Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: Gear Forum :: Ideal Kayak for Boundary Waters
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PowerLizard |
Either build the yoke shown above or cut a pool noodle in half and then cut a slit down the side so you can slip it over the kayak seat opening and carry it on your shoulder. |
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ZaraSp00k |
marrowoflife: "Wow, this is way more info than I thought I would get. Thank you guys! I definitely see the idea of having one big bag to toss all the smaller punches into at each portage, and potentially leaving some light objects attached. as someone who has done it, if the trip only has short portages, on shoulder, preferably with a pad of some sort, even pipe insulation helps but IMO, the way to go is find someone else, don't bother emptying kayak, just one person grab each end and portage, I prefer this to anything including canoes |
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TRadam |
My kayaking skills have made me a much better canoer - as once you own a boat that is “tender” you learn the skills to stay upright in any weather. I will echo sentiments stated here that personally, for me the best kayak in the BWCA is a canoe (If you are portaging to anywhere). |
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ockycamper |
The rec boats were a huge fail. They could not keep up with the canoes, didn't have the storage space in the hatches so a lot was on top, and they were plastic and way too heavy to portage. The Sea Kayaks were much better. If I take a kayak back it would be my 17 foot composite touring kayak. There are sealed front and back hatches. The key is a tapered drybag that fits both front and back hatches. You put your gear into those drybags and guide them into the hatches. At the portage, take the kayak through, then come back for the drybags. Carry them one on each shoulder (with the shoulder straps). You are through the portage with only a double portage. Most canoe travelers can't do portages in two trips. We also found that the sea kayaks, with spray skirts, handled the wind and chop on the larger lakes much better then the canoes. A final observation. . . when trippers talk canoes in the boundary waters it almost always means ultra light kevlar canoes. When kayaks come up, everyone wants to take a heavy plastic kayak designed for a river. Kayaks can work IF you are comparing apples to apples. A composite or kevlar 17 foot kayak will carry a lot of gear. and not only keep up with the canoes but probably leave them in their wake. |
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ashlandjack |
I love my it is 1993 model. |
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Jackfish |
With that said, if you plan your trip right, you can have a very enjoyable trip in your kayak by doing the majority of your paddling on the larger lakes, then doing minimal portaging. What are the goals of your trip? |
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HangLoose |
With that said, if you still want a kayak trip then look for a large body of water with zero portaging. You'll be happier I promise. |
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ashlandjack |
Northwoodsman: "Please read the OP's first sentence. "He has toured the BWCA by canoe". He also has a kayak and would like to try that in the BWCA. I'm sure he knows the pros and cons. I don't think he is looking for people to talk him out of it, he is looking for tips and suggestions. Let's be supportive."Well said go for it. |
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Northwoodsman |
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andym |
The poke boat posted above, a Rob Roy, or a Wenonah Canak are also possibilities to consider. |
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fadersup |
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andym |
On the good side, that price made me feel better about suggesting a Hornbeck plus a CCS cover. |
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marrowoflife |
Northwoodsman: "Please read the OP's first sentence. "He has toured the BWCA by canoe". He also has a kayak and would like to try that in the BWCA. I'm sure he knows the pros and cons. I don't think he is looking for people to talk him out of it, he is looking for tips and suggestions. Let's be supportive." Thank you, you are spot on. I am very aware of the hurdles present. I have seen others Kayak while in the BWCA and some portage some of the worst there is and seemed to do it successfully. I should have talked to them more when I ran into them and got more tips. I'm simply looking for more knowledge from similar people who have done this and who are lurking on the forum. Thank you to everyone so far who has done just that. |
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Wally13 |
