Kayak advice

L

Lillian

Guest
k, so hubby and i are looking to do some new outdoor activities together. plus i get sick of working out indoors all the time. so, i had an idea to get a couple non strapping kayaks for rowing in our community lake or resorvoir. so my question is, does anyone know of lightweight kayaks that are non strapping, for rowing in lakes or resorvoirs only and that are a decent price?? i would imagine rowing is also a great workout.;)

thanks!
 
First of all, you paddle (facing forward with a mostly rotating motion pulling yourself forward) a kayak (or canoe), while you row (facing backward with a mostly straight pulling motion plus (if with a sliding seat) a pushing motion with your legs) a rowboat.

What do you mean by "non strapping"?

The lightest kayaks are typically racing boats made of relatively expensive materials, and not very stable for beginners (surfskis and "Olympic" type kayaks).
 
tjl said:
First of all, you paddle (facing forward with a mostly rotating motion pulling yourself forward) a kayak (or canoe), while you row (facing backward with a mostly straight pulling motion plus (if with a sliding seat) a pushing motion with your legs) a rowboat.

What do you mean by "non strapping"?

The lightest kayaks are typically racing boats made of relatively expensive materials, and not very stable for beginners (surfskis and "Olympic" type kayaks).
Click to expand...

well i'm definitely inexperienced, so my question sounds kind of stupid.

my brother has a kayak(i believe) he uses for lakes/bays(not for racing) and it's not the kind that you strap yourself into. basically if you tip over you just fall out. i guess he uses a paddle, so my terminology of rowing was incorrect....LOL! but, i'm gonna give him a call and see what he actually uses b/c i might be asking for something i really have no clue about. all i know is he loves it, so i wanted to give it a try and figured paddling would also be a good workout.

thanks.
 
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also when i was interested in a light kayak, it was because i only weigh like 108-110 lbs. and i didn't want to be trying to lug some heavy thing around.

and after reading online, they do sell recreational kayaks or day touring kayaks, even plastic ones. not all for speed.

i'll continue to research.
 
You probably mean a "sit on top" versus "sit inside" kayak.

The "sit inside" type is often (but not always) used with a skirt that mostly seals around the paddler and the opening in the kayak to prevent water from getting in most of the time. The "sit on top" type is just as it sounds like.

As far as a workout goes, paddling is primarily an upper body workout (lats and core), so it may compliment other cardio that you may be doing (running, bicycling, and most gym cardio machines other than rowing machines are primarily lower body). It can be done like other cardio, for distance and endurance or in high intensity sprints. Weight exercises in the gym that train the same muscles include pullups and row-type of exercises.
 
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I think what "non-strapping" means is that you're not strapped into the thing in the event that it flips, you can just swim out rather than being strapped to the device. But I don't know since I never used this device before.

In anycase, my advice to you is to go cheap or rent FIRST before you decide to buy any sort of water sports. It's like surf boards, you first buy the cheapest piece of junk you can find, then when you actually decide that you like it, then go out buy the fancy stuff. For now, just keep it within a budget of rentals or really cheap.

If you buy stuff with all sorts of features you have no idea about, then you go to the water and be like, "Man, I hate this" or "Man, I shouldn't have bought all these features I don't use or I'm missing a feature." So buy cheap or rentals.
 
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thanks. we're actually going to rent next weekend and try it out. plus i will talk to my brother about his kayak when i call him tomorrow for more info.
 
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