We rented a tandem kayak and took a 12 mile trip down the Illinois river this weekend near Tahlequa, Oklahoma. It was beautiful stretch of river with tall cliffs and crystal clear water and we had a ton of fun and can't wait to do it again. We hope to try other rivers in OK and western Arkansas and Missouri and are already thinking about buying a kayak. The one we rented was a Malibu sit-on-top style with nice adjustable seats and back rests and to rent the yak, paddles, life jackets and haul us up river, they charged me about 40 bucks. Seems like you could buy a nice used kayak for the cost to rent one 8 or ten times and was wondering if anyone knows much about kayaks and what features to look for? I have a Titan Crewcab truck to haul it.

I have two solo's. The outfitter we use in the MO Ozarks charges 25 to shuttle a vehicle and 28.50 to rent his plain tandem kayak, so we come out ahead leaving the truck and kayaks at home and renting. We have a motorcycle and enjoy the trip over and back as well. I have been down several of the Ozark streams and highly recommend the Eleven Point at Alton, MO.

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"Give me Liberty..."

I got my first solo kayak real cheap because the color scheme from the factory was considered a defect...

I prefer "recreational" kayaks... you sit low and the kayak itself is pretty wide. If you tip, there's something wrong with you. They also don't sink much.... I've paddled up streams with only 6 inches of water. I use mine for enjoying nature, so there's no need for speed.

I prefer solo to tandem... you're not stuck with the other person. You can explore whereever you want. It makes conversation easier too.. you don't need to talk behind you or to the back of someones head.

I either toss them in the back of my truck and tie them down, or I use my old sedan with a home made kayak rack mounted on the roof.

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- The Federalist #46 -

I used to live in Memphis years ago and my girlfriend ( now my wife ) and I would go to the Arkansas Ozarks to camp, fish and canoe. One of the prettiest overnight canoe/camp trips was the upper section (between Ponca & Pruitt) of the Buffalo National River. I would highly recommend it........late April thru May was the best time.

Don

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Laus Deo! <><

I favor a canoe over a kayak for a number of reasons, it's drier, you can carry more gear, more room to move around, faster (more efficient) than a recreational kayak.

I have owned and paddled kayaks, in 2004 I paddled from Key Largo to Key West, Florida in a sea kayak. That is where kayaks shine over canoes, open, rough water.

You can buy a used Old Town canoe for about $650 or so in most places, maybe less. With that boat you can do day paddling trips, or load it up with a weeks worth of gear and go camping. Get one at leat 16' long, preferably 17', as in all watercraft, the more waterline length, the more speed and efficiency.

That's fine for lakes and such.... but try doing some real water exploration in one of those huge boats!

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- The Federalist #46 -

USAF385,

Actually, I have done quite a bit of exploring shallow, constricted waterways in canoes, heavily laden with gear. Here's a link with some pics of a trip I led in 2005 through the Okefenokee swamp, 35 miles in three days. Many tight, narrow creeks, shallow water, sometimes paddling the boat through just inches of mud and water. All of the participants were novices except for me:

Okefenokee 2005

550 miles on the Yukon river in a 16 1/2 foot solo canoe, about 400 pounds of paddler and gear:

New Page 1

A recreational kayak is OK if you want to get out on the water for a few hours, but not for making miles or carrying any gear.

Couldn't resist, a pic of me and my favorite tripping boat, a Wenonah Prism solo canoe, 16 1/2 foot long, loaded with a total of 400 pounds of paddler and gear:

http://tjadventures.com/images/okefe...photos2/81.jpg

Canoeguy is right, a canoe is almost as handy in shallow water and close quarters as a kayak, while providing much greater cargo capacity. On the other hand, if it's just casual daytrips, it's hard to beat a kayak for portability. My 11' Old Town Loon is probably the best boat investment I've ever made, in terms of most fun for the $. At 35 lbs., I can schlep it in and out of my truck bed or hoist it onto the roof rack easily, and it holds a soft cooler with lunch and a couple of beers behind the seat, some fishing gear, etc. For longer trips, with more gear necessary, a canoe gets the nod. Keep this up, and you'll find that as with S&Ws, you'll need more than one boat for more than one mission...

Canoeguy,

I'm just teasin'. I couldn't help but "trash talk" canoes to the guy who's name is... Canoeguy!

I actually own a canoe myself... but it hasn't seen use in a while. Not sure of the size really.

Nice pics of the trips! (Still, I don't see any areas as tight as the places I go through in my kayak............. )

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- The Federalist #46 -

Thanks for sharing your pics. They were great. I to have spent a lot of time in a canoe years ago in northern Ontario. Brought back memories.

We had two kayaks that we used for ten years on our boats. These were the sit on top, hard plastic, 9' long. They paddled like a dream, very stable and were just about indestructible. As far as tandem kayaks think twice. Most kayakers call them "Divorce boats". They can only be used by two as when one is aboard you are either too far forward or back for proper balance and trim. It is hard for two folks to be in sync for the entire trip and as noted above you are talking over your shoulder or to her back the whole ride. Singles are easier to handle and just more fun. Spend a little extra and get quality light weight paddles. They really make a difference on longer trips. Enjoy!

