bikeperson45 Posted July 23, 2015 Report Share Posted July 23, 2015 Looking to get an inflatable kayak but figuring out what you need to get for them is a little difficult apparently, so TF is definitely the best place to ask. Anyone on here know what kind of license or insurance is required in the UK for one? Or any other experiences with them to bear in mind? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke Rainbird Posted July 23, 2015 Report Share Posted July 23, 2015 Buy one, throw it in the water, paddle. As much as there are probably semi-official routes you can go down to get a certificate of proficiency, screw any of that bull and just get wet. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartMini Posted July 23, 2015 Report Share Posted July 23, 2015 Buy one, throw it in the water, paddle. As much as there are probably semi-official routes you can go down to get a certificate of proficiency, screw any of that bull and just get wet. and maybe inflate it at some point? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrayvon Posted July 23, 2015 Report Share Posted July 23, 2015 Kind of relevant...my brother has one, and we took it to cornwall on a recent holiday. Went in the sea in it, was great fun! Properly inflated and positioned seats are a big factor as to how much you'll be hurting the next day Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomturd Posted July 23, 2015 Report Share Posted July 23, 2015 I have one, used once. It was easy paddling, we went for miles along the coast from one beach to another. But on the way back, against a gentle breeze, I was paddling for my life. Genuinely thought we were going to have to swim for it. It seemed like we were getting absolutely nowhere, while and old couple who had rented a plastic kayak sailed past with ease. The problem is they have high sides and aren't particularly [insert word thats like aerodynamic but for water.. hydrodynamic?] and get caught by the wind really easily, if you want to use it more than once I would go for one of those plastic sit on top type kayaks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeyseemonkeydo Posted July 23, 2015 Report Share Posted July 23, 2015 We got a Z-Pro Pioneer as a wedding present and have used it a few times on rivers but not since the kids came along. Not sure I'd take it to sea but on inland stuff it's been spot on. I made myself a skeg which made a massive difference to the speed and directional stability as otherwise they don't have much to keep them heading forwards since they sit on top of the water with a relatively flat bottom. Would like to get out more on it to be fair. If I wanted to go out at sea I'd definitely get either a surf kayak or a proper plastic jobbie but for messing around (and not having to worry about storing/transporting the thing) the inflatable has been spot on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCOTTY___ Posted July 23, 2015 Report Share Posted July 23, 2015 Www.roho.co.uk (Robin Hood Water Sport) Ask for Paul McDonnell. Massive kayak and water fan! Good friend of mine and will be able to answer any questions you have ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfboy Posted July 24, 2015 Report Share Posted July 24, 2015 Saw these in Cosco and fancied one myself, but I do wonder whether it will be as others have said - used once exercise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bikeperson45 Posted July 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2015 Thanks for the input fellas, ended up going to Decathlon with the intention of getting a £100 but wasn't impressed with the quality of it. So I ended up getting the £250 one that was a lot more robust and took it out today. Fit me and two other pretty well, little cramped for the middle person but we were on it for a hours comfortably. I was surprised at how easy it actually was to inflate and then fold up into the bag again, enough so that it looks like it hopefully won't be a use a few times and never use again thing but time will tell At the end it had let a little bit of water in which I've now seen in the reviews but I'm not sure if I'll return it because for the amount of time it was on the water and with the weight it was a little bit of water and didn't get anything wet, only noticed when I was deflating it. Still really pleased with it though considering my day dream of it getting punctured and flying off like a balloon. I made myself a skeg How'd you go about this? The one I bought has a few attachable little fins to put on the bottom but I don't think they helped a massive amount, probably going to look into this a wee bit more Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeyseemonkeydo Posted July 26, 2015 Report Share Posted July 26, 2015 How'd you go about this? The one I bought has a few attachable little fins to put on the bottom but I don't think they helped a massive amount, probably going to look into this a wee bit more On my phone at the moment and will reply properly when on my laptop but I basically used a picture of a Sevylor one on Google images and scaled it before printing it and cutting it out of a sheet of plastic. Works surprisingly well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeyseemonkeydo Posted July 26, 2015 Report Share Posted July 26, 2015 Right, I searched around and found that Sevylor sell a skeg for some of their kayaks but didn't know if that would be compatible so decided to do something myself. I started with an image of the Sevylor one: And then scaled it to be an appropriate size. I used paint to hack out the majority of the insides (to save on ink) to leave an outline and printed the full size thing over several sheets of A4. That became the initial pattern to cut out of a sheet of 6mm thick nylon and the shape was then offered up to the kayak and modified slightly to snugly fit inside the back of the boat. The Z-Pro has a very useful mounting eye thing at the bottom of the aft section and so I mount it to that using a plastic numberplate nut and bolt. A bit of filing to add a nice radius and stop it puncturing the kayak and it's all gravy! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N.Wood Posted July 29, 2015 Report Share Posted July 29, 2015 I was looking at getting a kayak for a bit of pootling and fishing but ended up buying this: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bikeperson45 Posted July 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2015 Can't really walk into a pizza shop after with one of those though When I'm done with the skeg thing something like this is kind of tempting though - https://napoleonmoses.wordpress.com/2013/06/11/fitting-an-electric-outboard-to-an-inflatable-kayak/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N.Wood Posted July 30, 2015 Report Share Posted July 30, 2015 A pizza shop? No, although it does fully deflate and the whole lot goes in my boot. Regarding licenses and insurance, none are required. I am insured on my boat from Craft Insure (about £50 / year) and happens to be fully comp but I mostly wanted it for third party, if I manage to chop someones leg off with the outboard. I'd imagine the chances of that with a kayak are petty low. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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