shale island

[btroxell]

I know Ben Troxell kayak dives Shale Island occasionally, as well as other sites out of BW or Del Monte.

Yes, my wife and I dive extensevly out of kayaks and use BW as a base for some of the dives. Kayaks open many dive sites to us which are too far (for some) to swim to. They are they are much lower cost than a full size boat, easier to store, and have other uses (paddle Elkhorn Slough when the ocean is too big).
It is a bit more work to dive from them since you essentially have to setup and stow your equipment twice; setup and stow everything in the kayak as you get ready to paddle to the site, suit-up when on site, stow things away when the dive is done and you are ready to paddle back, and then getting things back to the car.
I find it pretty easy to get the tanks into the well while I'm still in the water. My tank is a HP100 with steel backplate and tank plates on it, so it's kind of heavy. I grab the front of the tank well left hand and rest the tank in my left elbow pit. I grab the other end of the tank with my right hand and then give a a couple of swift kicks and the tank rolls down my left arm into the well. My wife's HP85 are really easy with this method.
A seminar could help out newcomers but so does reading a few web sites (that's where we got most of our basic ideas for our setup). One of the problems would be kayak rental. The only place I know that rents kayaks for diving is in San Jose.
There is also a shop that teaches AOW using kayaks. I'm not sure if he teaches just kayak diving.

Ben

 

[sanjose80]

Yes, my wife and I dive extensevly out of kayaks and use BW as a base for some of the dives. Kayaks open many dive sites to us which are too far (for some) to swim to. They are they are much lower cost than a full size boat, easier to store, and have other uses (paddle Elkhorn Slough when the ocean is too big).
It is a bit more work to dive from them since you essentially have to setup and stow your equipment twice; setup and stow everything in the kayak as you get ready to paddle to the site, suit-up when on site, stow things away when the dive is done and you are ready to paddle back, and then getting things back to the car.
I find it pretty easy to get the tanks into the well while I'm still in the water. My tank is a HP100 with steel backplate and tank plates on it, so it's kind of heavy. I grab the front of the tank well left hand and rest the tank in my left elbow pit. I grab the other end of the tank with my right hand and then give a a couple of swift kicks and the tank rolls down my left arm into the well. My wife's HP85 are really easy with this method.
A seminar could help out newcomers but so does reading a few web sites (that's where we got most of our basic ideas for our setup). One of the problems would be kayak rental. The only place I know that rents kayaks for diving is in San Jose.
There is also a shop that teaches AOW using kayaks. I'm not sure if he teaches just kayak diving.

Ben

Hi Ben,

What kayak models do you two dive? And with your experience what kind would you recomend?
If I was to get one that I could use for diving, I would rather go for a tandem that I could use with my son...if a tandem can be used for solo diving.

Thanks,
Bob

 

[Gombessa]

One of the problems would be kayak rental. The only place I know that rents kayaks for diving is in San Jose.
There is also a shop that teaches AOW using kayaks. I'm not sure if he teaches just kayak diving.

Ben

Aquarius Del Monte has two sit-on-top kayaks to rent for diving, I think it's about $45/day. We did it once and found it incredibly fun. Once in the water from the Breakwater, a couple of minutes gets you out to met fields, about 20 minutes to the edge of Hopkins.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Aquarius Del Monte has two sit-on-top kayaks to rent for diving, I think it's about $45/day. We did it once and found it incredibly fun. Once in the water from the Breakwater, a couple of minutes gets you out to met fields, about 20 minutes to the edge of Hopkins.

Is Hopkins the same as aquarium reef?

 

[Chuck Tribolet]

Is Hopkins the same as aquarium reef?

No. Hopkins is the next site NW of Aquarium Reef. It's off Stanford's Hopkins Marine Station. It's quite a large area, depths
run from the beach to about 85'

 

[btroxell]

What kayak models do you two dive? And with your experience what kind would you recomend?
If I was to get one that I could use for diving, I would rather go for a tandem that I could use with my son...if a tandem can be used for solo diving.

We have Ocean Kayak Prowler 15s (old style). The new ones are lightly longer, wider, and heavier. I would probably go with the Prowler 13 now since they are a little smaller (easier to handle out of the water). The guy who runs Adventure Sports swears by smaller kayaks (11') since they are lighter and easier to get over dunes, rocks, and on cars but they don't paddle as nice.
I have have only seen a few people dive a tandem, one by his self and one with 2 in it. Kayaks don't handle as well loaded and when they are at their limit, they are pigs in the water. My wife and I have taken my daughter out in the kayaks; 3 people in 2 kayaks. I take her and my wife takes her equipment. The boats are not near as stable as when we are by ourselves and I would never do it with any size seas. On the other hand, my wife and I alone (2 people, 2 kayaks) have gone out in 10' seas (not pleasant but doable). You can easily exceed the capacity limit of some tandems with 2 people and equipment.
We bought our kayaks from Monterey Kayaks because you can 'test drive' them before you buy. You can load them up with equipment to see how they handle (but they won't let you dive from them). They have sales of used kayaks 1-2 times a year and you may find a deal then.

Ben

 

[Guy Alcala]

We bought our kayaks from Monterey Kayaks because you can 'test drive' them before you buy. You can load them up with equipment to see how they handle (but they won't let you dive from them). They have sales of used kayaks 1-2 times a year and you may find a deal then.

Ben

Be sure, if you're looking for used kayaks at MBK, to check out the store at Moss Landing as well as the one at Del Monte beach. Generally both stores have an on-line list of the used kayaks they have available, and where they are.

Also, California Canoe and Kayak in Jack London Square in Oakland has a sale every September, IIRR, and you can rent them beforehand to try them out; I imagine they'd refund the rental if you bought. Here's the list of their current used kayaks - scroll down to the bottom for the open-topped models:

http://www.calkayak.com/forsale_list_full.cfm


They also have (or at least used to) a place in Half Moon Bay (Princeton), which often has some of their used kayaks for sale (and a locked container to store them, if you lack space of your own).

Testing on the OaKland estuary isn't the same as open ocean, although the wind can raise quite a chop there, and the tidal current can be 1-2 knots.

Guy

 

[Katamuki]

The idea of kayak diving the California coast is fascinating to me, I didnt even realize you could do that. Is there any good information online where particular launch sites and dive sites are mentioned?

 

[btroxell]

The idea of kayak diving the California coast is fascinating to me, I didnt even realize you could do that. Is there any good information online where particular launch sites and dive sites are mentioned?

On the 'Beach Dive Sites' area of my site, I have annotations about kayak accessible sites.
Monterey Dive Infomation- Dive site description

Ben

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

No. Hopkins is the next site NW of Aquarium Reef. It's off Stanford's Hopkins Marine Station. It's quite a large area, depths
run from the beach to about 85'

Oh, ok. So then Aquarium reef should only be about 10 minutes or less by kayak from Breakwater. Nice thing about going that way is then if the normal prevailing wind kicks up you have the wind at your back.

Headwinds are the enemy in a kayak.