Gertrude Goes: September 2019

Alright...don't get too excited. We haven't converted Gertrude to a houseboat. Ha! But she did come into the decision process on a purchase....of a kayak.

Last year some time, we started thinking about exercise once again. Kyle loves to hike about, as well as ride bikes. I enjoy riding bikes, but also feel a draw to the water. I don't enjoy walking/hiking as much (in large part due to my weaker knees and generally being out of shape). So we thought about kayaking. This would be a great way to take the pressure, literally, off of my knees and still get some great exercise in! Another thing we noticed was all the Thousand Trails parks we were frequenting had some sort of a water feature on the property, or very nearby (a lake, river, pond, etc...), so having a kayak made perfect sense to us.

Next step, I started my research. I found that due to my current weight I needed at least a 12 ft kayak. There were a lot of options out there at various price points. Then we started figuring in storage and transportation of the kayak. We have an SUV and we would need to order luggage racks and "J" racks to transport it on top of the car. So now we were up to around $700 for the whole thing (kayak and transporting needs). We were having lunch at a cafe in one of the parks when we struck up a conversation with a man about the subject. He suggested we look into an inflatable. I didn't realize such a thing even existed. I went home and started searching. I found several options at all different price points. I was hesitant to get one from Walmart or such, as I didn't have a lot of faith in their lasting that long for me.

I went to YouTube and found a couple that people were calling "top of the line" in easy to transport kayaks. There was the Oru Origami folding kayak that REALLY intrigued us!

The bad thing about this was the price point...$1,599.00 USD!! And I wouldn't have a paddle or life jacket yet. So I kept searching, and found Advanced Elements. They had LOTS of options and priced ranged from $399 to $1,099.

That priced did not include the pump, PFD (life jacket), or paddle, but I felt we might be on the right path. The weight limits were comparable to hard shell kayaks. And being that I was interested in something that would accommodate me and possible some gear and such, I went with looking at the bottom three kayaks on the list above.

I watched videos about stability, set up, portability, and just general reviews. Everything seemed to be great! So we weren't really interested in a tandem (2 person) kayak at this time. We figured when we both want to go out, Kyle would just rent from a local place since he wouldn't have as many opportunities as I would due to still working M-F. We went to Amazon and found the Advanced Elements Expedition Elite kayak for about $700. We added an Advanced Elements paddle and their pump, as well as an Onyx MoveVent PFD.

Altogether, this added up to about $900. I'd be ready to go out on the water when it got delivered! Yay!! We were in Texas at the time and I got everything delivered over the course of a week. We set out to the lake at the campground we were in at the time. I got it out of the back of the car, packed it to the lake, read the instructions on inflation, and got it all set up. Then onto the water! **Keep in mind I'd always been enamored with the idea of kayaking, but never actually done it myself. And it was December. Granted, it was December in Central Texas, but the water would still be cold if I fell in.**

Below are some pics of that first experience.

I was dressed in layers to be warm enough. I was nervous about being "tippy", but found that it was INCREDIBLY stable. I had watched videos of people who regularly do whitewater kayaking and they know how to "roll" a kayak. They had intentionally tried to do that in this model and found it REALLY difficult to do. I stayed out for about an hour and a half that first day and LOVED it. I really wished I had discovered this much earlier in life. I was hooked! And for the record, i stayed almost completely dry the whole time. The most I got wet is up to my ankles, and that happened when I was getting out of the kayak.

Since we have gotten it, I've been out on lakes, ponds, rivers, bays, and even in the ocean! I'm looking forward to taking it out in the Florida Keys this winter. I have been asked by several people about this kayak when I'm out on the water. Until people get up close, a lot of them don't know it is even an inflatable. I have learned on my own, through videos and practice, how to maneuver and paddle. It tracks REALLY well and I don't feel as affected by wind as I thought I would. When we went out with sea kayaks, I had to work a little harder than I had previously, but still handled really well. I'm ending this post with photos from many of the places I've taken the S.S. Minnow (the name I gave it). Kyle thinks eventually he'll get one also, but for now we just enjoy mine.

I would absolutely recommend this kayak to anyone out there looking for a great craft that is tops in portability! It lives in the back of our SUV, always ready to go out on the water! :)