Paddlesports (Kayaking, Canoe, Stand-Up Paddle boards)

Martynt74 · 15 Jul 2019 at 09:49

Looks like the Bluefin Refurbished boards aren't such a great deal. They're reduced but come without the Paddle or the Kayak seat so once you add those (Well not as bothered about the seat), you end up not far off the price of a brand new model. They do have 10% off the new models and include a camera which i could sell which is looking tempting.

One thing i was wondering. All the inflatable boards come with a pump, paddle etc. Can you buy boards without these as presumably once you get something like a Carbon Paddle and maybe an electric pump, you don't need to end up with duplicates.

Martynt74 · 15 Jul 2019 at 12:57

Well Amazon had them on their Prime Day deals and were a great price. I've picked up the 10"8 Cruise model for £360 which i'm happy with. Around £100 less than Bluefin direct.

I'd have liked the Carbon model but that wasn't reduced very much. To the weird situation where the 12' Carbon board was actually a lot cheaper than the 10'8 one (£650 vs £800). It made it very tempting, but ultimately i've gone with something cheap to give me an in and at this price i think i wouldn't mind changing it in the future and wouldn't lose too much.

roman59 · 15 Jul 2019 at 14:24

Marvt74 said:
Looks like the Bluefin Refurbished boards aren't such a great deal. They're reduced but come without the Paddle or the Kayak seat so once you add those (Well not as bothered about the seat), you end up not far off the price of a brand new model. They do have 10% off the new models and include a camera which i could sell which is looking tempting.

One thing i was wondering. All the inflatable boards come with a pump, paddle etc. Can you buy boards without these as presumably once you get something like a Carbon Paddle and maybe an electric pump, you don't need to end up with duplicates.

Glad you got your board!

I actually bought an electric pump that plugs into my cars 12volt socket, makes a big difference only takes 10 minutes to get my 14 foot Naish Glide pumped up to 20 psi and in that time I can get the wetsuit on etc

I have only ever bought complete setups, board plus bag, pump, rear fin, leash & paddle. However I do use a Naish 2 piece adjustable carbon paddle which I bought last summer.

Cheers all

Martynt74 · 17 Jul 2019 at 15:02

Cheers, will consider an electric pump after i see how much effort manually pumping takes.

I presume you guys are all members of the British Canoeing club for waterways licenses?

Rudge · 18 Jul 2019 at 14:21

Marvt74 said:
Cheers, will consider an electric pump after i see how much effort manually pumping takes.

I presume you guys are all members of the British Canoeing club for waterways licenses?

I'm a member, seems good value to be legal, also has some insurance tied with it as well. A lot of people do not realise you need a permit or similar to go on the water, not sure how they police it other than occasionally at locks.

The manual pump is a good warm up before you get on the water, also means you don't need to be right next to your car to get air! Last few PSI is a pain however...

I use a Fatstick 12'6 touring board and think it's really good, others are impressed as well with its performance. The included paddle and pump were terrible however, anyone got any suggestions on a good paddle, probably Carbon? I am looking at the McConcks two or three piece ones currently.

I organised for some members I hike with to go paddling with me last weekend, 17 in total! Think they all enjoyed it and some want to go again very soon.

Anyone else around the midlands area? I tend to go to Stratford-upon-Avon or a nearby canal.

Skidder · 19 Jul 2019 at 08:36

How much you want to spend on paddle? I have a JP Australia carbon pro 2 piece and it is phenomenal. Very light and in the bigger blade size a lot of power. Around £400 though and have been on a lower end paddle happily until recently. That is a fanatic carbon 35 which has less carbon but is still pretty light at half the price. Still feels 1000 times better than an entry level paddle. I do have a reallly basic alloy paddle as a spare that was thrown in with my original set up and it is horrible. It's never even touched water. Feels like a lump.

Quickblade and starboard make some nice paddles too.

Rudge · 19 Jul 2019 at 10:23

Skidder said:
How much you want to spend on paddle? I have a JP Australia carbon pro 2 piece and it is phenomenal. Very light and in the bigger blade size a lot of power. Around £400 though and have been on a lower end paddle happily until recently. That is a fanatic carbon 35 which has less carbon but is still pretty light at half the price. Still feels 1000 times better than an entry level paddle. I do have a reallly basic alloy paddle as a spare that was thrown in with my original set up and it is horrible. It's never even touched water. Feels like a lump.

Quickblade and starboard make some nice paddles too.

£400 is nearly as much as my board, I was looking around the £80 - £160 range. My current Fiberglass paddle I feel flex a lot if I really try to push myself. The Fanatic Carbon 35 sounds promising, I'll take a look thanks. The other one I've heard good things of are the McConcks carbon paddles, I'd like to try a few I think before investing.

Ahleckz · 20 Jul 2019 at 17:51

Had the first kayak lesson of 4 at a local watersports centre.

It was good, but I feel like I had the right foot too close to me. I couldn't move my right leg at all - it was hard against the support and my feet got very pins and needley and crampy pretty quickly. I felt that I was pretty unstable as I kept having to adjust the leg or bring it out the support thing. Is this right and something that I'll get used to or should I have the foot rest a bit further back? The guy said it will be uncomfortable but he will try and get me a bigger boat next week.

