Kayak v's small boat

[iamthecowgodmoo]

Hello fellow raiders,

I was after your thoughts on this as the summer months approach I am keen to get off the shore on onto the water and increase my chances of a good catch. The only problem is, like a lot of us, I suffer from bad motion sickness.

The idea is to have something my girlfriend and I to get around and have a fish the lake (Narrabeen) in, and I have no intention to take it on the harbour, let alone outside.

I'm not really looking for remedies or advice on sea-sickness itself in general - there are plenty of threads about that. I take Kwells when travelling as I find them the best over-counter meds for me and I take all the usual precautions in prevention. What I am looking for is what would be the best on the water for people like us. What your thoughts and experiences are.

My options are a two-person SOT kayak or a small powered boat around 3-4 meters (I have a tow bar etc).

Cheers,

S.

[Guest no one]

From a pure cost point of view the Kayak is the way to go! A boat will cost you in extras such as registration, trailer registration, fuel, maintaining the motor & all the bells and whistles. Although in return you'll go faster, further and potentially in more comfort.

It all depends on how bad your sickness is... Wind can rock a boat even in a lake, I'd imagine it would rock a kayak too. Visit a kayak dealer and take one for a test drive, see how you feel!

Do you think the motion of using the paddles would help or make your motion sickness worse?

[SgtBundy]

I am tossing up between a Hobie kayak and a small boat too. Same arguments as tef1on - boat costs more to own and run, but at least if you want to jet about different spots its an option. I am only thinking of the boat for that as I want to go in the harbour - if you sticking with one closed water area I think the kayak is probably a much better option - cheaper, some exercise and you can get into shallow or weedy areas boats can't.

At least with the hobie the motion would be with your legs so Tef1ons point about paddle motion might be less, and they have a couple of dual seat mirage drive models as well so both people can contribute to power, or just throw an electric on it if you get lazy. The good thing with the hobies is you can move the kayak and still fish, you don't have to switch to your paddle, but they are a fair bit more expensive than your normal paddle kayak.

My dad suffers motion sickness too - we have been out on tuggerah lake in some choppy wind with a small boat and that was enough to turn him green. He fishes with a hobie and he loves it - I dont think it gives him any motion issues but he tends to go early morning and won't go in any real wind.

[iamthecowgodmoo]

Some afterthoughts: All of the additional/ongoing costs that Tef1on mentioned is a good point worth considering, along with storage (which I didn't consider). There's limited space in my area to keep it, but the kayak would fit on our balcony. Also if I got the boat and found it was not suitable - selling would be a pain.

I never thought about the motion with the paddles would have an affect, but it is a good point to consider. Maybe a nice, wide, two person kayak with a flat bottom would be the way to go. I could fit a small electric motor on it.... (because I'm lazy ) and still have change from $1k. I think with the tiny motor I can avoid getting a boat licence too (I'll check).

[Guest no one]

You won't need a boat license unless the motor is over 9.9hp or is driven over 10knts. If you can find a motor that fits to a kayak that goes over 10knts gimme a call cause that's going to be a fun ride! [emoji1][emoji1][emoji1]

Sounds like your set for a new kayak bro, as mentioned earlier by the Sgt. Hobies are the way forward with pedal power, this will stop you using your arms as much, you'll pay more for one but the reward will be better in the long run. I see them for with electric motors too, looking at all up $2-4k but that's a one off cost where tinny boat will cost you that, plus all the extras each year.

Ask the question in the kayak section, the guys who visit there will be able to give you some good pointers in what to go for and how much it will cost!

[elferoz777]

Newb question

What's the cost to register a tinny and trailer each year? (Roughly)

[Fab1]

Boats/trailers are registered based on length/weight.

My 4.2 tinny and trailer costs roughly $150 a year.

As the guys said there's a lot more costs involved than just the rego, s.

Servicing, maintenance, insurance, fuel, boat licence etc can all add up very quickly.

The only way to cut costs done considerably I know is in the servicing/maintenance if your willing to learn the basics especially if your buying second hand .

The other costs you can't do much about except get slugged and wear the costs.

Basically the bigger the boat the deeper your pockets will need to be, but they all need all these things and the cost of ownership will vary.

Cheers.

Sent from my GT-I8730T using Tapatalk

[DerekD]

For years I have had both a small runabout (3.5m with 25HP) and the peddle drive Hobie Revolution (13 foot long). Registration of the boat was $72 this year and the trailer was a little bit less (think $68) from memory. I went on ebay to get a pulley system for about $50 and have set this up so I can hang up the kayak in the garage. My 4 fishing mates store their Hobie Revolutions on racks down near the water and the rental is currently about $300 per year per kayak.

