How we got into kayaking for super cheap!
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So this summer my husband and I have finally gotten into something that I’ve been wanting to do for years – kayaking! And it’s genuinely made our summer so much fun.
I’m someone who was partly raised on boats – at least until I was seven. When I was a baby, my parents had their own boat that we’d sleep on and everything. Unfortunately, we moved about an hour inland when I was seven, and that largely stopped our boating adventures. Still, the water has always called to me and, somehow, simply being on the beach never seemed to be enough. I’m truly my happiest when I’m on the water!
Getting into kayaking is relatively simple
Since we’ve started kayaking almost every weekend this summer, I’ve realized how kayaks are by far the easiest way to get out on the water. We see tons of other people with their boats, small and big, even just simple trailered boats with a little outboard engine. But as soon as you have a motor on your boat (at least around here), you need to get the boat registered, acquire your boating license, a trailer, a license for your trailer… the list goes on! It’s more complicated. Kayaking, on the other hand, is so much simpler.
You don’t need a boating license to kayak, nor do you need a trailer to transport it. Plus, no gasoline is required, just pure manpower. Not to mention, kayaks are much smaller than even your smallest boat, and this makes storage a lot more doable.
Kayaking is pretty cheap!
Getting into kayaking doesn’t have to be expensive, either. We are huge fans of Craigslist, and that’s where we got ours! Thrifting is a great way to save money on clothes, furniture, etc., and it certainly didn’t sell us short with finding the perfect kayak!
I was browsing Craigslist in the weeks after our trip to my grandma’s in Long Island last July. One of her neighbors lends us his kayaks to use while we’re there, and I finally decided to start looking for my own!
I came across a tandem (two-seater) sit-on-top kayak for… can you believe this? $125! This was very low-priced compared to the other kayaks I was seeing, so I called the guy and set up a time to meet. That began my research on how I was going to even pick up this kayak! I’d never transported one before.
Transporting a kayak – not as hard as you might think!
The one thing that worried me about this kayak in particular was how long it is. At a little over 16 feet, I was worried it would be too long for our car. Then, a Reddit thread on the topic reassured me – apparently, kayak and car lengths have nothing to do with each other. Basically, it’s perfectly fine to have a kayak which stretches past the length of your car. If it stretches too far (usually beyond 3-4 feet, depending on your state), you just need a red flag (daytime) or red light (nighttime) at the end.
In addition to Reddit threads, I found so many helpful YouTube videos demonstrating how to tie down kayaks. This one in particular was so helpful, because I was debating whether to use our car, which didn’t yet have a roof rack, to tie it down for the trip home. The girl also explained two really helpful knots that I’ve been using since!
All in all, for simply getting the kayak home after we bought it, I decided to borrow my parents’ minivan, which already had a roof rack. After that, we bought this roof rack for our Honda CRV, which doesn’t require side rails to install! (So much cheaper than a Thule equivalent, and it’s worked great for us and feels very sturdy. We also installed it ourselves in about an hour!)
Click here to read my in-depth post on how we tie down our kayak for secure transport.
Let the adventures begin!
Once we had a way to transport our kayak, we started taking it out almost every weekend! (Gotta love summer.) Our first excursions brought us to a couple different lakes around our state, Connecticut. My husband loves fishing, too, so whenever we’re on the boat, he’s almost always casting his line!
And I, for my part, made sure to get some swimming in! Yes, getting into and out of the water from the kayak is a bit difficult, but so worth it! (I did almost give my husband a heart attack the first time….) And yes, those are my unnecessarily long flippers so I can adequately feel like a dolphin in the water!
After some practice in the very calm waters of lakes, we tried our first saltwater expedition, and thereafter we tried two other seaside spots. It is important that the weather is calm for a day kayaking on the sea, and we do stay away from very big bodies of water, such as the Long Island Sound. Thankfully, there are many little inlets and bays to explore without getting into rough conditions. Still, a windy day can make any body of water a bit wavy, so we always check the forecast ahead of time.
All in all, our new favorite summer hobby!
I am just so excited to finally be getting out on the water after a long hiatus from my childhood boating adventures. Though we live about 45 minutes from the shore at the closest, having a kayak has made getting out on the water easy for us. Yes, learning to load your kayak on the car and secure it takes longer at first, but at this point we can do it in probably 5 minutes. The more you practice, the easier it gets!
I hope that if kayaking is interesting to you, you might feel emboldened to try it yourself! No matter where you live, there are lakes and ponds to check out. Don’t feel like you have to have an expensive boat to get out on the water!
