Kayak for the big lap or a waste of time and space!

[Pling]

Gday,

A question for anyone who has completed the big lap, did you take or wish you took a boat of some description.

We have gone off the Idea of taking a roof tinny, cant be bothered with the weight, carrying a motor fuel oars etc etc.
I have also read of people taking a tinny around Oz and could count on one hand the amount of times they bothered setting it up to use it.

The wife and I however are kicking around the Idea of taking a Kayak or two or a stand up paddle board, we will be on the road for a year and will have our 3 kids aged 5, 7 and 10.
Am after opinions from people that have done the big lap like this with your kids:

1. did you take a canoe/kayak or similar
2. If not were there times that you wish you did

Cheers

[Bird]

theres always going to be a time you wish you had it... but if its worth carryign all the way.. only you can say

[Mr Ploppy]

Hey mate we are into our second week on the road and I have my sea kayak on the roof. Today we are at Umina and I was glad I had it. We are on the road for an unlimited time, and what we have with us is pretty much all we own so it had to come.

My wife insisted I take it as well as she thought I would go nuts if I was near some water and could not paddle. she knows me well.

My kayak is not a run of the mill type you could hire easily, if it was I would probably not bother taking it.  We are also staying coastal as much as possible.

I don't want to know the impact on my fuel economy.

[making tracks]

Hi Pling,
Question is,how much do you like to put a line in?
If you can Paddle board mininan (watch for crocks lol)

PM ldsparrow as they are nearing their final leg of the lap and in a Tambo Omeo

Regards
Ben

[@fnq4now]

We just got back.  2 x adults + 1 x 14yo & 1 x 10yo + 2 x kayaks.  The kayaks were on a boat rack on the CT and were a bitch to take on & off.  In saying that, they were heaps of fun when we used them.

[chester ver2.0]

We took 2 bikes on our half lap

Did we use them yes now and then to go to the shops but only went on about half a dozen planned rides

Would i take them again only if i could store them in the car they were on the roof and got absolutly trashed over 20,000k (gears hated dust and overall fast wear due to being outside all the time either on the roof of the car or tied to the drawbar of the camper)

As for Kayaks if i was going east coast then maybe as for west coast once you get above exmouth some big swimming lizard may eat you (same for the middle)

So for Kayaks we have taken them away on 6 weeks trips (the one above with the bikes lasted 5 months) but this is only on the proviso that they go on the roof of the car and can stay there if we dont use them. If i had to get them on and off a camper every day no way.

My ultimate setup i am currently looking to purchase is a duel cab ute with a canopy so bikes can get locked away in the back and kayaks on the roof

Ps even our Kayaks took a beating on the Gibb i would not be taking anything more expensive than your annaconda 500 sit on special so if it gets trashed, falls off the roof or god forbid nicked you will not cry to hard

[Mace]

IMO only you can truly answer this.

Its an opportunity/cost thing.

1. Will you have to unpack them every time you set up ?
2. Do you and your kids enjoy getting out on the water?

I think if you answer no to 1 (various means, rooftop mount on tug,  or swing up/away mount on CT), and yes to 2,  then go for it.

 

[austastar]

Hi,
   have you considered just a tractor tube for the odd creek etc?


cheers

[Woodsie]

We love our Kayaks, and we just strap them down on the camper upside down.
Sure you have to take them off every setup but its a whole new world seeing it from the
middle of a gorge or a river and can take you to where you cant go by foot.

[Pling]

Thanks for the replies,

We have a flip over boat rack which we had removed for our last trip, so we can utilise this and It wont be too much of a bother. Other than a couple of Kayaks I dont have any thing else to go on the rack otherwise It would be staying in storage.

[Big Tread]

We are in a similar situation.  We put a swing over boat rack on the camper with the intention of getting a tinny to take on a big trip, but decided that you then need a fold-up trailer, motor etc and that there might be limited places to actually put a tinny in. So we got kayaks instead, 1 tandem and 1 single.  They are good for small creeks, estuaries, lakes and the sea on calms days.  Much more family friendly and easier to maneuver than a tinny, so they get used more often, and I still get to do some fishing off them!

The swing over boat rack makes a huge difference though, it would be a pain to have to take them on and off everytime you do a set up.