new to the ocean, some questions

Hi everyone, I've been lurking here for quite a while, you guys have a great forum.

I paddle a 16', heavy (about 70#), home-built plywood/fiberglass sit-on-top kayak. I've been fishing the local lakes, and I feel pretty comfortable with the kayak and now I'm getting looking for a change from fishing for planted trout. I'm yearning for bigger water. Can anyone recommend some easy launches? I've looked through the places to launch forum and gotten some ideas... I guess Moss should be easy (there's a ramp and dock). But for surf launches, what about Davenport, Bean Hollow, or Linda Mar? My criteria would be, not too far to carry or too steep, no stairs (since my yak is heavy, and my cart is extremely ghetto), protected or generally small surf, and ideally open very early, like 5:30 or 6AM.

Are there any tips, other than wait for a break in the sets, don't take any gear until you're comfortable, and try not to let the boat land on your head?

I really appreciate any advice. It just occurred to me today that the rockfish opener is only a few weeks away, and it seems like that will be a good introduction to ocean fishing.

Thanks!

Hey Craig welcome aboard!

Half Moon Bay (Pillar Point Harbor to be exact) is a great easy launch and a fairly short paddle to some decent rockfish grounds. I will be hitting it with my Dad on opening day and your welcome to join us.

Moss is a piece of cake as well but you have to pay $5 to launch and I do not know of any good rockcod spots nearby but the salmon fishing can be great (not so far this year)

Davenport is an easy launch but there is a bit of a haul to get down to the sand. I have only had good fishing there once or twice for rockcod, halibut can be good out of there as well.

Bean Hollow and Linda Mar can be pretty taxing if you don't time it correctly. Assuming you have stowed your stuff correctly rolling in the surf should not be a problem.

All of these spots except Bean Hollow are open early. There is a pull out near Bean Hollow but it is a pretty long hike to the launch.

Hey Craig - I agree with Bill on kayak fishing in Half Moon Bay. It's an easy launch and a short paddle to the fishing holes. But be aware of the fog and the wind can pick-up right before noon.

There are so many (free) launch spots within the Harbor. Your best bet is to park by the HMB Kayak rental and launch from there. They also have a spot where you can hose down your kayak when your done for the day.

My advise is that you have a VHF radio (GPS too)  handy just in case you  need assistance when your out there by yourself. AND if possible, paddle with a buddy.

On a big surf day, I stow all my gear in my hatch & dry box and I land my kayak stern first. I learned this trick from the Linda Mar locals. If you ever want to practice this - send me a PM. Linda Mar is a great place to practice launching and landing.

Good luck and paddle safe  

Half Moon Bay isn't too far from where I work, I'll drive over there one evening this week to scout it out. I really appreciate you guys' advice! I'm looking forward to giving this a shot.

If you're going to be going in/out through the surf, you'd best practice a bit first.  It's funny how waves that are scary as hell when you have all your fishing stuff aboard will hardly bother you without it.  Learn how your boat handles in the surf and what to do in various circumstances.  You'll also learn to appreciate what surf (and weather report) conditions are do-able with your boat at different places.  The surf at linda mar and bean hollow are very different for instance.  

Me, I jump out once the water is about 1-2ft deep and pull the boat ashore quickly.  Trying to step off onto dry land is asking for it...  Wear a wetsuit too.

This is how I do the bow landing:

When the waves are not big enought to worry about, I'll land the yak bow first .....BUT, once I get off the yak in 1 - 2 ft. of water, I actually guide / shove the kayak in front of me and I grab the rear handle on the stern of the boat. This way, if another wave comes in, I'm out of the kayak's way and I can control the kayak without having the fear of being run over by it.  I have seen too many incidents where guys try to run in front of the yak (running in 1-2 ft. of water will slow you down a bit) and even a small wave can push your kayak directly towards you a lot faster than you think. You then turn into a bowling pin when this happens  

Best tip I can give you is: NEVER BE IN BETWEEN THE SHORELINE AND YOUR KAYAK  - when landing on big surf.

THis is just my opinion on the matter. Again, like Josh had mentioned :

Learn how your boat handles in the surf and what to do in various circumstances.

I have yet to try Bean Hollow - but from the stories I've heard, It sounds like the breaks are quick and powerful. Has anyone landed successfully in these conditions? How about some pointers / suggestions   ?

Best tip I can give you is: NEVER BE IN BETWEEN THE SHORELINE AND YOUR KAYAK  - when landing on big surf.

I think Chuck would agree with your first statement above.  He did a flip like in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon a few weeks ago at Mill Creek.

ouch!!!  

well...at least Chuck lived to tell about it.  

It happened to me at Linda Mar too......I nearly cracked my shin bone when the yak took me out in a foot of water  

Best tip I can give you is: NEVER BE IN BETWEEN THE SHORELINE AND YOUR KAYAK  - when landing on big surf.

quote]

Or little surf  


You can launch for free at Moss if you bypass the boat ramp exit and hang a right at the next street (this is coming from the north, down 1).  Continue down the street till you crossed the bridge, passed the boat yards and are next to the jetty.  There is about a 75yd walk to the water(inside the harbor) but its flat and fairly packed sand so it shouldn't be a problem for your cart.  Be careful going in and out of the breakwalls as the 5mph speed limit is ignored and there's usually swell rebounding off the walls.  

In HMB be there is a big kelpy reef/lagoon W NW of the harbor that we can cut accross to get to the green can but waves will break there if the swell or wind is up so be careful.  

At this years Mavericks contest I seen boats come out of the harbor and cut through there too, which I thought would be instant disaster considering it was nasty out but apparently there's a channel in there somewhere.  They were getting in and out with no problems all following the same path.  I also seen a guy in a sit in kayak try and get through there.  He took a good pounding and seemed to be strugling.......alot, so they sent the waverunners out to make sure he was okay.  He made it back in on his own but it didn't seem to be a wise move.

Craig,

I'm curious as to what your yak looks like. Got any pictures?

Wow, you guys are amazingly helpful! Thanks again to everyone.

Pisco - I'm sorry to say that I don't have any finished pictures of the kayak, my girlfriend always seems to leave my camera at work... I have some from when construction was complete but I was just starting on the finish:




It looks pretty much the same now, only smoother and extremely bright orange.

Wow man that is pretty cool. It does not look like you have any access to the hull so stowing things are not an option for you huh? The big deal is rods since when you kayak rolls your rods will often get crunched. Is it possible for you to put a hatch in?

Very nice.  Must feel great to paddle a yak you hand crafted.  Now all you need to do is build a custom XX HEAVY DUTY cart.

Did you fill it with foam flotation or is it holllow, allowing you to build a hatch?

Stuart

Thanks! It is pretty cool... the down side is that no one knows how it will handle. In a lake, it tracks pretty well and it seems pretty fast, but I have no idea if it's going to plow in the surf, or how stable it will be in big swell. With a production boat, you can read the reviews and try it out.

My cart is a slightly modified hand truck with a ratchet strap to hold the yak on. I have to work on that.

The area under the seat and tankwell has foam, the rest is hollow. I plan to add a big hatch on the front the next time I have a free weekend where I don't want to take it out.   There will be enough space inside for two-piece rods and plenty of stuff.

NICE WORK  

Craig - let me know when you plan on launching your yak. I'd be really interested to see how it handles (I would like to test drive it as well - if you'd let me  ) I can provide you with some support if need be (hopefully not   )

WHat do you use for a backrest?