just starting

just added this site to my favorites.  Lots of good info on here.  I just got back into free diving and wanted to get some sugestions on a kayak that would be good for free diving and fishing.  something to start out in to see how I like it.   What is a reasonable price that I can get the wife to ok.  I already have a whole in the water, 21 ' arima, that I throw money at, but this kayak thing looks like a blast!   Will a regular pfd work for this sport or is something else needed-besides a wetsuit.  Does anyone use tanks off one of these or are they too bulky/heavy?  thanks JR

Welcome aboard.
I use tanks, freedive, ab dive, spearfish, pole fish, and just go for a leisurely cruises on my kayak. Do whatever floats your boat.
Not sure what your budget is; but realistically if you wanted to fully gear up you can expect to pay around $1500 if you went with all new stuff.
You can go lower or higher depending on the gear you buy. You can get a low end reasonable paddle for around $60 or you could go all out and spend $600 for a carbon fiber paddle. Shop around. If you figure $750- $1100 for a new kayak, another $100 or so for a paddle, $80 for a good paddling jacket $100 for a seat, $15 for a paddle leash.
You can get what you need for a lot less if you look for something used that is already geared up. there are a lot of deals out there, just have to be patient and persistent on checking.

I outfitted my cobra fishndive the first time for about 1200 with seat and paddle and I can honestly tell you it is a fishing and diving titan I have not found any reason to hate it yet its a little slow but other than that its awsome I only freedive from it but the tankwell is molded to fit 3 tanks not sure if its possible but thats what they say.

As far as I know, the most common freedive platform used in CenCal/NorCal is the Scupper Pro with 2 hatches, but in my opinion just about any kayak will do. My budy still uses a OK scrambler which I think it's a sucky dive kayak (short, unstable and very little storage) , but he likes it - I used it a couple of time and flipped every time I tried to gear up on it. I still have an old fiberglass malotte ( slow and heavy but still floats) a Scupper ( good but not enough load carrying capacity foa a fat diver, gear and game) and a Scupper Pro .
Ol' timer use fiberglass kickboards ( use their diving fins as propulsion mechanism).  Unlike for pole fishing, the use of a yak for spearfishing is to get you from point A to point B, and usually paddling is a couple hundred yards to a mile. Of course you can paddle as far as you want.
A dive yak should have ample storage (to keek spearguns, fins, floatline etc and game), stable enough not to flip when gearing up and long enough to track when paddling ( 12ft  +).
I would recommend you to look for a used kayak to start with, see if like fishing and diving off it, then if you do, you canlook for your ideal fish n dive platform at your leisure, if you don't you, can sell it at minimum loss if any.
Have fun !

my wife and i have been diving off our scupper pro tw's which we bought under a few friend's advice. we bought them used at 250.00 a piece and could not be more satisfied. they take a beating and seem to have plenty of storage space. some days i will ab dive and spend the rest of the day fishing and it holds everything for a day. they are not a dry ride though as some kayaks are. they sit pretty low in the water. not too wide which is nice if you are not a bigger person. there are more stable kayaks out there but i was able to get used to it pretty fast.

i dont use tanks diving and spearing. although i have seen people load up to 2 tanks in a scupper pro tank well with zero problems. i usually bring 2 guns and a game clip, store my fins, mask, float lines and weight belt in the hull.

its a workhorse of a kayak and you can often find them used online or call up "adventures by the sea" or the kayak rental place at lover's cove in Pacific Grove.

I see em online a lot it seems. the 2 hatch one is a nice one for divers. unfortunately i was not able to get one of those so i use the back tank well as a fish storage spot now.

My drifter is on the slow side, but it's one of the most stable kayaks available, and the 450lb weight capacity carries a lot of gear.  I did a two tank dive off of it without any trouble.   My drifter was $450 a couple years back, so it doesn't break the bank either - and it's in current production.

My drifter is on the slow side, but it's one of the most stable kayaks available, and the 450lb weight capacity carries a lot of gear.  I did a two tank dive off of it without any trouble.   My drifter was $450 a couple years back, so it doesn't break the bank either - and it's in current production.

very good points, my scupper tw is no longer available these days. they are pretty old now. there are times i did wish for a wider kayak though. even with all that space under me on the scupper i sometimes wishedi had a bit more space.

thanks for all the info guys, JR