 | Sea Kayaks
So you prefer to paddle your own sea kayak, fair enough. We have a wide range of single sea kayaks, ranging in length and shape depending on how far and where you plan to travel. The longer and sleeker the kayak the more suited to longer distance, whereas the shorter, wider kayaks are less streamlined but more stable. To further narrow down your search We have split Single Sea Kayaks into three groups according to length, but first let us consider the plastic vs fibreglass debate .....
Fibreglass vs Plastic
Traditionally most kayaks were made of fibreglass but more recently plastic has become more and more popular. Many of the traditional old fibreglass kayaks and canoes were very heavy and not all that efficient, but now-days the fibreglass kayaks are usually lighter than their plastic counterparts.
Kayak design will play a large role in determining the speed, weight, stability and strength of a kayak, these features cannot be determined based on construction materials alone. For the purpose of comparison let's assume two kayaks of identical design, one made of plastic and one made of fibreglass. The difference between these two kayaks can then be summarised as follows:
- The plastic kayak will usually be cheaper
- The plastic is more durable
- The fibreglass is usually lighter
- The fibreglass kayak will have a gloss finish and be slightly more efficient through the water (faster)
- The fibreglass is marginally more rigid in surf and swell, giving slightly better performance.
Most fibreglass models are also available in carbon and or carbon / kevlar, which are lighter and stronger than fibreglass but more expensive. If you can afford it and believe that you know how to look after your kayak then a carbon / kevlar kayak will make you the envy of your paddling mates.
Remember though that even carbon / kevlar have nothing compared to plastic when it comes to durability. I learned the hard way when one of my plastic kayaks fell off it's vertical stand onto a carbon / kevlar sea kayak. Well, you can guess the result ... the plastic was unscratched while the carbon / kevlar kayak was fractured in four places and had to be repaired (never to be the same again).
At the end of the day you need to decide what you want, there is no wrong or right. The majority of people these days choose plastic as it is carefree and robust. You can slam into rocks laden with oysters, drop it while trying to load it onto your car, pull up alongside other kayakers, pontoons and even rocks without fear of 'hurting' it.
To put it another way, if you buy plastic you can rest assured that you will most likely NEVER have to repair your kayak whereas, if you buy composite (fibreglass or carbon / kevlar) you need to accept the fact that you WILL need to undergo repairs at some stage or other.
If you are the competitive type, wanting to enter it into races or are somewhat fanatical and want every ounce of efficiency you can get out of their kayak AND know how to be extra careful and mindful that a composite kayak is fragile, then perhaps composite is the choice for you.
UPDATE - with the recent introduction of THERMOFORMED PLASTIC KAYAKS many of the above arguments in favour of composite kayaks have fallen away. THERMOFORMED KAYAKS now offer the weight and visual appeal of a carbon kayak combined with the durability of plastic. Also...some Polyethylene kayaks are now constructed in 3 layers - this allows the kayak to have much thicker walls without adding weight, resulting in an overall stiffer, more rigid shell.
Shorter Sea Kayaks (Under 4.5m) - These Shorter Sea Kayaks are actually included in amongst our touring kayaks but despite their lenght they have all the features of a 5m sea kayak and could thus be considered to be just small sea kayaks.
Conventional Sea Kayaks (Around 5m) - The Conventional lenght Sea Kayaks tend to be around the 5m. Clearly, over time 5m has become the popular length giving optimal speed and efficiency without being too long - which creates other issues relating to storage, transportation, weight etc.
Expedition Sea Kayaks (Well Over 5m) - These Longer Sea Kayaks are for paddlers wanting the extra length for added speed and efficiency plus extra storage. These features may be desired for longer overnight or multi-day expeditions.
Gernerally they are slightly heavier and more expensive than their smaller counterparts and one needs to determine whether the extra speed and storage volume are worthy of the sacrifice of having a longer kayak that is harder to manage out of the water.
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