Learning about Kayaks.

[Bazoo]

I am clueless about kayaks. I am in the researching and learning phase. So let me tell a bit about myself and what I think I want, then have at me with suggestions of what I need.

 

I have a 2 man bass buster plastic boat. I want a kayak so that I can fish places that I can't move my boat to the water because it's either too heavy or cumbersome.

 

I am 6'5" and 330 pounds. The top requirement for me is stability. I have a balance issue because of a neurological condition. I feel off balance sometimes and will fall when standing on occasion if I don't have something to grab onto.

 

So... where do I start?

[casts_by_fly]

First, why can’t you put wheels on the back of the prowler?  Then you half wheel it half drag. I bet it’s lighter than a kayak you’d need. 
 

you’ll want a wide and stable one. Price depends on the method of propulsion. Paddle, peddle, motorized. The bigger the better generally but width means stability. Look at an oldtown sportsman paddle 120 as a baseline for weight, size and cost. It’s stable. 

[Choporoz]

You didn't mention budget.  This one may startle your wallet.  And it is a barge to paddle.  But it is wide, stable, light, and pedals surprisingly well.  I got this so that my wife can cartop alone, stand all day and enjoy comfortable seat with decent fishing layout.

Native Slayer 10 Propel:

[Bigbox99]

7 hours ago, Bazoo said:

I am clueless about kayaks. I am in the researching and learning phase. So let me tell a bit about myself and what I think I want, then have at me with suggestions of what I need.

 

I have a 2 man bass buster plastic boat. I want a kayak so that I can fish places that I can't move my boat to the water because it's either too heavy or cumbersome.

 

I am 6'5" and 330 pounds. The top requirement for me is stability. I have a balance issue because of a neurological condition. I feel off balance sometimes and will fall when standing on occasion if I don't have something to grab onto.

 

So... where do I start?

Perception outlaw 11.5 and just fish seated in the very tall seat.  The low sides and almost flat bow make it east to pitch while seated.  It's light weight too and easy to transport.  It's affordable and super stable but the very high seating position turns you into a sail so it's not good for long distances or high wind.  It's just about perfect for a light weight highly mobile super stable fishing platform for not too windy days.

 

[WackyWormNedRig]

Native makes a serious pedal kayak. I think they start at around 2400.00. It depends what you’re looking for. Do you want to pedal or paddle? Maybe a motor? I’m guessing you have a trailer. Maybe a nucanoe frtonier 10 with a trolling motor. It all depends on what you want.

[Bankc]

At 6'5" and 330lbs, you're going to need a really big kayak.  Doubly so with balance issues.  Honestly, I'm not certain a kayak would be a good choice for you.  And a kayak that size is probably going to weight close to what your bass buster weighs.

 

What I would do in your situation is find a local dealer, or make a drive out to one.  Find a place that specializes in kayaks and has models they will let you demo.  You might find that no kayak out there works for you, as is.  But you might be able to do something like add outriggers to one to make it work. 

 

Even the biggest fishing kayaks usually have a maximum seat weight of around 350lbs.  And being 6'5" puts your center of gravity a lot higher than what most kayaks are designed for.  So you're going to have a pretty narrow range of options even before accounting for the balance issues.  My advice would be to not gamble on this and make sure whatever you buy will work before you buy it.  Which means I wouldn't buy anything without testing it out first. 

[Bigbox99]

I say get something stable and light you can unload out of a pickup or top of a car and drag out across the dirt to the water without fiddling around with trailers or some pedal drive.  Something with a high seating position so you don't have to stand to pitch and can fish seated the entire time.  For me thats been the Perception Outlaw 11.5.  I fish out of mine 100% seated because I am barely comfortable standing up in a Pond Proweler and any kayak is way too unerving for me and I have zero problems pitching with 7 foot rods from that lawn chair on a surf board shaped Outlaw 11.5.  It's also light enough to easily car top.  I do my loading solo and with one hand if I wanted to.