Just bought a couple sit on top kayaks the other day. : )
Spitfires. 9 ft. 34 lbs. Have only had them out once so far, on a pond, but heading to the river in a little bit. I had planned on getting a tandem bc I have 8 yr old and I was afraid that she would get tired of paddling her own, but I will be taking mine out without her some of the time and didn't want to be stuck with a two seater while solo. Worst case, I can always just tow hers with mine when she gets tired. LoL. The spitfires handle well, track fairly well, they are wide so dumping is really hard to do. No dry storage, but straps on top for dry bags. Easy to load and transport. Fairly cheap, too. (not once you add in the price of paddles and dry bags and accesories, but still not too bad.) For the price it costs to rent each time, though, I figured it would be better to purchase my own.

Mine, before we even left Dicks parking lot.


Maddie in hers (poor quality pics, taken with camera phone.)








...and this is what happens when there is a loose end to the tie down that gets caught in your jeep tire and rips the handle off of the brand new kayak, then the lets the metal thingy on it snap down onto your bumper. Grr. Luckily, it broke the rope part of the handle, so easy to replace for under 10 bucks. The jeep on the other hand....well, just make sure all loose ends are secure!! D'oh!

I much prefer canoes over kayaks, however, we have a fairly fast flowing river here which rises from a spring and the custom is to put in and paddle up-stream then back. It’s too deep for poling.

I must admit that paddling a canoe up-stream is more difficult than a kayak.

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Ipsis Rebus Dictantitbus

I have a LLbean 9' sit in kayak delivered to my door for about $400 about 5 years ago. I have had great experiences fishing and nature watching. Had a stingray lift me out of the water, another tow me around the intercoastal until I cut it lose, porpose I could touch, a tarpon in and out of the boat, caught some nice fish. Pick your weather, they don't do well in rough water.

I will say that learning to paddle a kayak is normally easier than learning to paddle a canoe, it is more intuitive for most people.

I worked for a kayak shop in Alexandria, Virginia (Atlantic Kayak) for a year, selling kayaks (high performance sea kayaks and recreational boats) and leading tourist tours around the Washington, D.C. area. Three hour tours, most times the participants had never been in a kayak before, a short five minute demo and off they would go....

We used Old Town Otters (tandem) and Loons (solo) for the most part.

I kept bugging the boss to carry at least one canoe as a choice for familys, she never did while I worked there, but when she and her husband adopted two girls and needed a family boat, she bought a 17' canoe....

Working in a kayak shop was like an alcoholic working in a bar, or a gun enthusiast working in a gun shop. I almost certainly spent the majority of my pay on paddling gear, including a very expensive 17' sea kayak, which I used to paddle from Key Largo to Key West. Here's a link to some pics and a trip report:

Florida Keys Trip

Curious.. Where do you put in and take out at on that Illinois river?
I might want to take a run down that one of these days. That's not too
awful far from where my place is up there.
I've never tried a tandem kayak.. We have two solo kayaks, and a
couple of canoes.
I like either type of boat ok, but a lot depends what I'm doing.
Both of our kayaks are more efficient than either of the canoes, so
they are faster with less effort.
But of course, the canoes can haul more, and you can run two people
in one boat if you can only bring one. The canoe we use the most is a
fairly large orange Coleman. We have used that for years, and never have
had a problem. No problems with any of them actually.. Just avoid
cratering into rocks... :/
I'm really not that picky as to the boat as long as it floats..
We have done the TX hill country rivers the most, but we did the
Buffalo up in the AR Ozarks once. That was a nice area.
Judging from the description, that Illinois river sounds pretty good.
I'm not sure how far it is from Eufaula, but couldn't be too far..
Maybe 100 miles or so..? I'm about 85 miles or so south of Tulsa.

Just google for Tahlequa float trips and there are 8 or 10 places that rent kayaks/canoes/rafts and will take you up river in a bus and you paddle back to their place. Most have 7,12, and 19 mile trips and the 12 mile trip took us about 5 hours with stops for lunch, swimming, and sightseeing. I was pretty tired and glad we didn't do the 19 mile trip. Most of the float trip places are near highway 62 and only about 3 miles from downtown. The place we used was called Falcon floats and it costs roughly $19 per person to rent a kayak and gear and be hauled up river, and 5 bucks for a camp sight which includes bathrooms with showers and a pool.

I'll check that out. Yep, 19 miles is a pretty good trip unless
the water is really moving. 12 sounds almost perfect as we
tend to stop, rest, and goof off a lot. :/
We used to run the upper Guadalupe in the TX hill country a lot,
and we usually did 13 miles, which was about perfect for a day run.
Not too short in case the water is fast, but not too long in case
the water is low and slow. The rivers down here are plenty thirsty..
Been a really dry summer in most parts of Tejas.. I was actually
predicting hot and dry for OK this summer, but it turned out they
got quite a bit more rain up there, than down here.
I live in Houston.. I'm thinking about driving up there tommorow
night.
I need a break, and I also need to check on my property up there.
Haven't been up there since last November. Been a busy summer
and haven't had any time to go play in the dirt. Or water for that
matter.
One thing I like about the river runs besides the obvious R&R is
it's like going back in time. Once you get a good ways into the sticks,
most the scenery probably looks the same now as it did 500 years ago.
I know many of the TX rivers are that way.. Big cypress trees 100's of
years old, etc.. 2009 could easily be 1709 once you get down the
river a good bit. :/