The boat on trailer cost about $1,000 but there has been maintenance over the years which has put the invested cost up a fair bit. Had a lot of fun with it so no regrets there. Advantages are that you can set up the gear and change locations quickly and easily. You can also stand depending on the floor arrangement in the boat. The motor size is not a factor in requiring a licence but if you travel more than 10 knots (up on the plane) you will need a licence. I like having the boat as I can also take others fishing and there is a little more storage room. The pain with this is that you need a boat ramp to get into the water. I have a few more launch options with the kayak. I have roof racks for my car. It was easier to take my kayak out the heads than it was the boat as the safety equipment required on a boat is more than is required for a kayak. As the trailer is a registered vehicle you can park it on the street but consider where as I am aware of a number of incidents where residents have decided they don't like a boat on trailer being parked on the street in front of their house and have made an issue of it either physically or through council.

My friend suffers sea sickness offshore but has never had an issue on the Hobie. None of the others I know with them have had an issue with this. We fish Sydney harbour and have ranged anywhere between just outside the heads and up to Balmain. Have also taken them up to Pittwater and up the Hawkesbury but I won't do that again (lots and lots of jellyfish and I can feel them jamming between the Hobie Mirage drive fins - ended up using the paddles for the rest of that day). I suspect you won't have issues with motion sickness for a number of reasons. Firstly you spend most of the time looking at the horizon. Secondly as the kayak rolls from side to side over a wave or boat wash you move your body so it stays vertically otherwise you will stuff up the centre of gravity and possibly end up in the drink. The fish are not spooked by the kayak and we have spent hours amongst schools of feeding fish. Fish have even bumped into the side of the kayak. The Hobie I have is a single person unit and cost about $2,500 with safety gear and a few extras. The double person is much more. The resale value of the Hobie range is excellent. If you get a less expensive two person SOT paddle kayak work out how you will stow your fishing gear. I don't like sitting on my backside for hours at a time but my balance is not good enough to stand and stretch like I can on the boat. You get a good workout while on the water.

If I had to chose I'd pick the boat but my fishing buddy would pick the kayak. They both have their advantages. If you are fishing the lakes I'd consider the kayak as there are some shallow sections and they have less draught than an outboard and you'll probably feel more in sync with the nature. Once you feel confident about it and realise you are not getting seasick you will be surprised at where you end up taking it. Regardless of which choice you make please take the time to read the boating rules even if you don't get a boat licence to save grief about safety gear and consideration for others on the water.

Edited November 4, 2014 by DerekD

[iamthecowgodmoo]

Thanks for a very informative reply, Derek. I plan to do a little research on rules/regs etc before venturing on any further. Might be an idea to borrow/hire a kayak for an hour or so to see how it goes too. If I survive that without the "jelly-legs" or upset stomach, then the choice is made.

[DerekD]

Hello again,

If your budget stretches that far then I recommend looking at the Hobie range as the hands free option of the peddle drive is fantastic but you have to be a rather hardcore fishing nut (I know there are five of us in our group) to go down that expensive path. If you are looking for a starting point to get out on the water then there are plenty of other far less expensive SOT paddle options out there. Depending on your balance a wider kayak is more stable but will be slower on the water (boat physics) and a skinnier kayak (like the Epics) will be tippier but will be faster. Higher sides will be more wind affected but you will be less likely to get wet from wash or chop. A few of the vendors are offering fishing accessory packages (includes rod holders) to allow people to start fishing on the water. Unfortunately with the paddle type units you will have to put the paddle down to fish and the rod down to paddle (why we prefer our Hobie drives) but I've seen plenty of people managing to do this. We have two rod holders molded into the Hobie kayak and often use one for a snapper rod to troll a lure and the second one for a lighter rod to flick lures (such as halco twistys) around with.

Excellent idea to try a kayak for a few hours but while doing so think about how you transport/manhandle them and fish from them and how they track on the water. We've had six to eight hour sessions on these so think about how your back and butt will feel after a few hours on the water. As you are planning on fishing Narabeen lakes this might be a non-issue as you might pull into shore and hop off for a stretch a little more frequently than we do.

Met one guy at Pittwater who bought a double paddle kayak so he could get out on the water with his partner and a single mirage peddle drive kayak so he could go out by himself. Genius!!

Edited November 4, 2014 by DerekD

[Gunter]

I'm using an inflatable dinghy with an electric trolling motor on Narrabeen lake. Cheap, quiet, versatile.