Ya know, i love the idea of going to scotland in the summer, and just finding a loch, with an island, and packing my mutt n myself in a canoe and spending a few days on an island....any one done it?
any pics?
any pics?
Inflateable canoes! Anyone use em for bushcraft?
- Thread starter DurhamBushcrafter
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I got 2 inflatable canoes they are great bits of kit go from being in a rucksack to on the water in 10 minutes, the blue one in the pic literally turns into it's own backpack when deflated, not sure i'd be happy with a dog in it though due to the claws
I used to have a Sevylor K2 and it was great - just got to watch for overinflation and I'm really not sure about a dog, as GGTBod mentions
My wife and I had a pair of sevylors. She took a photo of me on the river and it looked like seen from shallow hal. Great fun and easy to transport.
Yep you will be in for a lot of enjoyment, I bought an inflatable kayak last year, a Gumotex Twist 2 in camo, I have used it to navigate a couple of canals, been up a few rivers and also used it on a local lake, they are great fun, they fit in the boot, don't take up any room at home, I have used it 2 up with kit on my local river and it has been great, wind has a distinct bearing when paddling on your own, but you get used to it, the camo version is quite stealthy for those unexpected wild camps, I had this for a bargain price last year, in hindsight the sevylor colorado has higher sides, the sides on this yak are a lot lower, but on the plus side I don't keep rubbing my knuckles when I am paddling, great bit of kit
Only trouble with that is, you've got to carry around a canoe sized/shaped piece of thin ply. That's fine if you're car camping, but then you might as well have a normal open boat if the car is going to be doing the carrying.
Just cut a piece of heavy duty builder's poly for the bottom of the 'yak, you won't know it's there and no dog will puncture it. I've used the blue stuff they use when oversiting etc., and if you keep an eye out out this time of year you'll see plenty of footings going in for extensions and new builds; they'll give you a bit the size you need, probably.
I'll second the Sevylor K2 - very robust - also a new kid on the block (from Alaska I believe) is something called an Alpacka raft, weighs 2.2kg from memory and deflates to the size of a doss bag - bit pricey tho' and only a single distributor in the UK I think based up in Scotland somewhere.
There's a video on youtube, of a Russian guy, using one & he clears off into the wilderness in it, & he got a lot of kit in it to say the least !.
Rob
Rob
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I have to say before i bought my first one i was skeptical about all areas of it, bought the Intex K2 Explorer first and me and my bro took it on the River Tyne, we both gingerly got in being that i am 110 kilo and he is 90k which was about the maximum recommended payload of the gadget, within minutes all skepticism was gone, we now use a boat each and our kit, highly recommend getting a skeg for the bottom especially if like me you use it on tidal waters, we lost a skeg off the Intex once going backwards down a set of small rapids when it got stuck in a gap between rocks and pulled out and it took us nearly 2 hrs longer than normal to paddle home down the tidal stretch of the river
Out of the Intex K2 Explorer and the Sevylor Tahiti Plus 2 i prefer the Intex model, it has more comfortable seats, it tacks better in tidal waters, it's lighter and fits in a rucksack (albeit a big one), this does not mean i dislike the Sevylor model though just in comparison side by side use the Intex shines a bit brighter, love them both
Out of the Intex K2 Explorer and the Sevylor Tahiti Plus 2 i prefer the Intex model, it has more comfortable seats, it tacks better in tidal waters, it's lighter and fits in a rucksack (albeit a big one), this does not mean i dislike the Sevylor model though just in comparison side by side use the Intex shines a bit brighter, love them both
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I have been looking at the K2 (Think I may have seen your trip on Youtube?). I am planning a trip on the Wye this summer and the K2 (used solo) would seem to have the capacity for all my camping gear, any comments?
It is great used solo, i put my dry bag of kit jammed in behind my seat and the rear of the boat and it fits perfectly and adds extra support to my seat which my back thanks me for greatly, another great thing about the K2 on top of everything else is it comes with everything you need to get started.
We are just waiting for the weather to fair up a bit and we are going to do the Great Glen Canoe Trail with the Intex and Sevylor (sticking to the shoreline whilst going through the lochs).
We are just waiting for the weather to fair up a bit and we are going to do the Great Glen Canoe Trail with the Intex and Sevylor (sticking to the shoreline whilst going through the lochs).
Excellent!
I also plan to do all of the Islands of Loch Lomond at some point. I also have a Sea Hopper folding boat, which is cute but not very big, a Pelican explorer canoe, an Intex Excursion 5, and a Norman 20 cruiser.
As you may have gathered, I like boats!
Yes, I've been on Lomond before and it can kick up a bit without warning.
I've never paddled a Kayak before, do you get much water aboard from the paddles?
Aye when you first start you do a fair bit of splashing about as you develop a technique of controlled propulsion, i wear a wetsuit always so it doesn't bother me, all this talk about it really makes me wish i could get out on the river right now
Can I direct you to some safety advice
http://www.scottishcanals.co.uk/our-canals/caledonian-canal/paddling?
http://www.scottishcanals.co.uk/our-canals/caledonian-canal/paddling?
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