[NiCKOLAI]

Gday all,

Nick from Brisbane, been reading the forum for the past couple of days... and i'm hooked on kayaks aleady! Can't believe I didn't think of this sooner as I always wanted to fish areas off land but didn't want the hassles of owning a boat.

The fun now begins in choosing a kayak for me. If you guys could buy your first yak all over again, what advice would you give a newbie?
Bloody tempting to rush out and get one straight away, but reading several posts it seems I need to choose the one for me. Might make a seperate posts about my needs based on what i've been reading.

Apart from that does anyone know some good shops in Brisbane to look at these beasts in flesh/take them for a test? Even if I had to hire one I wouldn't mind, I've only been in a canoe before which I imagine is quite different.

Cheers

Nick

 

[YakAtak]

G'day Nick,
Welcome to the forum, wow, another brisbane member! Put a post in the Which Kayak for me section mate, and also do some reading in other peoples posts in there, lots of great stuff in there. I can't recommend any shops 'in Brisbane' but I'm sure if you make it to one of our gatherings you will get a chance to paddle a few different yaks. I'd be happy to let ya go for a paddle in mine anytime, just give us a time and place and I'll see if I can make it. I'm in Anstead, way out west, where do you live mate?

 

[Peril]

Welcome Nick. You'll certainly enjoy fishing from a yak. Its two weeks since I've had a fix and I'm getting very toey.

The Brisbane guys can point at shops. Take a bit of time and try as many as you can. Also think about how you expect to fish and then how you might fish. I bought my yak to fish estuaries, and this is still my main area, but I'm enjoying inshore fishing now as well.

 

[Dodge]

Welcome Nick, it's a great addiction and in due course you'll meet some pretty good blokes.

As YakAtak said get down to the beach when you see blokes going out that are listed in Trips, you will get a clue to their return and for sure a chance to test paddle various kayaks.

Thoroughly read the posts in Which Kayak, and Beginners [remember there are a number of pages in each] and you will find many answers to your questions.

On Sat 10, Chris who I met early this week on an outing has phoned, and is paddling both of mine as his first ever paddles on any sort of kayak after reading forum pages and getting keen; every one here will assist you get started

 

[hairymick]

G'day Nickolai,

Welcome aboard mate.

The guy on Bribie Island (Aquarious sea kayaks) has a fine range of boats and he is happy to demo them.

Billybob of Noosa also does a very professional outfit of the Perception Swing. I think he is also happy to arrange a demo.

Good luck mate and welcome to the dark side.

 

[PeterJ]

welcome.

 

[NiCKOLAI]

Thanks for the welcome all. Yakatak, I live in inner city (east brisbane). Just looked up Anstead.. sure is way out west! I imagine theres plenty of acreage there which imo you can never have enough space.

Cheers

Nick

 

[YakAtak]

Yeah m8, it's nice to live on a few acres, but it's a bit of a drive to the bay.

 

[Milt]

Nikolai,

If i were to do it all again and i will soonish, this is what I'd look for in a yak:

Loads of deck space
Moulded compartments for gear lay out
Loads of hatches and storage
I'd scrap the front and rear hatch and find something with more deck options as the hatches are difficult to get to in open water
Maybe pedal poweroption like the hobbie yaks, they go hard and the hands free thing appeals to me
Nice and stable decent sized yak
A kick arse paddle to suit to the new yak

Have a look at the hobie range of yaks.

Milt,

 

[Guest]

Nikolai,

I would recommend a drive up to Bribie Island to Aquarius Kayaks.

Jason up there knows his stuff and has good advice. He lets you demo his yaks. Give him a visit and arrange a test paddle with him.

I didn't buy my yak from him but I wish I did.

Do not consider Peppertown they have the range but have know idea and no product knowledge.

I'm new too, enjoy it mate. I've only been here a short time and these guys on here are great!!!

Cheers

 

[Salty Dog]

G'day Nick, my only advice would be to think about what you want to use your kayak for most of the time.

If you want to go out to sea alot, the consensus amongst the old hands is to go for a longer boat because they are speedier for trolling & the extra speed may get you out of trouble if the wind picks up.

The other consenus is to not go for a big heavy boat for use offshore.

Examples of longer kayaks: Ocean Kayak Scupper Dive, Prowler, Prowler Elite, (soon to be in the country - better for the larger gent)

For sneaky spots up little creeks & so on, you might find a shorter kayak more fun, as they are easier to turn.

Examples of shorter kayaks: Australis Squid, Australis Bass, (sit-inside), Viking Espri.

If you are going for a bit of a mix, then something in between like an Ocean Kayak Prowler 13 or Perception Swing might be the go.

Once you think you have an idea of what you might like, I'd try & test some kayaks in the worst possible conditions. the other thing is that it's easy to fall in love with a kayak even if it's not really the best one for you, so try not to make the mistake that some people do & buy the first one you try. I was tempted but luckily avoided it.

Good luck mate.

 

[HiRAEdd]

Do not consider Peppertown they have the range but have know idea and no product knowledge.

True they don't have any product knowledge but the staff are friendly each time I've been there, I bought my first kayak there and they're willing to haggle. So if you know what you want, then it's worthwhile going there. Also, they have a massive range if you just want to check out some kayaks.

 

[fishgutz1969]

Gday ..........hope you had luck finding a yak