Official Kayaking/Canoeing Thread

I'm looking into a Jackson Kilroy or Big Rig for my first fishing kayak. I need to go to a demo day before I make my choice. I'm curious to hear from any larger guys out there who fish from kayaks. Are you comfortable? Do you have space to work and move around?

 

I'm a big guy and I'm plenty stable in my 13' OC Trident. Plenty of room to sit flat-legged. The Killroy looks absolutely badass though. I have a buddy who runs a sit-in hybrid like the Killroy and he's bone dry at the end of the day. I'm constantly wet in my SOT. Then again, it's basically impossible to sink my boat by flipping it, and it's easy to right again.

The Big Rig is nice but if I wanted a huge heavy boat I'd buy a nucanoe and add a trolling motor.

 

i have only paddled sit in kayaks which is what draws me to the Kilroy.

 

In that price range the old town predator MX or 13' is the best!
They are making a new XL which is overpriced but has some nice features

 

Very similar to my kayak but too heavy and wide for me. I wanted to hit big water and be able to travel fast, so the Ocean Kayak trident line was right for me. The Old Town 13 is about 35 lbs heavier than my boat. If you want to stand up and don't mind giving up some speed and a heavier boat, Old Town seems like a great choice. OT and OC are part of the same parent company I think.

 

I like the horizontal rod storage of the Jacksons, I would rather than that rods sticking up in the air, just my preference.

 

Hello,
I am planning to buy a kayak and was hoping to get some advice from other Tacoma owners that load their kayaks on their truck. I have decided that the roof rack is the likely better option in my case. My problem is transporting my dog. I thought about doing a camper shell for this but can't get over the looks and price!! So now I am wondering what can I do to safely transport my dog in the truck bed? while also having the kayaks loaded along with other gear. Mostly concerned about heat exhaustion. Is there another option I am missing for loading the kayaks?

Also, did you have to drive slower with the kayaks on top? I usually go 75mph on the freeway. Planning to take the kayaks on camping trips as well. Will also take bicycles on tow hitch rack.

 

Are you looking for a way to shade the dog without a full on camper shell? You could get a softopper or bestop supertop and leave the sides up. And if you don't like roof racks you can get this rack which will fit over top.
http://usrack.com/truck_cap_rack.php

I just got this rack to use in combination with a tonneau cover. It comes as a pair but I already had the roof rack so I'm just using one.

 

^^ Good option there.

Home Depot sells a rack that is similar but has four pillars instead of two so you don't actually use the roof for support. I don't have one but have been considering it. The downside to those racks is the effort required to mount and dismount the yak from that height. Another option is a small kayak trailer. And yet another option is the bed extender. However those last two don't solve the dog shade problem.

AndrewTRS has a nice rack for sale cheap in ATL that comes with a cover, but it fits an Access cab. Don't know what yours is. If interested, look on Georgia Classifieds.
[Added: I see now you're in Cali so GA is not really helpful since shipping would be prohibitive...you could take a look at the pic for reference though.]

For my dog (Labrador), I've purchased a full back seat cover for my DCSB that I can lay over the interior so she can lounge back there for trips. Then I can transport like this. Doesn't look very elegant going down the road, but it saves wear and tear on my back mounting and dismounting. As far as speed goes, it's all about the care you take strapping it down. I have no problem going full speed with any configuration even when I had my kayaks on J-racks on my PT Cruiser. Kills the hell out of the MPG, but they're not going anywhere.

Aron...just curious...do you find a significant loss of MPG with the wind resistance from the yak(s)?...I was losing 20% on my PT Cruiser.

 

That could be a good option if its not time consuming to install. I have a folding tonneau cover and would have it in the open position when I have my dog in there. Shade could be a good option as well as throwing wet towels over his crate to make sure he stays cool on 85-95 degree weather. Not sure what else I could do?

The issue is my height, I am 5'3" although I am likely to have others with me I know there will be days I go alone. I wouldn't have the dog with me those days. I am fairly strong but being vertically challenged causes issues with loading up high. I am planning to either get nfab steps or sliders to help me load the kayaks. Most of the kayaks I am considering are 40-50 pounds. Isn't a problem for me as long as there is something to cradle the kayak so I can get it into place in one motion, something like this or what Enigmaaron posted looks like it could stay in place as well for me to strap

$60 TMS J-Bar Rack HD Kayak Carrier Canoe Boat Surf Ski Roof Top Mounted on Car SUV Crossbar

http://www.amazon.com/TMS-KAYAK-RK-J-1BOX-Universal-Carrier/dp/B003V57NUQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1406316890&sr=8-1&keywords=kayak+rack


If I used the bed for the kayak I could get one of those tire steps?

$57 Heininger HitchMate 4040 TireStep

http://www.amazon.com/Heininger-4040-HitchMate-TireStep/dp/B0002Z9KE0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1406316698&sr=8-1&keywords=tire+step

 

I believe I found the solution. Getting the Yakima outdoorsman 300. Seems like a fairly easy install. Maybe 20 minutes and costs $209. Thanks for the help guys.

 

Your post of the J-racks got me thinking...I wonder if there's a way to mount those on the bed rail somehow instead of a rack so you can throw the yak up on the edge of the bed? I think I'm gonna look into that because that would make it REAL easy to load and unload. Would stick out a bit, but not any more than it is now.

 

I've had multiple kayaks and multiple tacomas. Bar far the best way to transport them is to just throw them in the back of the bed and use 3-4 bungee cords to attach kayak to bed.

I've driving thousands of miles doing that and it works fine and takes 1 minute to get kayak into and out of bed.

 

Tend to agree with you. And it does eliminate most of the wind resistance. But it does eliminate a lot of room in the bed for equipment and dog.

 

I cant say anything about a dog because I don't know anything about that.

However, if the kayak is laid down on the bed there is still room to throw a lot of stuff in back.

Do you have a shell ?

For me personally I am not very strong so lifting a kayak up onto a rack was too much trouble and effort and took too much time.

 

This is what I do as well. My kayak, with the milk crate and rod holders fit right beneath my bed cover. Works for me.

 

There isn't much room in the back for equipment the way I go camping with friends


Ill use the tried and true method when alone with the kayak in the bed but for camping I need the other option.

 

How long are your kayaks?
I don't need anything like this anytime soon, unless my husband decides to get rid of the SUV and get a sedan. Most of our trips, we put the yaks on his SUV.

I was thinking about a single rack on the roof (like you have) but also, something that installs into the receiver hitch. But.....it's almost like my kayaks will be too short for that unless the receiver mount can be adjusted to be 'over' the bed a bit.
I have 10' (or so) Emotion yaks.

Haven't been out yet this year...been so busy. Looking to get out tomorrow!

 

I would suggest this


or this



depending on kayak length really. If you haven't already decided that is. Both options are short person friendly and allow ample bed space for gear and/or dog carrier.

 

$209 for the uprights only, no cross bar.