West Coast Yakers, Where Do I Begin?

[Splash-X]

I notice this forum isn't very active but I'll take my chances.

Are there any active kayak divers here on the west coast of Florida? I'm from the Clearwater area and I see some posts in this forum about GPS coords for the Sarasota area which is only an hour drive to the south.

My wife and I do not own kayaks nor have we been diving off of one. I'm really looking for people give us some more information (pros/cons / likes/dislikes, additional equipment required/suggested, etc) as well as other kayak divers here on the west cost to give their input on our region.

We've been looking at different kayaks to get a feel for what we think might or might not make a good kayak for diving.

We're not just looking for information but we're also looking for other people to go out with to show us the ropes.

Are there any locations to rent kayaks from and do some shore kayak diving here on the west cost?

 

[dkramer]

Hi Splash-X. I am a Kayak diver from Port Charlotte. I do most of my diving in the Venice area. There are a few of us that dive that area although not all are members of scubaboard. I have a Cobra Fish/Dive Kayak which I like real well. There others who dive with Oceans & they like them as well. I like mine because it is very stable & has plenty of inside storage but the downside is that it is a bit heavy at 56lbs. I like to yak dive because I can go when ever I want & stay as long as I want. I also use my yak as the float for my dive flag. I tow the yak with me as I dive. It makes the flag much more visible for the boaters to see & I always know that my boat is above me in case of an emergency. As I said, I'm from the Port Charlotte area, so I don't know of any yak rentals in the Sarasota area. That doesn't mean that they don't exist. Perhaps someone else will jump in with that info. If you decide you would like to try yak diving & want someone to go with ya'll, just give a shout!

 

[Splash-X]

It's great to hear from you dkramer! How often do you make it over to Venice to do any diving?

The reasons you like kayak diving are the same reasons we have for wanting to get in to it, the ability to decide when, where and how long we go diving. Being inexperienced with kayak diving makes us a little hesitant because we don't know what we're doing at this point.

If we are able to find somewhere that will rent kayaks near where people are headed out we'd love to go tag along and let people who us how its done, after all, safety in numbers, right?

 

[dkramer]

I try to get a dive in every weekend if I can. Obviously we were blown out this past weekend but I'm hoping things will turn around for the Labor Day weekend. I dive S.Brohard alot but have also done Venice Beach, Alhambra & Sharky's. Service Club & Casperson are not yak friendy due to the boardwalks. Shoot Sharkwatcher a PM. He is also a yak diver & he lives in Sarasota. He might know where you can rent yaks.

 

[Peter_C]

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/basic-scuba-discussions/239192-diving-kayak.html
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/inflatables-ribs-dinghys-kayaks/79078-kayak-diving.html
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/florida-kayak-divers/294105-kayak-must-haves.html
Scupper Pro TW

 

[Splash-X]

Peter_C,

Thank you for the links. Reading through most of the posts I did come across Jim Spears who has a pretty good (but old) resource for kayak diving. It's providing some good reading.

Reading through what people recommend as far as kayak make/model is difficult due to the age of the posts. In most cases the models have been long discontinued which makes them difficult to find.

I see that Nemrod swears by his Scupper Pro TW and I see some Scupper Pro's on Craigslist here in Tampa. None of them list "TW" so I'll have to do more reading as to what the difference between Pro and Pro TW is.

I still have more reading to do!

Thanks again for the info.

 

[Peter_C]

The Scupper Pro was being made again, for at least a little while, as it was such a great kayak. Did they discontinue them again? TW stands for Tank Well, which is what you need to scuba dive off of one. Double hatches won't work. A narrower kayak of around 13+ feet is ideal. Smaller kayaks do not track as well, and do not have the weight carrying capacity. The longer the kayak the faster it will go to. Having a rudder is a nice thing since you can steer with your feet and keep it pointed the direction you want without having to paddle on one side constantly.

If it were me I would just look for a nice used one since they are darn near indestructible.

 

[Splash-X]

The Ocean Kayak website doesn't like it as a current model, but that doesn't mean I wont find one on Craigslist, eBay or in the local paper.

The information you're providing is invaluable, discussion about the attributes that make a kayak good for diving are excellent.

On a model such as the Scupper Pro TW, you can always add on the rudder after, right? It's not like there was a specific model with it and that's the only way to get it?

My wife has her reservations about doing kayak diving, she fears we won't have a safety plan in case of emergency. It's good to hear her bring these concerns up. I told her we would handle an emergency in the same manner, there is a radio and a cell phone on the kayak that can be used to phone in for emergency help.

I did tell her that if she didn't feel comfortable doing it, that's fine, like a good dive buddy she could call off for any reason any time, but just because she doesn't feel comfortable with it yet doesn't mean I won't continue after my interest in doing it. She may warm up to the idea after I've had some experience, but if not that's OK too!

 

[dkramer]

As far as a rudder goes............I personally wouldn't waste my time with one. They can be expensive & steering a yak is really not that difficult.

As far as safety goes...............I'm not sure what her concern is but I personally feel much safer having my yak with me. It is a very visable dive flag platform, I always carry a cell phone on board, current is not an issue & if I have an out of air problem......no problem...........just surface to the yak. Because I tow my yak, it will even alert me to topside weather changes. I have a tether which connects my BC to the boat. I do not try to get into or out of my gear while on board. My gear is set up, placed in the well & turned on prior to leaving the beach. Mask & fins go inside. When I arrive at the dive site, I dump my gear into the water. Then I put my mask & fins on & jump in. The gear is then put on while in the water. The procedure is reversed for getting out. As far as getting to & from dive sites, you control how far out you go. Some folks will paddle out to the bone yard but there are plenty of other sites within 100 yds from shore.

Bottom line..............I am a 55 yr. old, old lady.................If I can do it............it ain't that hard.


One point I will add though.................integrated weights are the way to go with yak diving. If you are wearing a standard weight belt, you do need to be careful while getting in & out of your gear.

 

[Splash-X]

I think the thought of this being new makes her a bit uneasy. Given time, and maybe seeing other people so it might ease her concerns, but for now I'm not going to push her at all, if she decides to come with me when I get everything worked out, great, but if not, there will always be the next trip.

My guess is she has a picture in her head that we jump in a kayak, paddle 5 miles out to sea to some dive spot and then get lost at sea. We'll discuss it more once I can get more details worked out but until then I'll just let it be.