What are these kayaks like?

rothai

Hi all,
Thinking of doing a kayak course. There are a few im looking into but i was looking on the net and found these

http://www.gowiththeflow.ie/products/wqkayak_brochure.pdf

are they any good?

KenHy

I wouldn't buy a kayak before you do a course, any half decent course provider will have that type of kit for you to use and then you can decide what type of boat you want (if any at all)

That particular boat looks like a touring boat, I dont do any touring myself so wouldn't be best placed to say how good it its, but I wouldn't be recomending that type of boat for someone starting out.

Chiorino

They're about as basic a kayak as you can get. Quite stable but an absolute pig to keep in a straight line. You would outgrow it VERY quickly.

Mark A

Ditto, do the course, then if you love the sport, join a club / do another course. Then, if you get into buying gear, buy paddles first as the boats that courses and clubs supply aren't that different to the ones you'd be buying for yourself, but the paddles you buy sure will be (if you spend ~200 euro).

Edit: The boat looks rubbish. For any purpose.

Double Edit: Tell us where you are, and you'll get recommendations for a course provider. there are people here who have kayaked and instructed for years, and people here who are new to the sport and fresh out of beginners courses. Its a good resource for you.

Steve.N

Yeah I agree with the guys above.
When you go on the course make sure you get a chance to try as many boats as you can. Like most folk in the sport if your gonna do any rivers/whitewater the you'll most likely join a club - That is the ideal place to get a shot on other peoples boats - Only after you've tried loads of boats and know what you want from the yak then look at buying your own.

PS. That boat looks VERY basic and only suited for flat water paddling - it won't give you many other options! Stick to a recognized brand eg. Dagger/ Pirhanna/ Liquid Logic/ etc etc as you'll always sell these on very handily in the future when you want a new boat or upgrade.

HANG OFF!! Get a bit of experience first

rothai

Thanks lads for the replies, all good advice. Im based in Dublin/cavan. Thinks I'm going to do one of the weekend courses down at the strawberry beds and take it from there.
Cheers lads