I'm 6'1 and 95kg if that helps?

Skidder · 21 Jul 2019 at 09:33

Rudge said:
£400 is nearly as much as my board, I was looking around the £80 - £160 range. My current Fiberglass paddle I feel flex a lot if I really try to push myself. The Fanatic Carbon 35 sounds promising, I'll take a look thanks. The other one I've heard good things of are the McConcks carbon paddles, I'd like to try a few I think before investing.

Hadn't heard of those McConks

Weight looks good at 560g for a fixed length that is comparable with the second tier of the big brands' carbon paddles (which is no bad thing). If you are buying adjustable it will weigh more as you have the hardware and overlap in materials. I like a two piece as my boards are different thicknesses and also for relaxed touring vs applying a bit more power you may want to adjust as your body position changes. You may want 3 piece if you want it to fit in a bag with an inflatable for travel.

They look good to me and worth a try.

MM-Seat · 22 Jul 2019 at 21:41

Ahleckz said:
Had the first kayak lesson of 4 at a local watersports centre.

It was good, but I feel like I had the right foot too close to me. I couldn't move my right leg at all - it was hard against the support and my feet got very pins and needley and crampy pretty quickly. I felt that I was pretty unstable as I kept having to adjust the leg or bring it out the support thing. Is this right and something that I'll get used to or should I have the foot rest a bit further back? The guy said it will be uncomfortable but he will try and get me a bigger boat next week.

I'm 6'1 and 95kg if that helps?

I'm 6'1 and around 105kg, was you in a large boat?

Your legs should be almost locked with the footplate and the thigh brace but, shouldn't give you pins and needles. You need the contact points of your feet, thighs and backside to aid getting the boat on edge and to ensure effective trunk rotation.

Try the bigger boat and see how it fits is what I'd suggest!

Martynt74 · 26 Jul 2019 at 08:35

Got it last week but only inflated it last night for the first time.

Inflating it was reasonably easy and didn't take as long or be as hard as i was expecting which was a bonus. I'm planning to get on the local canal tonight after work so wanted a practice run through without prying eyes looking at me like i'm an idiot!

Was wondering, what kind of distances can you cover in an hour on a SUP. I know it obviously depends on board/paddle/strength/effort etc. But as a rough guide? I saw @Skidder did the 40 mile route and i've seen a few events one of which was 5 days and covered around 60km per day. Wondering how far i can expect to go for planning journeys.

Skidder · 26 Jul 2019 at 08:57

Looks great. 3-4 mph is probably reasonable as a sustained speed. You'll be able to go faster in bursts

Martynt74 · 26 Jul 2019 at 09:00

Cheers, i think that's what i was expecting.

Folded it up and in true sleeping bag/tent style, it barely fits in the bag and the pump/paddle are loose in the car. I'm sure there's a knack for folding it up that'll i'll learn!

Also what do i do about anglers on the banks of a canal? Presumably they wouldn't cast accross the full length of the canal so i just move to the other bank to avoid them?

Skidder · 26 Jul 2019 at 10:15

Yeah try to spot them early and get over, you can normally see from the angle of their lines where to avoid. They can sometimes be a bit obnoxious but generally if you are seen to be thinking of them, they are fine.

Re folding, there will be a point where starting to fold results in you fin box and any built in fins being in the right spot to work with the bag. That is the only trick to it really.

Martynt74 · 26 Jul 2019 at 18:22

Got back. Ended up covering about 2 miles in 50 mins. I’m going to look at a lesson I think as I rarely go in a straight line and lack confidence to adjust my foot position causing me to curl my toes and hold on which causes foot pain.

Think an hour lesson would help massively.

Enjoyed it though. Got caught by reeds a few times getting caught in the fin and causing some wobble but I didn’t fall in. One guy even came to film me getting in. That was a nervy moment! I’ve never got on a board from a dock before!

Skidder · 27 Jul 2019 at 08:39

Nice one well done. I'm sure a lesson will sort you out. There are great youtube videos on the different paddle strokes. Having a very straight paddle shaft will help immensly to keep you in a straight line. Have a llok at this (don't worry about the cross forward stroke and bow draw just yet, just get the straight paddle right)

MM-Seat · 28 Jul 2019 at 19:42

Still shocked that this thread took off a bit.

@Marvt74 - Did you have any luck with Euxton Canoe Club?

Martynt74 · 28 Jul 2019 at 20:01

Sadly not. Seems they didn’t have much of a SUP presence and when I last sent the guy who runs it a message he didn’t respond.

There are a few places in Southport where there’s a decent sup community so think that might be more appropriate for me.

MM-Seat · 29 Jul 2019 at 18:02

Shame - I know my club (Liverpool) had a "SUP North" contingent that was in Southport but, not heard anything of them since I joined so assume they set their own thing up.

I'm considering a Paddleboard as I'm hoping to start instructing the Scout group in the next few weeks.

Martynt74 · 29 Jul 2019 at 20:51

Yeah. That’s who I’ve been looking to book the lesson with.

They are having a paddle intro night tomorrow where they’ll have a load of different boards for people to try out.