kayaks

I would be going to Bodega Bay and ocean cove, my price range is 0-1700$. I'm looking more at hobie for the mirage drive but it's a lot of $$$$. Any ideas for a beginner.

That's a HUGE price range. And how do you know you want a paddle boat if you're just beginning? I only have a year's worth of experience spearfishing off a kayak (almost zero with a rod/reel), so take everything I have with a grain of salt. Given that, here's what I suggest based on what I've done:

Start off with the cheapest kayak you can find that fits your most basic needs, just to get on the water. I'm guessing those are: sit on top, 10'+, open well in the back, 350+ capacity. You can regularly find something like that for well under $500 including paddle and seat.  If you put in the time to research prices and hunt for a kayak, you can find something well under market value that you can sell when you want to trade up. Fish a bunch on it, demo a bunch of others, and get to know what you're preferences are. Longer/faster vs. stable, smaller for car topping vs larger with a bigger capacity, hatch styles and locations, footrest styles, etc etc. I don't think you'll be able to know what you'll want in the long run just from a quick weekend demo. What may seem like a minor inconvenience during a demo paddle could piss you off enough to sell it after only a few trips.

Once you know what you want, sell the first kayak and move on to the next. You'll be much better informed about the different types and styles of kayaks, and won't need to ask others' opinions on the entire kayak spectrum. The only thing that I can guarantee (and I'm almost positive that everyone will agree here) is that your first kayak won't be your last (especially if you have access to a budget like THAT). "Change is the only constant."

Or, you could just skip all that and buy a blemished Malibu X13 (my current kayak ) shipped for less than a third of your budget. I can't believe that they're not sold out by now. http://www.kayakfishingsupplies.com/servlet/the-1340/Malibu-Kayaks-BLEMS/Detail. I can't say that I got an overall better deal after a lot of work on the used market. 

I agree with the previous, mostly. CJ had a few hundred of those Malibus I think.

I wonder what happens to the Hobie blems or the Wilderness Systems blems? Because I see OK and Malibu blems for sale quite often.

I wonder what happens to the Hobie blems or the Wilderness Systems blems? Because I see OK and Malibu blems for sale quite often.

Dealers still get a few Hobie blems to use as DEMO yak's ... or they just quit making mistakes.

Ocean Kayak Trident 13.Done.

Kid u have started the ultimate never ending argument.
Which kayak.

I wonder what happens to the Hobie blems or the Wilderness Systems blems? Because I see OK and Malibu blems for sale quite often.

Wildy blems go to pro staff and others such as. The rest get ground up and recast. Some multi color re grinds are pretty cool looking. The Malibu blems I got for HOW looked real good and I could not see any problems.

Ocean Kayak Trident 13.Done.

Please tell us why. Over a Wildy 120 or 140. Over a carribean 12-14. Over a Malibu x-stream or x-factor. Over a ???? Please elaborate. I will say that the t13 does surf well. But it does lack in other areas. There is no perfect boat for everyone. That is why we always say try as many as you can.

Your right Rob.There is no perfect kayak.I've had a t140,an RTM abaco and a t13.I prefer having all my gear stowed away when I eat it in the surf zone.I did have issues with my other two yaks,the t13 has better features in my opinion.That's all

Just giving you some S%#^ Tiny.

I know see you at Berryessa.

Native has no blems. They never make mistakes. Kidding. I believe they do same as wildy.  Blems go to pro staff and dealers, etc.

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