV after the last kid leaves home and travel the country for at least a couple years before I settle down again. The inflatable one looks cool. I am not petite: 5'8", athletic build.
Well I'd be very happy to help you downsize some of your stuff - specifically cookies. I have a great storage place for those - inside my mouth :devil:!Quote:
Originally Posted by shadowmoss
Take Me!! I've been trying to do thast travel full time thing for awhile now and something keeps getting in the way (currently the endlessly barking dog). Might have to look into getting a small second-hand RV too. Anyways, google "kayak Demo Days" and your area you should get a bunch of hits if they have them near you. If you are going to be doing mostly river kayaking then the kayaks are much smaller and easier to load, etc... then a sea kayak. My sister does those long camping sea kayak tours all over the world to some very remote (and totally cool) places. She doesn't take her kayak of course (doesn't fit in the overhead bin of the plane :-)!) but rents one at her destination - often does the pre-set tours wuith guides. But uses her kayaks to train around here.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fawn
Spartana: Come on down to Honduras and I'll make sure you have plenty of cookies!!
Also, I would think that traveling in a small RV with the dog would be the best of both worlds for now. Look into used Lazydays class C RV's. Free camping on BLM lands if you boondock.
Well I had oatmeal cookies for breakfast but a few sugar cookies right about now sound good (and who said the fit are healthy? Opps, another thread!). I have contemplated the RV for along time now - especially back when I had 2 big dogs - but haven't done it because of overall cost. First the cost of a used, but newer ('cause i don't wanna work on stuff) Rv is pretty prohibitive. Second fuel costs (I do drive alot). third camping fees as I'm not the boondocking out-in-the-boonies type at all. And fourth is probably the hassle factor of having to either drive the RV everywhere (or have a gas-guzzling truck to tow a trailer with) , or tow another vehicle behind. So after doing the math i found it's financially better for me just to have a small compact new or newer car and stay either at budget motels, tent camping or an off season vacation rental. So that was the plan but the barking dog kind of put a stop to that. So now, until I can get her to cease and desist, I'll be travelling dog-less while sis watches her. Probably be about the same cost as doing a longer trip but maybe more fun because I can go more places without a dog. Like fly to Honduras for cookies :-)! Actually leavcing agin this Sat for ???? well I'll keep you in suspense but it's somewhere exotic :-)!Quote:
Originally Posted by shadowmoss
Well, I won't be leaving for 5 years (youngest is 13) so you have plenty of time to train the dog.Quote:
Originally Posted by Spartana
Cookies? Did someone say cookies?
Fawn, thanks for sharing that! What inspiration for getting rid of cr*p.
One thing that helped me in determine what I should get rid of was inventorying everything--much the same you do...
But in my case, I have SO MUCH clutter in drawers and closets, that I started writing it down. Anything that wasn't worth the effort of writing down, got dumped in the garbage or given away. I did that for a while but then got busy. I think I'll go back to trying again!