Kayak "must haves"

[Scuba_Jenny]

Counting down, only a couple weeks till the big day.. I get my kayak. Have I gotten anything? Barely! Got the wheelez, but that's it.
What do I need? Can ya'll help me out. FWIW, some may call me cheap, I call myself frugal, so if it is 1/2 price for DIY or used, I am game.
Paddle- any suggestions?
Anchor - found an 10lb mushroom anchor last weekend. Is this overkill? What kind of line should I get for it? How long?
PFD - So many on the market.. Heck Wal-Mart has em for $15. Are they worth it? What about chafing under the arms, or how hot/bulkyness?
Saftey equipment - I have a signal mirror, whistle, strobe light. Anything else?
Ropes, Lines, etc. - What do I need for lashing on the dive equipment, dry bag, paddles, etc...
Anything else - Is there something missing that I will need right away, or will need in the near future?

 

[pollywogg]

paddle leash and/or spare paddle ;-)

 

[burna]

Toilet paper?

Yes! YouTube - Killer Whale Lands On Man In Kayak!!!
Haha!

 

[Scuba_Jenny]

Definate on the paddle leash..

 

[Peter_C]

VHF handheld radio in a sealed bag.

Flares.

I only use the paddle a little bit so it doesn't matter to me...make sure to get the right length for your kayak.

Costco has nice life jackets. There are special ones for kayaking though, and I am not one to wear one, but then again we put our drysuits on before leaving land.

I carry a pump incase my kayak floods and also have filled in my parts of my hull with foam so it can not sink. The foam also keeps my gear from leaving the center storage area. Many people will use pool noodles on the sides. Anything floaty is better than nothing.

I use a 5 lb grapple anchor with around 3 feet of heavy chain, then 200 feet of anchor line on a line minder. I have anchored 2 kayaks together in a 100 feet of water with no issues. I built a bungee line to go between the kayaks so they do not rip out tie off points.

Poly pro line can be looped back on itself then tucked in for a few inches and therefore does not need a knot. A couple of stainless or brass clips inside the loop provides a place to clip off the gear that is not in a hatch. Mine are around 5 feet long. The only thing I clip off is my Buoyancy compensator/tank (BP/W with steel 100cf tank) and everything else goes into my kayak. Speaking of hatches they are only open when needed and closed the rest of the time. For instance you get out your fins and close the hatch before donning your fins. Unless you have no chance of rolling over.

You will also need to replace the bungee in the tank well with a couple of straps that use the plastic clips. Inflate your BCD completely so if it does fall over it doesn't sink.

If you are going to tow your kayak, I would recommend a reel of some kind. We can't do that through the kelp forest. I do use a dive flag on a 1/2" plastic pipe though.

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/boating-equipment/239983-what-kayak-purchase.html
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/basic-scuba-discussions/239192-diving-kayak.html

 

[TheWallDiver]

Hi Jenny,

I used these two websites extensively when I started: Jim Spears and KAYAK DIVING & FISHING, Surfing, Exploring, and Play!

Jim's is for warm water and Mark's is for S. CA (where I am) but I think they are both useful. A Google search will reveal more, but you'll have to determine which are the good ones.

Peter C above also has good info. I second having something to bale with and packing the kayak with foam, as I had an incident last year where I had a problem that I discovered after the dive when I got in the kayak and it was wallowing. Opening it up it was 1/2 full of water.

I barely made it back to the surf line before it "sunk". Upon inspection it turned out a seam cracked near a scupper hole and the water got in that way. I had something to bale with, but the leak was too big for it, so the foam would have been good to have had then.

Wally

 

[Scuba_Jenny]

Thanks Walldiver and Peter! Your information is worth rereading a few times.
I am looking for some way to carry it on my car. Problem is my lil car doesn't have any kind of roof rack system. I am looking at the foamy things. Heck, I think maybe a pool noodle would work! LOL

 

[Orlando Eric]

Jenny-- I forget what you drive. I fabricated a rear rack for my truck and yesterday I was unloading gear at ITK and learned the sandy yak has scratched the crap out of my truck.. Opps.

I am going to make a front rack as well now.

 

[Peter_C]

I have seen foam blocks used on top of rental cars in Kauai and every one of the vehicles was slightly damaged. Not something I would do to my own car. Let alone the fact you have to run the strap through the car. Instead look for a rack system that has the load bars and the "feet". Every vehicle is different just about but you might be able to buy something from craigslist or ebay. Thule or Yakima are the two most popular brands.

What year, make, model, and color of vehicle do you have?

I forgot to mention a depth measuring sonar device is nice to have. We can rarely see the bottom, but even still it is hard to judge depth. Therefore having a cost effective way to measure depth could be important. Sonar Unit

 

[Scuba_Jenny]

I drive a 2001 Pontiac Sunfire.