Tricked out kayaks Hitting the water - Wavelength Paddling Magazine

Our Tricked-Out Kayaks
One of the great things about kayaking is the inherent
simplicity. All you really need to get started is a kayak, a paddle
and the basic safety gear.
But like all hobbies, we can complicate things as much as
we want. And nothing has the potential to complicate life as
much as gear. It can improve our kayaking comfort, efficiency
and convenience. But it can come at the cost of forsaking the
simplicity that helps define kayaking.
But this article isn’t about simplicity, so minimalists, put your
Seat and Bilge Sponge
(Skwoosh)
Cargo cockpit cover
(Beluga Outdoor Gear)
Interior mounted
cockpit bags
(North Water)
Cargo Half-Skirt
(Beluga Outdoor Gear)
KayakSailor
(Kuvia)
basic nature aside as we explore the world of kayak clutter. Just
as car lovers can deck out hotrods, so can we kayakers deck out
our kayaks.
How far can we go? Well, our goal here was to create the
ultimate tricked-out kayak. And in the end we actually needed
two kayaks to accommodate all the items.
So is our life better now? Sometimes. But not always.
Everything has an upside and downside, so in our brief appraisal
of the items that make up our tricked out kayak, we take a look
at our impression of the pros and cons of each item. u
Under deck bag
(North Water)
How we selected the items
We didn’t. Instead we put out a cattle-call
email to various gear manufacturers to take part,
at no cost to them to participate, and this is the
result. We tried not to exclude anyone, but a few
items offered to us fell off the rails mainly due
to deadline restrictions. We got swamped!
Because of the complexity, the contributed
kayak sails didn’t get a complete workout.
Instead, we’re going to outline the four sails we
were offered separately in a later issue. Also, we
fully intend to improve our tricked out kayak
over time, so if items are missing, we’ll fill in
the gaps later. To nominate items for inclusion
in a future “tricked out kayak beyond all belief,”
email kayak@wavelengthmagazine.com
Sea Anchor
(Sea-Lect)
Check out our tricked-out
kayak in video online
WINTER 2010 WAVELENGTH MAGAZINE 25
WINTER 2010 WAVELENGTH MAGAZINE 25