[Bazoo]

Thank you for all the suggestions. I definitely have some research to do.

 

I didn't mention a budget because I haven't a clue. I won't be rushing out and buying a kayak, and most likely I'll buy used if possible.

 

I had seen outriggers before and have kept the idea in the back of my mind, and that may be an option.

 

The boat I have has water logged foam, making it I'd guess 125 pounds heavier than normal. I have made a cart for it, but it is right at the limit of what I push up hill for any distance. I figure that even if I get the water out, with the addition of a trolling motor and battery, the weight will be the same. So basically, it's a boat that I need to have drive up access.

 

I don't have a trailer, and I car top the boat by myself. But moving it from the parking lot to the waters edge is the main issue. Some of the places I want to fish, the distance would be over 100 yards, and It's just too far.

 

If I had a kayak that weighed 100 pounds or less, I could do it. Which is why I am learning.

 

@Bankc thank you, that was very helpful.

 

I still have a lot to digest and will of course be coming back to this thread and looking into all the suggestions everyone has made. Thank you all.

[padlin]

Most of the big sturdy full size kayaks I’ve seen weigh at least as much, if not more, than your boat. 

 

Think I’d do an internet search in your area and spend some time talking to a few dealers, worth a few phone calls.

[Scott F]

If stability is your main issue, I’d look into a personal pontoon. They inflate and assemble in about 10 minutes and will fit in the trunk of a car when you want to transport. You can attach a trolling motor if you are covering a lot of water and use oars for moving and positioning. They are extremely stable. You sit on a seat between the pontoons. You will have your feet and legs in the water. I use it 90% of the time floating rivers. On a small river, they are one way transport. motors aren’t practical and you can’t row them upstream. I use a seat from my bass boat as it’s more comfortable than the supplied seat

 

[Bigbox99]

Those pond boats are obscenely heavy.  I have an 8 foot pond prowler and it takes significant effort to get into the back of my truck on 35s and takes an enormous amount of effort to shove it into the water once fitted with a battery and trolling motor.  There is absolutely no comparison between it and my 77 pound kayak rated for over 400lbs that I unload from the top of a car.  I love standing up and punching mats with the Pond Prowler but it's such a pain to load and shove around I don't use it nearly as much as the kayak for small bodies of water.  

[Bazoo]

53 minutes ago, Scott F said:

If stability is your main issue, I’d look into a personal pontoon. They inflate and assemble in about 10 minutes and will fit in the trunk of a car when you want to transport. You can attach a trolling motor if you are covering a lot of water and use oars for moving and positioning. They are extremely stable. You sit on a seat between the pontoons. You will have your feet and legs in the water. I use it 90% of the time floating rivers. On a small river, they are one way transport. motors aren’t practical and you can’t row them upstream. I use a seat from my bass boat as it’s more comfortable than the supplied seat

 

Thanks. I hadn't considered one of those. I also didn't have any idea what it was called. Certainly, worth looking into and considering.

[Fishingmickey]

     Blue Sky and Jackson 360 are catamaran style (might be one and the same now) might work well for you. But it is also big and heavy. Your size at 6'5" and 330 narrows the field considerably.  For your size you need a bigger platform.

     Slayer Titan 12, Hobie PA 14, Jackson Big Rig are some of what come to my mind for big guy kayaks.  Those are all 12' long or longer and wider kayaks.  They are heavy, 100lbs or more.  They pretty much require a trailer or truck bed to travel with.  One last thought is, seating is everything in a kayak and if you can't sit comfortably for hours. It gets pretty sucky fast. So you need a stable big kayak with a great seat IMHO. 

     Dynamic makes a dolly that will allow you to easily wheel your boat/kayak down to the water.  It also has a bolt on hitch attachment for hauling out or launching on seriously steep or long ramps.

     I'm not sure what is out there on the inflatable side. The pack raft may be good for river fishing or small waters.  I know they are popular with fisherman in Alaska.  But it would scare me on a larger body of water if the wind came up out of the wrong direction.

