Having just spent a week in north Wales, 3 days of which were (to my surprise) on the beach, I was curious to know more about the fat canoe type boats that loads of people had. My view is that beach means getting in the sea as I get bored sitting around – these boats looked fun.

Any ideas on where best to buy, what type to buy and what fixings for the roof bars to carry? Ideally like one of the kids in with me, so a 2 up version would be great. There seemed to be rigid types and inflatable types – are the inflatable ones likely to stay upright?

Cheers

PS Not looking for full on sea kayaks

The rigid ones are great, never tried an inflatable. I have a deep mistrust of anything inflatable on the sea.

We have an Ocean Frenzy – single seat but could take the kids up to about 10 but then they nicked it and go off on their own.

The two up ones are great but heavy so a pair of wheels will help getting it to the beach/sea. I’d get bouyancy aids, a bang on the head can stop even the best swimmer.

Seat backs make it more comfy and a leash for your paddle. After that it’s all about having fun.

I have one of these;
http://www.oceankayak.com/kayaks/tandem_kayaks/malibu_two/

Had it for years now and it’s indestructible. It has been abused by doing lifeboat style launches down shingle beaches, overloading it with adults and falling off the roof rack :oops:.

I’ve been kayaking for some 30+ years and have a range of kayaks and canoes. The old malibu still gets out on the water every now and then. It’s very slow and heavy but therefore safe. Find an empty wave and you can actually surf the thing.

Stay safe, learn about tides and currents. If your going far take some precautions (flares/vhf and training to use them)

We have 3

Ocean Kayak Malibu XL – seats 2adults and used to fit both kids on as well when small
Ocean Kayak scupper pro – faster single seat for fishing and distance

we also have a small single which is good in surf but also for my 9 year old to paddle by herself

They are fantastic and we never go on holiday without at least one of them. Work in lakes and rivers as well.

They are heavy though and the XL takes 2 to lift onto a rack, especially on a land rover or tall mpv

They are bombproof and hold thier value so well that if you buy the right make (Ocean Kayak, Perception, Robson etc ) they will be very easy to resell – my Scupper Pro cost £500 and I often see well used 5 year old ones on ebay for £350

Remeber to budget for paddles (50-100) good bouyancy aids (30-50) wetsuit shortie and waterproof bags plus fishing tackle!

There is nothing like eating freshly caught mackeral cooked on the beach

Thanks all – the Frenzy looks good.

I’d go further than that – I may be mistaken but the OP doesn’t sound like he has experience of kayaks. Please don’t go out on the sea in one of those until you’ve obtained at least a little bit – either by going on a course or going along to a club. Particularly don’t go out on the sea in one of those with your kids on board if you have no experience. Yes they are a lot more stable than traditional kayaks and you can clamber back on if you come off, but the sea can be a unforgiving place even when it all seems very benign.

aracer – no experience but not planning on crossing the Atlantic just yet – thought I’d start with a quick trip across the Channel – a kid perched on each end should keep me stable… 😉

I do hope you’re not really taking it as lightly as that post would suggest. Try reading the last bit of my last sentence again (I should know as despite having lots of experience I have been caught out by it looking nice and calm on the beach). 😐

I’m not saying don’t do it, but a little bit of tuition and help with getting the right kit will make you a lot safer.

Can I support aracers view.

It as an activity where a little knowledge and awareness can go a long way. There are regular free club days and things, please do visit the BCU website and look for local club, or have a days coaching.

At sea, even a few dozen metres off the beach, tides and wind can spoil your day very rapidly.

Sadly there are a number of incidents that have not turned out well, where families or groups were only a couple of hundred metered offshore and could not get back to beach or capsized and could not re enter the boat.

+1 aracer & Matt, plan for all scenarios and ensure you have all the correct safety gear, kids will need the buoyancy aids that keep their heads out the water,

Those big plastic kayaks are ridiculously tough and stable. We’ve had one 6 up and it refused to go down. Great fun but they are a pain to store and travel. We have an inflatable. Much easier to travel with so we often take it even if we aren’t planning a paddle just in case. It is a bit of faff to inflate so it’s a compromise. Its nice and stable, we’ve had it in a couple of feet of surf. Fairly easy to catch waves and surf in.

Don’t want to take all the fun out of it, but I’ll add to the people saying you should get some training before you head out there.

+1 aracer & Matt, plan for all scenarios and ensure you have all the correct safety gear, kids will need the buoyancy aids that keep their heads out the water,

Buoyancy aids don’t keep heads out of water, life jackets do.

Have a read of this and decide whether or not it’s worth knowing what you’re doing:

http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2012/sep/23/canoe-tragedy-father-scotland-interview

nickjb – do you have a recommendation for which inflatable? Wouldn’t mind a look at those before I commit. How do you inflate btw? Is it a compressor into the car battery?

For avoidance of doubt for those above, I’m not gung ho with my kids! I don’t want them wrapped in cotton wool either. It looks fun and I will ensure that training is taken up and most definitely the correct safety gear. I suspect that they will get the bug and take this up as a hobby.

IN which case, win 🙂
You will catch the bug and find yourself doing this kind of thing:
[url=https://flic.kr/p/cHRnX7]Abernethy Ardeonaig[/url] by matt_outandabout, on Flickr
[url=https://flic.kr/p/d5QZuf]River Dochart canoe[/url] by matt_outandabout, on Flickr
[url=https://flic.kr/p/cqjapq]Loch Dochart Canoe[/url] by matt_outandabout, on Flickr
[url=https://flic.kr/p/cqVKn3]Loch Voil canoe pootle[/url] by matt_outandabout, on Flickr
[url=https://flic.kr/p/c6u4Ed]IMGP3249[/url] by matt_outandabout, on Flickr
[url=https://flic.kr/p/dpaf1K]Canoe river Spey[/url] by matt_outandabout, on Flickr
[url=https://flic.kr/p/aD1REa]DSCN0034[/url] by matt_outandabout, on Flickr
[url=https://flic.kr/p/9yMrop]R0011537[/url] by matt_outandabout, on Flickr
[url=https://flic.kr/p/dp92XK]Canoe river Spey[/url] by matt_outandabout, on Flickr
[url=https://flic.kr/p/8TGp7J]P1040845[/url] by matt_outandabout, on Flickr

I guess I’m just the irresponsible type. I do think common sense is mostly overlooked these days though.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/aaz3f2]P1020282[/url] by ScotRoutes, on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/7U91pZ]A wee paddle[/url] by ScotRoutes, on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/7Ve5Qm]21/04/2010[/url] by ScotRoutes, on Flickr

Bloody ‘ell Matt, that campsite is tidier than my house!

Still trying to figure out how I can hide one of those sit on jobs in the garage (and the car roof en route to the beach).

Carry on then.

Oh and here’s a couple of pics of me:

…took the kids (4 & 6) on a camping trip up the river last year.

aracer – if I may ask, what degree of training / experience did/do you have before you were comfortable taking the kids out like that? Or perhaps close to the beach at sea? Is it years of paddling therefore pretty confident or a few days of training?

I’ve been paddling and competing for over 30 years, so maybe not the best example to use. At a minimum I’d suggest being confident by yourself before taking kids – I don’t really even have to concentrate paddling an open canadian like that. Maybe somebody else who’s started more recently would be better placed to comment?

Some great pics, makes me want to get out more. The Sharpness canal isn’t quite the same as the Scottish lochs 😐