Kayak or Canoe?

[Diving Italy]

I use an inflatable kayak from Advanced Elements and I love it. I have gone out with several other divers that use sit on tops and they get tired very easily if we encounter any kind of swell.

IMHO.

 

[Crush]

I have paddled both for decades.

If you will dive only, and plan to not kayak far to get to your dive site, then the kayak is ideal. If you want to use something for camping as well, the canoe is vastly superior. For the same price and size, a canoe has twice the carrying capacity and can sit two or three people. It is also much more stable. However, as many have pointed out, canoes are not self-draining (as some canoes are) and it is exceptionally difficult to climb into a canoe while you are floating in the water, with or without dive gear, without assistance.

 

[SDE Dennis]

Thanks! Looks like I'll be shopping for a kayak soon. Looks like it may take a little practice seeing how I've never used one, but it's gotta beat the long surface swims I've been doing across a 36 acre quarry

The best way I found to learn was to prctice in about 4 - 5 feet of water. Just keep your knees bent and off the bottom till you get comfortable and then move on to deeper water. You will also need to learn the order in which you gear up and then enter the water before you lift out your BC which will already have the tank and regs hooked up. Once you learn this just do the reverse when you get back from your dive. It is also useful to have a line hang over in which you can clip some items onto. These you can get after you have your BC on. Diving off a Kayak is fun and not much trouble after you practice an hour or so.

 

[USCScubaboy]

there are quite a few useful videos on youtube by expertvillage regarding diving from a kayak.

 

[jbtut]

Never done either, but you might consider something like this 13\' Saturn IK. I do white water kayak and have seen these on the river. They are pretty stable and should easily haul all your gear. Plus they would probably support a small custom rowing frame.

 

[Nemrod]

I have paddled both for decades.

If you will dive only, and plan to not kayak far to get to your dive site, then the kayak is ideal. If you want to use something for camping as well, the canoe is vastly superior. For the same price and size, a canoe has twice the carrying capacity and can sit two or three people. It is also much more stable. However, as many have pointed out, canoes are not self-draining (as some canoes are) and it is exceptionally difficult to climb into a canoe while you are floating in the water, with or without dive gear, without assistance.

The kayaks I am talking about can be used in the ocean, I have paddled them several miles offshore and on one occasion rode out a nice little thunderstorm with some significant waves. A canoe is usable on a lake or quiet pond, not in the ocean unless you want it to become a mini dive site.

The inflatable jobs, again, those will get blown about like a pool toy in the ocean. I would hate to have to paddle something like that very far.

N

 

[diver 85]

IMO, kayak---I have the Ocean Kayak, Scrambler XT...love it for diving....

EDIT:BE CAREFUL THOUGH---sinking hazard???....see link, caution when/if adding a center hatch(I do not have one-for obvious reasons)

http://www.sit-on-topkayaking.com/cgi-bin/TopYak/Forum2/HTML/000016.html


EDIT II: Anyone add these to theirs??---pool noodles..click below link

http://www.allkayakfishing.com/rigged/jfloat.html

 

[jbtut]

I was thinking about the ideal paddle boat for diving and had another out of the box thought, hobie cat. I've sailed a number of different small cats and while normally designed for sailing, it could make an ideal platform for diving without any sail rigging. They are very slippery through the water. With a rowing frame and seat on top, I'd guess you could cruise at a pretty reasonable speed. A small trolling motor will push one with ease. I actually used an 18v drill with a long propeller to get in and out of the marina when it was busy and it worked great. I never used a trolling motor because of the weight of the battery.

With the mast removed they should have no problem with stability, even in pretty heavy seas. It would also be light enough to stow on a car roof rack for transport. And should be unsinkable even if it got flipped over for whatever reason while you're diving. The trampoline area would be plenty large for a surface break in comfort. Maybe under a bimini? And they are easy to get onto out of the water.

And if you have some wind it would be easy to cut down the mast and make a short sail that you could throw up if you wanted. I don't think you'd want a full sail set up. The taller mast drops stability and the factory sail area is just right for racing. Way more than you'd need to get out to a sailing site and it adds a lot of time and hassle to set up a tall mast. A short, although lesss efficient, would be a breeze to use. Maybe something around 8-10 feet high. It would be slower, but easier to drop while you're diving if you wanted. And short enough for easy transport without the trailer.

Finally they aren't terribly expensive. Especially if you wanted just the frame and hulls. If you look you should be able to find one with damaged rigging or even without sail/mast for under $700. Probably with a trailer at that. I bought my last hobie 14 for $300 ready to sail with trailer.

Just a thought. Good luck.


Edit: After a quick search here's some pics of someone's version Picasa Web Albums - Norm - Hobie Wave Ro...

Of course that is a Hobie Wave, which is a heavy plastic boat. And it has all the sailing gear on it. Imagine that set up on a light weight fiberglass hobie 14 or 16 with most of the sailing gear stripped off. That's what I was thinking.

 

[grandizer52]

hea doooode, check out a NUcanoe, been diving with one for 2 years now, it may be worth checking out
laytah

 

[Scuba_Jenny]

I have an OK Trident 13.
Prowler Trident 11™ - compact, feature-packed kayak - Ocean Kayak
Very wide and stable, yet still easy to manuver. Back well is big enough for a tank. I have heard of some people putting their second tank in the hatch up front, but I haven't tried that yet.