     When it gets right down to it. You should find a place that will let you "demo" the kayak your wanting to buy.

FM

[JayMac89]

I don't have a ton of experience with kayaks. I bought my first cheapo last fall and by February I bought an old town pedal drive 106. That's 10'6".

 

I'll just give you my experience. First I'm a life long surfer, very good balance. My kayak weighs around 80 pounds I belive without the drive. Drive is about 20. With a cart it's a breeze to move around. And the quality is phenomenal. The difference between a cheap kayak and a old town (or any other big brand I'd assume) is night and day. 

 

As far as balance goes, I stand and fish with no issues. BUT like I said, life long surfer. I'm also only 5'7 and 160. Not going to lie, there's been times where I'm not really paying attention and got a little wobble. Never got close to getting wet, never felt uncomfortable, but just a little "whoa" if you know what I mean. My point is simply, you'll probably want a pretty big kayak if your planning on standing. They are stable, but if I'm getting a little wobble every once in a blue moon, with good balance and way smaller.... I'm sure you get what I'm saying. With that said, I can sit and fish comfortably with no issues. And if your comfortable with that, I don't think you'd need to go overboard. A 12 footer should serve you well id imagine. 

 

100% get a pedal or motorized. I like my pedal. I had a paddle. It got me off the bank so I was happy. But it's two totally different worlds. Coming from a boat, your going to hate a paddle. Pedal also keeps weight down due to no battery and motor. 

 

Like I mentioned, your going to want a quality kayak at your size. The cheapest aren't going to do it for you. So be prepared for that. Still plenty of nice kayaks in that 2-3k range. I was looking into the native slayer but ultimately chose old town. 

 

I have a pickup, so loading and unloading is a breeze. It would be doable to car top my kayak. But honestly, I wouldn't want to. Especially if it's an suv rather than a car. 

 

I love the kayak. It's such a cool experience. They are fun. But if I put myself in your shoes I got to say I'd be getting another pound prowler not water logged, and put wheels on the back. If that's out of the question, I'd be looking at a quality brand 12 footer pedal drive. A test drive would be ideal. But it wasn't possible for me. If you find yourself in that situation, I'd say you'd need to be comfortable with sitting and fishing. Hard to say without being in your shoes. But balance issues and kayaks while standing and fishing don't go together in my eyes. No matter how stable they may be. 

 

But again, take what I said with a grain of salt. These other guys have far more experience

[Pogues2300]

I’m6’4 220 own a pelican pedal kayak. I stand up to stretch my legs. Kayak seems very stable but I have just felt sitting down pedaling into the wind/current to be my jam. Very stable kayak but the only time I really stand up is when I want to see the milfoil I’m pitching in.

[JayMac89]

Here is a suggestion. Look up Chad hoover. Big kayak guy and a bigger guy himself. Look into what he uses. 

 

Also I remember when I was doing research watching videos of bigger guys reviewing certain kayaks. Try looking those up, it'll give you a better idea of what your looking at as far as stability goes

[BrianMDTX]

@Bazoo I have a pontoon boat. A Sea Eagle 285fpb. I believe it’s rated up to 450 lbs. It’s very stable and you can get a wheel kit for it that makes transport simple. You can even put up to a 70 lb. thrust TM or a 3.5 hp outboard. 
 

[WackyWormNedRig]

19 hours ago, Bazoo said:

I am clueless about kayaks. I am in the researching and learning phase. So let me tell a bit about myself and what I think I want, then have at me with suggestions of what I need.

 

I have a 2 man bass buster plastic boat. I want a kayak so that I can fish places that I can't move my boat to the water because it's either too heavy or cumbersome.

 

I am 6'5" and 330 pounds. The top requirement for me is stability. I have a balance issue because of a neurological condition. I feel off balance sometimes and will fall when standing on occasion if I don't have something to grab onto.

