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mtuchris t1_j0wo8ft wrote

My wife and I have kayaks and two inflatable SUPs. We also have a young kid. We have had the SUPs (Atoll brand, veteran owned, made in the USA) for 7ish years and they are awesome. They pack down small enough to travel as checked bags, one each. So we've flown with them to Michigan, Hawaii, Oregon. Plenty of flotation and stability for putting a kid on the front of. Only 25lbs each so one person can easily load them on the car and you can store them fully inflated so you don't have to pump them up every time you go to the water if you have a rack for the roof. The drawback is that they are slower than rigid boards and catch the wind hard. The kayaks, however, are much better in the consistent wind here on the coast of Maine and we find that for paddling with a child using a kayak is much better unless it's dead calm. We purchased the kayaks used and they are old and a little banged up but cheap. We have a standard single and the other is a single cockpit tandem that can be easily paddled by one person. Our kid loves it as he sits in the front and I paddle from the back. If you fish, it's a good option because it gives you plenty of space and stability when you are solo for doing that. The drawback is that kayaks are heavy and the tandem is 75 lb and difficult to get on and off the car by myself even as a relatively strong six foot dude.

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GreenStoneRidge OP t1_j0wp3uo wrote

This is great information. Thank you. I had seen a few of the single cockpit tandem models and that sounds like a great solution for us.

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shmerham t1_j0zwtv1 wrote

We have Atoll inflatable SUPs too and they sell a kayak kit (a backrest that attaches and a kayak paddle attachment)

I agree that they’re not great if it’s windy.

You might want a wetsuit if you’re going to use a SUP in the non summer months.

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GreenStoneRidge OP t1_j11llu4 wrote

Hey, I found a good deal on a single cockpit tandem that i am going to pull the trigger on based in your recommendation. Thank you for the insight.

I have a follow up question if you dont mind. I have a sport rack on my car that works great for my canoe. Do I need to get those kayak hooks/racks that I see for sale or will my rack work fine? Is there a particular reason for the kayak racks, like to avoid damaging them, or is it so you can fit two on a roof?

I am picking up a loon 16 footer, it has good reviews, but it is a little heavy at 73 lbs. so still going to be a little challenge to rack it solo on my SUV.

I appreciate any insight you might have.

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mtuchris t1_j11ro6o wrote

Glad to hear it! I have the old town otter tandem which is the predecessor to the Loon. The two primary reasons to use a proper rack are to protect the boat from dents or damage and to prevent it from wobbling and sliding around while driving. I have the Thule rectangular cross bars and the J-shaped carriers so I can fit two kayaks or a kayak and a paddle board at the same time. They are also cheap used. If you don't need to carry two boats you can use a flat carrier setup that sits with the hull horizontal or upsidedown. There are a number of cheap through expensive versions but they all support the hull properly so they don't leave permanent dents like bare cross bars might. In a real pinch I have used pool noodles for short trips of a couple miles. I drive an old Honda Pilot SUV and to load and unload the kayak alone I have to open the rear door and put a beach towel over the top edge of the open door. Then I lift one end of the boat up onto the top of the door and leave the other end on the ground. The boat will be at an angle and usually I get it positioned so the end of the rack stops the hull from hitting the side of the car and scratching it. Then I lift up the low end and walk forward till I can stand dead center and lift/shove it up onto the rack. Getting it down is the opposite. The car has some scrapes from when I've missed the mark a couple times but that's why I keep driving an old car. If you load yours flat on the roof then going straight over the top of the rear hatch on a towel might work as long as you don't have a spoiler there to break off. There are a variety of options in the website below to get a good overview.

https://paddling.com/gear/transport/kayak-transport/kayak-racks

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