Looking into Kayaking

barryfitz

Ive recently spent a lot of time thinking about getting into Kayaking. One of the lads in work here is only after buying a Kayak and I figure now might be a good time to start. He bought a recreational kayak just under 10' long and I was thinking of getting the same one although I would try his out first!. Then I see Lidl are doing one next week but its a whitewater one. Im just looking for your opinions on whether or not it would be a bad idea to start out in a whitewater boat? Has anyone ever bought one of these from lidl, would they be poor quality? let me know what you think.

AnFearDearg

Barry,

Do you want to kayak on rivers, lakes, sea or surf? The answer to that question will help determine the kayak you need. A sit-on-top type kayak is suitable for most recreational activities, whereas a whitwater/river enthusiast will probably go for a sit-in type.

From what I've heard the boat in Lidl was good quality (as is most of their stuff in fairness).

I recently bought an RTM Mambo Sit-on-Top and find it great

There are plenty of online stores that can give more specific advice, namely Union Chandlery in Cork, Splashtac in Portarlington, Great Outdoors in Dublin, Tubes in Limerick and Cork, Darrens Kayaks in West Cork, Dunmore East Adventure Centre in Dunmore East, Deevys in Waterford and T-Bay Surf Shop in Tramore.

Regards
AFD

Slow Motion

AnFearDearg wrote:

Barry,

Do you want to kayak on rivers, lakes, sea or surf? The answer to that question will help determine the kayak you need. A sit-on-top type kayak is suitable for most recreational activities, whereas a whitwater/river enthusiast will probably go for a sit-in type.

From what I've heard the boat in Lidl was good quality (as is most of their stuff in fairness).

I recently bought an RTM Mambo Sit-on-Top and find it great

There are plenty of online stores that can give more specific advice, namely Union Chandlery in Cork, Splashtac in Portarlington, Great Outdoors in Dublin, Tubes in Limerick and Cork, Darrens Kayaks in West Cork, Dunmore East Adventure Centre in Dunmore East, Deevys in Waterford and T-Bay Surf Shop in Tramore.

Regards
AFD

Agree here ! But as an ex instructor I must stress JOIN A CLUB AND GET PROPER LESSONS ! Sorry about that but I can't stress how dangerous it can be without the proper lessons / precautions. Now that the public service announcement is out of the way, enjoy ! I would suggest white water if you are going to get into it, it is seriously good fun !

Gone West

Where are you based?

barryfitz

AnFearDearg:
I dunno where is the best place to start! I had been thinkin of gettin a rec boat for rivers paddlin and then maybe move on to whitewater. would one not normally start out like this or is it best to go straight into whitewater.

Slow_Motion:
Yes I would try and join a club.

Fuzzylogic:
Im living in Maynooth working in Dublin and from Laois, But thats enough about me.

Evil Phil

Dunno about Maynooth but Naas have a kayak club. Did a quick google for it an came up with http://www.canoe.ie/ who do lessons and have all the clubs listed on their site.

nookie

This post has been deleted.

saobh_ie

Evil Phil wrote:

Dunno about Maynooth but Naas have a kayak club. Did a quick google for it an came up with http://www.canoe.ie/ who do lessons and have all the clubs listed on their site.

I would highly recommend one of the Irish Canoe Unions Weekend Introductory courses (www.canoe.ie). Hella fun way to spend a weekend and rather than starting out by yourself and learning very little very slowly you'll accomplish a lot in a short and fun space of time on one of these courses.

I believe you pay 120 for the weekend which gets you certified to Level 1, then you spend another 80 to do the L2 skills course and assesment and then you can join the ICU bridging club.

A number of the kayak clubs take it upon themselves to run trips, taking out all the briding club members so you get to paddle with lots of different clubs in different places to see what you like.

The ICU will supply boats, paddles, wetsuits, cags, helmets and all the gear for all of these events included in the prices above.

That's what I did last year and never looked back.

The only downside is the piles of goofy looking gear you'll end up with in your shed once you get hooked.

I'm not the greatest paddler, and only now looking around to join a club, but if you've any questions or need any help feel free to ask and I'll see what I can do. PM me if I don't respond quick fast in this thread though as I'll forget its here, probaly. =D

Later.

edit: I suspect that the wild water kayak club might be having an open day soon, I think it might have been around this time last year.