Kayak Rentals

In a couple of weeks my wife and I are taking a week off of work to do various things like running in the Bay to Breakers and spending a weekend in Reno with friends, but during the weekdays we thought it would be nice to rent kayaks once or twice. We would have two purposes: One would be just to paddle around in some flat water for purely recreational enjoyment. The other purpose is to test drive a few of the models that we are considering buying. 

Does anybody have any recommendations for us in terms of places to rent from? We live in Vallejo, but we're willing to drive and hour or two if the place has what we are looking for.

Here's what we are looking for. The kayaks that we want to rent would be: Ocean Kayak Prowler 15, Cobra Marauder, Cobra Tourer, and Malibu eXtreme.

My wife's desire for a kayak is one that is easy to paddle, tracks well, and can be loaded with about 50lbs of camping gear in dry bags. My desire is for a kayak to fish from and that I can load with camping gear too. Ideally, I want my wife to get a boat that I can use as a buddy boat for fishing when a friend comes to visit, but I'm not going to tell her what to get!   

http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=78.0

Thanks Mooch! I knew I had seen that list somewhere before, but couldn't remember where. I'll be calling around to see what each of these folks offer for rentals and whether or not I can reserve specific models.

I know for sure that Aquan Sports in San Carlos rents Prowler 15 and Prowler 13 on a take-away basis. I've reserved a P-15 for a houseboat trip on Lake Shasta the end of this month. I've paddled both and like them both, but prefer the 15 because of my large size. 

Good Luck.

Kayak Connection rents Ocean kayaks and Wilderness Systems ...

Half Moon Bay Kayak Co. rents Cobra Kayaks.....

Check with SCWAfish for the Malibu and Cobras he lives close to Lake Mendocino where you can paddle.

I was thinking that I would give GWKC a call to see if they would rent a couple kayaks for a morning or afternoon, although from their site I'm not so sure that they do rentals. But since we'll be on vacation Ukiah seems like a nice town to visit even though I have only ever driven through in the past. I am also looking at Outback Adventures in Larkspur as a possibility to rent a Prowler 15, but I haven't called them yet to see if they rent any of those.

Thanks for all the input everybody, I really appreciate it.

Jay, I have a rental shop and malibu kayaks demo center on Woodley Island in the Humboldt bay. If your coming up to see the redwoods or breathtsking Humboldt Coast look us up. We especially cater to NCKA brethren.  http://www.humboats.com

Mooch put us on your list !!

Mooch put us on your list !!

done

moochos gracias!!

After calling around a bit and figuring out where to rent some of the models I was interested in, my wife and I went out to HMB Kayak at Pillar Point harbor today. For about 3 1/2 hours we were able to paddle a Cobra Marauder and a Cobra Tourer. The short story is that I was generally pleased with both boats, but especially so with the Tourer. The Tourer we paddled today was set up with the rudder system which really helped out during the sometimes stiff off-shore winds. Some reviews I had read about the Tourer described it as "tippy", but I found it pretty comfortable. Even in the wind chop I found I could lean over and put the top of the gunwhales underwater without dumping it. But, I wonder what it would be like to have a 25 lb halibut pulling on the end of a 8' fishing rod? I may have to take this boat out for a fishing trip to find out if stability would be an issue for me while fishing.

The Marauder was great too, but there were a couple of things that were uncomfortable for me. First, the footwells were too narrow for me to use with Chaco sandals on. I was wearing booties too, and I found that without the sandals, the foot wells were fine, but there really isn't much room for my regular sized feet. My feet are regular width and size 9 1/2. The other issue was a lack of rudder. I could make my way alright, but I noticed I had to work a lot harder than my wife (in the Tourer) when we were pushing against the wind or when the swells were coming in at an angle. Outside of these issues, the Marauder was maneuverable, had awesome storage, was super stable, and was pretty easy to paddle.

There are still two other kayaks I want to paddle before we consider buying, and that is the OK Prowler 15 and the Malibu eXtreme. My Wife is pretty excited about the Tourer already, but I am wondering how an eXtreme with a rudder will compare. Maybe the eXtreme will be a good compromise between the storage and maneuverability of the Marauder and the speed and easy paddling of the Tourer? I'm hoping so. But, I won't discount the Prowler yet either. With so many people paddling that boat, it must be a good boat. Hopefully I'll find out soon!

Also, for anybody else who is interested in trying out a Cobra, I worked with Chris at HMB Kayak. He was extremely helpful and knowledgeable. I'd highly recommend them to anybody.

Hey Fishing J,

Aquan Sports will have a free kayak demo at their OTHER new location at the Aquatic Park in San Mateo this weekend. The Prowlers (15 and 13), the Big Game ....will be available to test paddle. I will be there on Saturday - manning the NCKA Booth with my fully rigged Prowler 15. Drop by if you can - I'll be there all day 

Schedule:

Saturday: 10AM to 4PM
Saunday: 11AM to 4PM
Monday: 10AM to 2PM

Thanks for the invite Mooch! Normally I would be there, but I'm supposed to meet some friends from Arizona in Reno this weekend. I'll be keeping an eye out for more opportunities like the one in San Mateo.

Looking through old posts I noticed that you used to paddle a Tourer. If you don't mind my asking, what was your impression of it for fishing and why did you get rid of it?

Yes, I did paddle a Tourer - IMO: a very nice kayak. Very light for a 15-foot kayak (I believe it's the lightest in it's class - if you have a bad back - this is the kayak for you). I had to part with it for two reasons: not a lot of garage space at the time and the front and back "A" hatch were leaking big time - I bought this kayak used and I believe the original owner did a poor job installing the hatches with not enough goop.

As for fishing, I felt that there was not enough space on the deck to rig stuff like a Fish Finder or rod holders. But I'm sure you can get away with it if you choose to be the "minimalist" type of fisherman 

Bottom line is: it's fast and light weight...my only problem with it is that it tends to plow into the swell instead of going up and over. (from personal experiences at Moss Landing)

Jay,
Malibu Kayak Co. has "given/loaned" an Extreme and a X-Factor to NCKA for members to demo. 

Shoot ChuckE a PM.  He's a super nice guy and will let you test out the Extreme (its in his garage with a ton of other different yaks).  He's very knowledgeable about many different kayak makes/models and will give you his honest, unbiased opion.

I've paddled/owned several kayaks too, and IMO, the P15 is a good all around kayak.

Stuart