Buying a kayak. Wants advice.

[b4black]

I did a little kayaking in Florida over the winter and really enjoyed it. I'd like to buy a pair of kayaks to explore around Illinois. I live on the Fox, so river kayaking would be involved. I might do a little fishing, but nothing too serious.

Any advice on where to buy?
Brands to avoid?
Sit in or sit on?
8', 10' or 12'?

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[GTPpower]

I have used both sit in and sit on. I prefer sit in, but both are awesome. My recommendation is to find a seat you are super comfortable in...the back of my seat is way too short and I end up with a backache after an hour of fishing.

 

[Primalzer]

I just got a couple of 'yaks from my parents. Free 'yaks are the best 'yaks

But seriously, the nickle and dime shit will add up. Roof racks could end up being $1000 on it's own (Yakima roller and saddle setup). Most people want to upgrade paddles, that's another $100 each, then you'll want to upgrade to a different seat type, and that could be $50-100 a piece.

That's after getting the kayak you want though. For a river as big as the fox, you won't want anything shorter than 10' IMO, and even then, that's pretty short. The longer the 'yak, the easier it's going to ride, but the harder it's going to be to turn. Then you get on width, the wider it is, the harder it is to get through the water. If you plan on big open bodies and big rivers, longer and medium width would probably be best. If you plan on going into a lot of little tributaries and portaging, shorter and wider would be better (but a pain on bigger water.)

IMO buy used. You can get some great deals on used, because people buy them with the best of intentions and never end up using them for whatever reason. My parents saved a couple grand by finding used stuff (that was basically new.)

 

[Turbocharged400sbc]

When I was in Boy Scouts we made our own Yaks out of plywood and canvas that were collapsible that we went down the Colorado through the Grand Canyon in they hold up quite well and with modern spray on rubber and vinyl Coatings like Plasti Dip it would be even more waterproof than the b******* we did which we ended up fixing with duct tape.
if I recall it was two sheets of plywood to make one collapsible kayak I'm sure you could Google it and find the plans

 

[Turbocharged400sbc]

 

[Outlaw]

I've also been looking. Costco actually has some in store right now for a pretty good price. I was considering getting one just for messing around in the local ponds/river.

 

[Primalzer]

I saw some at Menard's too. I mean, if you're just putzing around at local ponds and shit, you don't have to get anything too outrageous. I would just caution if you are planning on going on any big water (Fox is pushing it). You'll want a kayak that's got a bit more V in the hull so that won't get you blown around in the wind as much, and be quite a bit more stable in a straight line.