Touring Kayak Tips for Beginners

If you are looking for a touring kayak, there are some tips you should know about buying a touring kayak. The name touring kayak and the name sea kayak are pretty much the same.

Touring kayaks are long and narrow opposed to recreational kayaks, which are usually thicker and not as long.

1-person touring kayaks are usually twelve to eighteen feet long with two-person touring kayaks being a little longer. Shorter kayaks are easier to maneuver and are more desirable when exploring narrow streams and waterways.

Of course 1-person touring kayaks have less less storage space. Longer kayaks have more storage, but they are more difficult to handle.

If you are new to kayaking, you might want to choose a wider kayak that is around two-feet wide. Once you get better at kayaking, you can move onto a more narrow kayak where it is a bit more challenging.

Another good tip for beginners is that you may want to start with a kayak that has a rudder. It keeps your kayak straight when it’s windy. But you do want to learn how to kayak without a rudder sooner or later. Consider it like taking the training wheels off when you’re ready.

Alternately, you can use a skeg, which works like the rudder, but you control whether or not it is in the water from the cockpit of your kayak. You drop it in the water when it’s windy to make paddling easier, then pull it up when the wind dies down.

One Passenger Touring Kayak

The Iolani single passenger touring kayak comes in 6 custom colors pre-rigged with bow & stern hatched compartments, deck rigging, footbraces & rudder system. The V-Hull has been designed for both novice and advanced paddlers offering a high level of speed, tracking and maneuverability.

Specifications

Length: 502 cm / 16.5

Width: 55 cm / 21.7″

Depth: 30 cm / 11.8″

Overall Boat Weight: 26 kg / 57.3 lbs

Weight Capacity: 150 kg / 330 lbs

Tandem Touring Kayak

NI’IHAU Tandem Kayak
The Ni’ihau tandem touring kayak comes pre-rigged with bow & stern hatched compartments, deck rigging, footbraces & rudder system. The V-Hull hasbeen design designed for both novice and advanced paddlers offering a high level of speed, tracking and maneuverability.

LENGTH: 511 cm / 16.8’

WIDTH: 68 cm / 26.8″

DEPTH: 35 cm / 13.8″

OVERALL BOAT WEIGHT: 30 kg / 66 lbs

WEIGHT CAPACITY: 240 kg / 529 lbs

For more info about touring kayaks, click here.

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