Fishing Kayaks

Nothing on our planet is as beautiful as the ocean.  It is no wonder that the lure of the sea tempts mankind away from land desires. 

 Types of Kayaks.

The Sit In Side kayaks are more traditional in design in that there is a deck which comes part the way up the body of the paddler.

This design does tend to restrict the movement of the paddler and makes it difficult to turn around.

Some people believe that the confining nature of the SIS means that the paddler is at risk of being trapped should the kayak capsize.  I have turned over many times in a number of SIS kayaks and have never been hindered on exiting.  What the SIS does have against it is that it is more difficult to get back in once having capsized because it fills with a large volume of water which makes the kayak quite unstable.

One of the advantages of the SIS is that almost the whole volume of the kayak is available for under deck storage.   This is excellent for expedition kayaking.  

SIS kayaks also tend to be narrower than Sit On Tops and this makes them faster through the water with the same energy output.

SOT kayaks tend to be wider than SIS's and this makes them more stable.  Many SOT fishing kayaks will permit the paddler to sit sideways or turn a full 180 to get at gear stowed behind the cockpit....just try that in a SIS!  

The ability to move more freely and the wide expanses of deck stowage on a SOT means that more fishing gear can be carried.  One of the items I sometimes carry is hoop nets for crabs.  These cannot be stowed in front of me on my SIS because they are too wide.  They are a pain to get at when stowed behind.

A number of people have modified their kayak with outriggers.  An outrigger equipped craft might be super-stable but to me it is not a kayak.  The extra drag on the outriggers must slow the craft down and they must take longer to rig and unrig for transport.  I think that of you are looking for a stable craft then look for one of the SOT's which has a narrow hull to the waterline for speed, shaping to a wide beam for stability.   

Methods of construction.

GRP kayaks are made of  Reinforced Plastic.  The reinforcing can be in a random mat or woven cloth.  The reinforcing can be glass (fibreglass) kevlar, carbon fibre or other material.  Mostly GRP kayaks are hand laid.

While GRP is quite flexible, it does not have the impact flexibility of polypropelene.  It is generally lighter and I find it much easier to work with.  Fibreglass resin sticks to GRP (and most other materials) very well.  GRP can be drilled, sanded, tapped and painted without resorting to specialised tools and substances.

Polypropelene is very impact resistant.  Most Polyprop kayaks are made out of linear polypropelene using a technique called roto-moulding and this creates a very strong unitary kayak without weak points.

For me, the main disadvantage of polypropelene is that most glues I use will not stick effectively and repairs or modifications are beyond my skills.  I am sure that there are many plastics experts out there who have no difficulty working with this material and who achieve excellent results.

There are kayaks made from other materials such as aluminium, wood, inflatables, vinyl and even canvas but these are comparatively few in number.

Pedal Powered kayaks.
There are a number of pedal powered kayaks available but, to my knowledge, most are propellor drive.  The Hobie Mirage drive is an exception.
While pedal powered kayaks have the advantage of freeing up your hands from propulsion, the kayak still needs to be steered and the drive systems are vulnerable because they extend below the hull.

Sailing Kayaks.
Many sailing kayaks are set up for down-wind sailing only.  The narrow beam restricts the amount of sail that can be effective.  I think that sailing kayaks will become more useful as improvements are made in design and materials.  

There are two main kinds of fishing kayaks.  Sit In Side (SIS) and Sit On Top (SOT)

There are two main methods of construction.  GRP (fibreglass) and polypropelene (plastic).

Both SIS and SOT kayaks can be made from either material.

Take a look at the discussion to the right.  There is no right or wrong design or construction material - there is only the design/material combination which suits your purposes the best.