Thanks for the link, this looks useful but I'm not sure how the payment works. Are they free to view online but you pay to download for offline viewing?

Hello and welcome. You are by no means daft to be taking up sea kayaking at 61, it's adventure sitting down! Re your choice of kayak - I suggest booking some lessons and trying a few different kayaks to see what suits you. Have a serious think about what you want to do with it - if you plan on doing...

As an ex diver I am puzzled as to why the neck seals on dive suits are different to kayaking suits - dive suits have the smooth neoprene surface on the outside of the seal and are worn folded over internally on themselves (or at least they were, might have changed by now). Diving I always accepted t...

I have come across a fellow who has 15 kayaks Canoes & kayaks, I can match that. I did have more but I'm rationalising them. Borrowed from cycling, the correct number of boats is given by the formula n+1, where n is the number of boats one currently has. It's actually X-1, where X is the number at ...

I seriously considered ordering one of these but in the end I took a deep breath and got a Kajaksport Inuksuk via Reed. At the time they were giving away one of their own make bothy cags with each paddle. I wanted one of those anyway and if I accounted for that, then allowed for import duties, posta...

Speaking as a runner many of us avoid the commercial energy drinks, they are high in sugar, expensive, and use single use plastic bottles. A much cheaper and more sustainable alternative is a mix of 50/50 pure fruit juice and water, perhaps with a pinch of salt. You can make it up at home and refill...

the top edge of the blade would naturally be canted forward - to have it vertical or canted backwards would mean cocking your wrist Mark, I'm trying to understand that. I think it depends on how you hold the paddle. Unless you have a rectangular loom (mine is round) there's nothing to say the blade...

I'm by no means an expert, being a relatively recent convert but thinking about it, if you sit in your kayak holding your paddle with arms and wrists straight and the paddle across the deck the top edge of the blade would naturally be canted forward - to have it vertical or canted backwards would me...

But until comparatively very recently when new materials became available has much development really taken place? Maybe 3900 years ago after a bit of fiddling about and trial and error they got it right. Then nothing much happened for another 3800 years or so (because why fix what isn't broken?). T...

Sincere thanks for all the replies, some very practical points. I hadn't thought about needing to press a button on one of the power packs so one like that would be a non starter (!) Sorry.... I'm coming down firmly in favour of battery option, seems cheaper and simpler. Once I've got all the bits t...

Thanks for the quick replies. Yes, I suppose it's a bit like camper van batteries - the vehicle starter battery is designed to give a powerful boost of short duration a number of times while the leisure battery gives a lower power over a longer period. But you can still run a light from the vehicle ...

Has anyone tried one of the new compact car jump starter packs for the above? Or is there an obvious reason I'm missing why they aren't suitable? 12v, sealed, plenty of amp hours, rechargeable, about the size of a paperback book and some have USB ports for charging other devices. From not much more ...

It the week just gone, Monday or Tuesday night I think. I saw it, the lifeboat crew had rough time of it.

I suspect that there is a big difference between being able to swim a decent distance in open water and being able to do it in the conditions that might make it necessary.

I've become a convert after using one on holiday with Sea Kayak Milos and Rod Feldman. Rod had some sticks available and I took one as a spare to play with during the lunch break. After trying it I put the Euros on the back deck and never used them again for the rest of the week. I liked it so much ...

A couple of years ago a fisherman fell overboard in Loch nan Uamh and managed a very long swim, I think it was about 3km. The alarm was raised when his creel boat was found aground. I understand he was found in the pub! Speaking as an ex diver, an inflated drysuit restricts your movements massively ...

Sorry - I also meant to add that it felt a significantly better kayak than the expression for me personally (no my wife didn't want the Essence, she prefers the more stable expression) - so if its a step up from an essence its perhaps two steps up from a Carolina. And having a day hatch is a big plus.

I cant comment on the scorpio but I had an Essence 16 and it replaced an Expression 14 (which my lady wife now paddles). The Essence was noticeably narrower and faster, edged pretty well and still felt stable and safe. The narrower hull made it a much better fit for me and the boat seemed pretty tou...

I've got the male version, its a couple of years old now and holding up well although I only paddle with it in poor/cold conditions or if I expect to be swimming. I decided to try it after I spoke to someone who had worn one extensively and found it hard wearing. It seems to be well designed and rob...

Boat now sold.

Simon - I think you are trying to PM me but I'm just getting a blank message form. I've tried to send you an email.

Mark

Reduced Price - Now £1250 ono.

Mark

I met someone last year who rather than moving the front one back had fitted a removable extra panel forward of the footrests. As I understood it wasn't watertight (it wasn't intended to be) but could easily be removed if needed, to place a large item such as a drybag or trolley behind it although n...

Just bumping this up the list a bit - Nautiraid boat still for sale but I have managed to find the chatham 16 composite I was looking for.

I can understand the desire to prevent some of the anti social aspects of the camping that was taking place (ie drunken litter parties) but this always seems to be at the expense of genuine zero/low impact responsible users instead of dealing properly with the people causing the difficulties in the ...

I agree with thesambaman above - a jetboil is great for heating water for brews and/or dehydrated meal packs but less good for cooking other things. So its ideal when you have a quick brew stop, especially if the weather is poor and all you need is to heat some water quickly and simply. If that's su...

I suspect the unexpected difference in storage volumes (ie less or similar volume in a longer boat) could be down to the positioning of the bulkheads? If a longer boat has a longer internal length inside the cockpit then the length either side of the bulkheads will be compromised as a result, leadin...

I've advertised this under sea kayaks but thought it might be worth putting under here as well:- I have a nautiraid GR11 500 folding sea kayak in used but good condition for sale. There are a few scuffs/abrasions to the hull but no holes and it is sound and seaworthy. This is the touring version (al...

No Kayak wrote:Have you considered a folding one? Always had a soft spot for the Nautiraid kayaks.

Please see my advert in the sea kayaks for sale section - I've a Nautiraid GR11 500 looking for a good home.

Mark

No worries Sophie, enjoy your boat.

Cheers

Mark