 

So... where do I start?

I get on YouTube and watch some kayak videos before buying. Maybe even take a ride to your nearest kayak dealer, they have have demos.

[MediumMouthBass]

For bigger guys i think Nucanoe is the best option.

Very, very wide kayak, has a 360 swivel seat, tons of room.

Lots of adjustment options, and an extreme weight capacity.

The Unlimited (kinda pricey) has a 650lbs weight max (for kayaks weight capacity maxes take your weight plus the weight of the kayak combined, if its under the max you are good to go).

Example, i weigh 210lbs, my kayaks 77lbs, weight capacity is 450. So ive got about another 163lbs of gear i can bring before things start getting sketchy on the water.

 

Its a big kayak, ive seen them at my local shop and i want one some day. Its like a boat, but lighter and easier to move.

 

The budget kayaks are what most newer people gravitate towards (think Walmart kayaks for under $500). Stay far away from these. For the average guy they wont be enough or even hold up well, for anyone that has balance issues its an immediate no. These kayaks tip so easily, even when sitting.

Sadly fishing kayaks are very much a pay to play type of thing.

 

And the more expensive ones are definitely worth it, but they arent for everyone.

Most people decide they would rather keep saving for a boat, or just pass on the kayak for the moment.

[flyfisher]

Good advice for the most part on here.  I wouldn't waste time watching a bunch of youtube videos unless you are looking to get a bunch of info you may not use.  For a guy your size you have to go check them out and on the water itself.  Keep in mind also that a guy who weighs 150 is gonna be a lot different than what you would and your own personal balance is a huge factor as well.  

 

Another option is seeing if there are any local kayak clubs and their members might let you check out their boats in the water or a demo days.

 

As far as the chad hoover thing...he is heavily biased and sponsored as are many so take that with a grain of salt.

[ol'crickety]

I've paddled thousands of miles in canoes and kayaks. That said, I know that canoes aren't popular as other platforms, but I suggest a canoe. They're big, carry a lot of gear, weigh less than kayaks, and can portaged and wheeled. A pontoon boat is another good option. I don't know if you've ever noticed, but I catch a few bass from my canoe. My pond's dock has a fishing kayak. I can take it whenever I want. I go with the canoe. 

[Bazoo]

1 hour ago, ol'crickety said:

I've paddled thousands of miles in canoes and kayaks. That said, I know that canoes aren't popular as other platforms, but I suggest a canoe. They're big, carry a lot of gear, weigh less than kayaks, and can portaged and wheeled. A pontoon boat is another good option. I don't know if you've ever noticed, but I catch a few bass from my canoe. My pond's dock has a fishing kayak. I can take it whenever I want. I go with the canoe. 

Thanks for the suggestion. And... no I ain't noticed. LOL! What kind of stability does a canoe have?

 

I've never been on either a canoe or kayak.

[ol'crickety]

5 minutes ago, Bazoo said:

What kind of stability does a canoe have?

 

There are two kinds of stability: primary and secondary. My Old Town canoe has great primary stability. It feels sooooooo stable and it is...until it isn't. Push it far enough and it will entirely tip, dumping all my gear.

 

My Bell canoe has terrible primary stability. I sit in it and feel like I'm going to constantly tip for the first five minutes. However, if I do tip, I go over, but the canoe doesn't. The canoe remains upright, saving my fishing gear.

 

There are canoes that have pretty good primary and secondary stability and I'd suggest one of those because if your canoe goes all the way over, you lose your gear and that's expensive. 

[MN Fisher]

6 minutes ago, Bazoo said:

What kind of stability does a canoe have?

Depends on how you rig it - mine was stable enough to stand in for pitching...but I'd mounted outriggers on it.

[TnRiver46]

Canoes are awesome, I can stand in mine no problem and it’s from the 1970s. Weighs 53 lbs empty, my wife’s jackson fishing kayak weighs close to 90 lbs .