Kayak Diving

[Scuba Cowboy]

I too love kayak diving, been doing it for a few years now. Where I live on the CA north coast, boat access is very limited, but a kayak can be launched almost anywhere you can carry it to. I started teaching kayak diving courses a while back, wrote my own outline and offer a PADI certification in it. Very fun!
I currently use the Ocean Kayak Scrambler XT. Very good boat. Although shorter than the Scupper Pro, it is more stable and makes a great dive platform. In calm conditions, I've carried 2 scuba units, even doubles. I highly recommend this boat.

 

[Nemrod]

http://www.sit-on-topkayaking.com/Articles/FishDive/KayakDiving5.html

That is another link to a kayak site with dive info.

"(and getting me in/out of the boat,) and I end up laughing because it seems comically complex."--- Yes, it is a bit complex but after a bit you get it all sorted out. You will likely have to streamline and simplify your gear and reduce the amount of junk you carry. Starting out snorkling and free diving is probably a good idea! You are going to roll the boat--no way around it--it happens, that is why the gear and stuff needs to be secured. I might also recommend tethering yourself to the yak except in surf and also wearing your life jacket. I don't wear the jacket, it is bungeed behind me but is close by. Once I fell out of my yak before I got anchored and the wind and current caused it to run away from me. Good thing I used to be on a swim team cuz it took all the speed I could muster to catch it--and I was solo so it would have been about a mile swim back to closest land. I suggest having a buddy on another kayak all the time or until you get it all sorted out both from a diving and kayaking standpoint.
Yes, I understand the OK Scrambler is a great yak. It was also on my short list. The kayak "salesman/shop owner" had those. He talked me out of it and into the Scupper but you know, I like those and my wife needs a yak also so I may get one of those and ya know if I just happen to use it I don't think she will mind, huh? The fellow told me that the Scrambler was more stable but a bit slower. The Scupper and Tourer are long, fairly narrow and I guess faster and a bit more tippy. At first they all feel tippy--OH YEAH! After you get your balance it is like a bicycle--easy--but every now and then you do fall over! That is why, unless you want new gear it better be secured.

In the bookstores there are several books on ocean and sea kayaking. They are not about diving but they do have all sorts of info on how to handle the ocean environment. Probably something to get and read. I was warned and I learned it the hard way, do not get on the shore side of a kayak when launching or beaching. The waves will slam it into you with force!! Best pick very calm days for your first adventures. The feeling of a kayak riding over big swells as it knifes along through the water is fantastic, getting nearly run over by a yacht is not! N

 

[cheepguy]

The fellow who wrote this book is from your neck of the woods. It is a very detailed book and is a worthwile read. I bought it last year and learned a lot.
http://www.kayakdiving.com/KayakDiving.html
I'm in central California. My wife and I will be starting to Kayak dive next year. Let us know how it goes for you.
Steve

 

[HBDiveGirl]

The fellow who wrote this book is from your neck of the woods. It is a very detailed book and is a worthwile read. I bought it last year and learned a lot.
http://www.kayakdiving.com/KayakDiving.html
I'm in central California. My wife and I will be starting to Kayak dive next year. Let us know how it goes for you.
Steve

Thanks, Steve, this is a great resource. Tons of information just on the website! At $15 for the CD-Rom ebook it looks like a slam-dunk-gotta-have.

I had a GREAT first day of paddling my new kayak: Roof-racking, wheeling-to-the-hand-launch-dock, climbing in, touring the harbor, cruising the coast for a couple of hours, then practicing a beach-landing and take-off in 1 1/2 foot surf, climbing out dock-side, roof-topping and back home. IT's fantastic and I can't wait to take it diving. 15 feet of plastic-fantastic kayak handles just great, and what an upper-body workout!! It was incredibly helpful to have my best dive buddy demonstrating each step as I was about to try it....Mentoring feels like THE best way to learn a sport with so many variables. It was fun right away and can only get better.

I drive up to visit family in San Luis Obispo several times a year, and the Pismo to Morro stretch looks perfect for kayaks. Sounds like your wife and you will have plenty of fun. I'll look forward to reading your postings as you get into it.
Could we get a kayak-diving sub-forum in the "Boat" forum? I'm new to the Board...I'll try to find out who to ask.
Cheers,
Claudette

 

[HBDiveGirl]

Claudette, didn't you say you have a friend who kayak dives, if so be sure to have him/her guide you. Oh, a congrats on the new kayak!!!!

