I am surprised no one on this board kayak dives or that there is not a seperate section for it. I will be going into my 4th summer of this type of diving. Of course, since I live so far inland I only make a few dives a year now but still I have found kayaks to be a blast.
My first kayak was bought at a sporting goods chain when on sale for only 250 dollars. It was a generic looking SOT (sit on top) of the typical molded polyethelene. It had a shallow tank well, about 12 feet long and about 34 inches wide. After considerable rerigging which is easy to do I had a cheap dive yak. It is always amazing how after you use something several times you begin to discover the weaknesses. Well, it was only a cheap little yak and it served well but it was slow and could only carry one tank.
So, I bought an OK Scupper Pro TW last summer and used it a few times. It is a much better boat, it is faster by far and has more glide and punches through surf. What is so good about the OK Scupper? Well, the front hatch is huge and can take a dressed out 80. The rear tankwell is huge as well. The fishform hull design just short of 15 feet long allows the yak to track well and really get going without much effort. No mattter what yak you buy it is going to have to be rigged for diving--some clips and bungees will have to be added and some removed or relocated. Additional clips will be needed for rigging drift lines, anchor lines and equipment lines, tethers.
One word of advice, tether everything--ESPECIALLY the paddle!!!
I am far from being expert on this but one well known website now recommends against the OK units in favor of Cobra yaks. The shop I bought from had both. In my opinion and that of the shop owner, the OK Scupper Pro TW is THE diveyak and everything else is a second placer. The Cobra unit closest to the Scupper has two small hatches instead of one big one making it difficult to bring a second tank. The quality of both brands--OK and Cobra is similar, the materials are essentially the same--molded polyethelene and no matter which you get there is going to be a bunch of rigging required--neither is perfect. I have used my new Scupper for fishing and general paddling as well as diving and it is holding up nicely, I expect many years of use. The Cobras are nice units as well.
If you shore dive now a yak will make you a boat diver. Your range and safety is increased, you can make two tank dive trips, you can travel several miles effortlessly. You can punch through surf and you have a resting place that remains visible to steer boat traffic away. You can carry more equipment and visit remote areas. You can bring water and food! Also if diving gives your legs a workout then yaking gives you some upper body workout so it balances well with diving.
Launching can be done using a homemade set of wheels with a PVC cradle to get the boat to the water off your truck or sissy Volvo. The boats weigh about 60 lbs but the equipemnt adds to the weight of course.
I also carry a GPS, handheld VHF and I sometimes run a small sonar unit great for finding rocks and reefs and whatevers. You also need a PFD, flares, signal mirror, bilge pump, first aid kit, small horn, yak rescue float, safety sausage etc which all stow in the front hatch with tank number 2 except for the PFD. You should wear that or bungee it nearby.
Well, if you are currently shore diving, you need a yak, plain and simple and talk your buddies into it also, they really are fun, cheap and add greatly to your dive options. These yaks can make three or four times the speed of a surface swimming diver, they are fast, imagine the implications of that! Well, good luck. N
My first kayak was bought at a sporting goods chain when on sale for only 250 dollars. It was a generic looking SOT (sit on top) of the typical molded polyethelene. It had a shallow tank well, about 12 feet long and about 34 inches wide. After considerable rerigging which is easy to do I had a cheap dive yak. It is always amazing how after you use something several times you begin to discover the weaknesses. Well, it was only a cheap little yak and it served well but it was slow and could only carry one tank.
So, I bought an OK Scupper Pro TW last summer and used it a few times. It is a much better boat, it is faster by far and has more glide and punches through surf. What is so good about the OK Scupper? Well, the front hatch is huge and can take a dressed out 80. The rear tankwell is huge as well. The fishform hull design just short of 15 feet long allows the yak to track well and really get going without much effort. No mattter what yak you buy it is going to have to be rigged for diving--some clips and bungees will have to be added and some removed or relocated. Additional clips will be needed for rigging drift lines, anchor lines and equipment lines, tethers.
One word of advice, tether everything--ESPECIALLY the paddle!!!
I am far from being expert on this but one well known website now recommends against the OK units in favor of Cobra yaks. The shop I bought from had both. In my opinion and that of the shop owner, the OK Scupper Pro TW is THE diveyak and everything else is a second placer. The Cobra unit closest to the Scupper has two small hatches instead of one big one making it difficult to bring a second tank. The quality of both brands--OK and Cobra is similar, the materials are essentially the same--molded polyethelene and no matter which you get there is going to be a bunch of rigging required--neither is perfect. I have used my new Scupper for fishing and general paddling as well as diving and it is holding up nicely, I expect many years of use. The Cobras are nice units as well.
If you shore dive now a yak will make you a boat diver. Your range and safety is increased, you can make two tank dive trips, you can travel several miles effortlessly. You can punch through surf and you have a resting place that remains visible to steer boat traffic away. You can carry more equipment and visit remote areas. You can bring water and food! Also if diving gives your legs a workout then yaking gives you some upper body workout so it balances well with diving.
Launching can be done using a homemade set of wheels with a PVC cradle to get the boat to the water off your truck or sissy Volvo. The boats weigh about 60 lbs but the equipemnt adds to the weight of course.
I also carry a GPS, handheld VHF and I sometimes run a small sonar unit great for finding rocks and reefs and whatevers. You also need a PFD, flares, signal mirror, bilge pump, first aid kit, small horn, yak rescue float, safety sausage etc which all stow in the front hatch with tank number 2 except for the PFD. You should wear that or bungee it nearby.
Well, if you are currently shore diving, you need a yak, plain and simple and talk your buddies into it also, they really are fun, cheap and add greatly to your dive options. These yaks can make three or four times the speed of a surface swimming diver, they are fast, imagine the implications of that! Well, good luck. N