You are so right, N! Having the constant guidance from my dive buddy today was priceless...and all we did was get the boats in the water, paddle and practice beach landings and take-offs. It was a great first day of "see-it, do-it." It started raining this afternoon, so we won't get our first 'yak dive this weekend...but I can hardly wait.

I have the Yakima rack on both my Toyota trucks and on my wife's Jeep Liberty. The kayak "cradle" which holds the kayak on it's side works great even over long distances and will not damage your boat.

That does look like a great rack. I'm inverting the Tourer and strapping it directly on the padded factory rack on my Honda Element. Good and solid. Rack holds only 75 pounds, so I'll only be carrying one boat unless I purchase a different rack with heavier capacity.

It is a piece of cake to add "inchworms" (the plastic clips, to the boat for additional tie down and tether locations.

Thank you for giving me a name to use for these little clip-things!

Yes, I agree, in most cases if not all cases I imagine you will do fine without the rudder. That is not tosay the rudder is not helpful but I think you will do fine without.

The boat tracked well today with a side-wind, side-chop the entire time. I can see where the rudder would be one more thing to handle/protect during transport and launch. With no gear in the stern, the extra free-board allowed the wind to push the stern and the bow kept pointing up. Adjusting my paddling eventually worked very well to keep the boat straight. I purchased a light-weight, asymmetric-bladed paddle, but could not keep up with my buddy and his PowerFlex paddle. When we switched paddles, he couldn't keep up with me! Back to the store tomorrow to make the switch. The lighter paddle was nice, but not if I have to work harder to keep up. The PowerFlex was also more comfortably shaped to my hands. The weight was quite comfortable even after a couple of hours paddling.

When you open a hatch--remove the item or stow the item and then close the hatch--each time!!!! per item. Do not leave a hatch open while you fiddle around or put on gear or if you roll the yak it will flood and you will loose stuff and you will need to deploy your rescue float and safety sausage and maybe use your bilge pump!!!

Thank you for saying this. I did not have respect for the fact that this "self-bailing, sit-on-top" is only buoyant if the hull is full of air and gear...and sealed to water! Duh!

Again, Thank You Many Times Over for sharing your enthusiasm and knowledge.
Claudette

 

[Pez de Diablo]

I love kayak diving as well. I currently operate a fleet of 8 Cobra kayaks and have had some good success touring people out on a kayak.

It is such a relaxed way to dive, albeit more work.

I was mentioned once in this thread, but I will mention it again, Gilligan here on the board is big into Kayak diving and was a major source of information for me when I first got started.

Cheers,

Dennis

 

[Nemrod]

Pez,

Yes, I saw some of Gilligan's pics. In fact I am using one of his as a screen saver right now! I am sure he could give us tons of info.

Pez, where do you operate out of?

Claudette, I called those little plastic clips "inchworms" because that is what they look like to me and the wife of the fellow I bought mine from referred to them as such. I think that she was actually the guru. The fellow told me he could fix anything. I could saw the boat in half and he could put it back together. He had just come from a school as he described it from OK that went into repairs etc.
Another of the boats I wanted or thought I wanted was the Cobra Fish and Dive and also the OK Drifter. I am 5-11 and about 185 lbs give or take. He told me that those kayaks were to big for me. He said that a kayak needs to be "sized" to the person and the expected load range.
New on the market is the OK Prowler and they also have a new "short" Prowler. The new "short" Prowler is called the Prowler 13, I think it would make a great diveyak. It is a touch wider than the Scupper and a bit shorter but it is longer and more narrow than the Scrambler XT and has more capaxcity I think. Just for general info.
I don't know about you guys, maybe it is because I live in the middle of the country and had to drive 1000 miles to get my yak but these darn things are kinda hard to find and buy and to my knowledge no one ships them and dive shops around here are like--"duh, what ya want one of those silly things for" if they even know what a kayak is. If I ran a dive shop I think I would carry a few. If the buisness is selling stuff then along with selling the yak is all the stuff that makes it work, seems like a way to increase buisness to me. N

 

[CruseVegas]

Great thred, I guess I'm bringing it back from the dead.

When I first read this I didn't understnad why in the world you would need a bilge pump for a SOT?

It makes perfect sense to me now if you take your hatch cover off.

Does anyone do a two tank dive and change out a bare tank on the water or do you at a minimum have a second bc?

 

[Sh@rkW@tcher]

I am surprised no one on this board kayak dives or that there is not a seperate section for it. N

Yak diving is alive and well in FL, and we have had a yak diving subforum in FL since September. ScubaBoard - Florida Kayak Divers

 

[Gombessa]

LDS here just started renting dive kayaks; I'm stoked.