I took my Current Designs Solstice GT fiberglass sea/touring kayak 17 ' 7", 54 lbs. on a solo trip to Kawnipi back in 1995 during the Kawnipi/Bird Lake fire. I was 41 yrs old at the time and I have to say it was a bit on the heavy side doing the portages from Prairie Portage thru Agnes to Kawnipi. And it was a bit on the slow side taking items in and out of the cock pits at portage time. However, on the plus side the kayak had an outstanding glide, tracked perfectly, and allowed me to cover long distances in a hurry. I particularly enjoyed walleye and smallie fishing out of a kayak. In fact, there were a couple of days when all other groups were sitting in their campsites and not out fishing due to windy weather ... and I was out on the water playing in the big rollers and having a ball catching big walleye. I felt it was worth the hard work to get my kayak up to Kawnipi. But that was 24 years ago and In was in great shape and had no problem carrying the heavier kayak. Fast forward to 2020 and I am not so sure I would want to go that far into Quetico with my kayak. At 65 years old ... I think I will stick to my 16 ft. 34 lb. Bell Magic when I go into the Q and fish. I just got back from a 2 week paddle to Lac La Croix with no portaging ( I used Andersons tow from Crane Lake to Snow Bay). I ran into 2 guys at Fish Stake Narrows fishing out of Wilderness Systems Sit On Kayaks and they were having a great time. After seeing them paddling and fishing in rough Big Water of LLC , I am thinking about getting my kayak out again on a solo or group trip. I would stick closer to the Quetico entry points, so I would not have to do much portaging. Beaverhouse entry and do Cirrus and Quetico lakes. Or perhaps Saganagons or Basswood. I like to fish "big water" for "big fish" ... but you always run the risk of not being able to fish a big water lake if the winds pick up. A kayak would allow you to fish a big water lake when its windy. With little to no portaging ... I would not have to worry about stowing my gear in storage hatches. Marrowoflife, let us know if you do a kayak trip. I know this is primarily a canoe site but it is "BWCA.com" ... and I like to hear about paddlers adventures into Quetico/BWCA, no matter what type of watercraft they are paddling. |
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andym |
When we have kayak camped with our sea kayak (a tandem NW Kayaks Seascape Point 5) we packed everything in small drybags that we can take in and out easily even if the hatches are just normal in size. We have not needed to portage. If we needed to do that then I would also take a pack big enough to throw everything in easily at portages. You could probably stick a pack behind the seats. A CCS light hiker is definitely very compact and could fit anywhere but doesn't hold a ton on BWCA standards. I use one of those for trips when I need to toss in a backpack for occasional use. And I would put the food in Ursacks for ease in loading and unloading but then I like Ursacks anyway. Our Seascape also has a big open area between the cockpits where you can put bigger things. That isn't so good for capsize and self-rescue if it floods but is a handy place to put our MSR Dromedary bags when camping on salt water with no access to fresh water at the camp site. My experience traveling near kayakers in the BW is that they crushed us on the water and we easily passed them on every portage. The result was playing leapfrog for a few hours until we hit a series of really small lakes and got ahead of them for good. If we had hit a really big lake the opposite would have happened. I hope my comments have been somewhat helpful. I really do think that a long pack canoe would be an awesome tripping boat for people who like double blades. And I bet a surfski and a good paddler would break the record on the border route. |
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ashlandjack |
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Squeegee |
TRadam: "My kayaking skills have made me a much better canoer - as once you own a boat that is “tender” you learn the skills to stay upright in any weather. " I will endorse this. I picked up whitewater kayaking about 8 years ago, and even though I've only been in a canoe a few times since then (less than once a year), my canoeing ability has skyrocketed. I've learned how to disengage my upper body from my lower when the boat is rocking, how to paddle much more efficiently, where to paddle relative to the boat, leans, braces, etc. When I was in the BWCA earlier in August, the wind was blowing like crazy, and I felt perfectly stable even broadside to it because I knew how to let the boat rock with it. And the best part? I'm not very good as a WW kayaker, either! |
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LilyPond |
marrowoflife: "My current single weighs 45lbs and is 14ft long." What is your current kayak and why is it not suitable for what you plan to do? What would you like to improve on it? |
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mjmkjun |
printing: "Sounds like a fun challenge. NICE! |
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CoyoteKid72 |
I also have a Prijon plastic 14' that holds a bit more (but no compartments). Loading and unloading at portages is not a big deal- I use nylon gear bags that slide easy and all bags the farthest in have ropes attached; just pull all the gear bags forward and throw in a big pack. Carrying is REALLY awkward- Am thinking of a carry system of nylon straps attached to the cowling and a shoulder strap. The Prijon is a combination boat (no keel) that can run rivers with ease and also has a rudder for big water. Recently got back into backpacking so have been downsizing gear to reduce weight and bulk, which will come in handy if I get a chance to do a bwca trip again. I'm down to a 35# pack, not including fishing gear. Can fit that in the back of the kayak with room to spare. I like fishing out of the Prijon, can fish in the rain without getting wet. |
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LilyPond |
Wally13: "LilyPond, I like the big volume of your hatches in your Soujorn 135 ... 140 Litres in each hatch. . . . This 65 year old doesn’t need to be portaging a heavy kayak. " No, sorry, the volumes I gave are TOTAL, both hatches together. I still think those volumes are great. If I can fit a cot, chair, and table in them, they're big! In years gone by we didn't have such luxuries for paddle camping. Note that the size and shape of the hatch openings, depth of the kayak, and hull shape impact ease of packing and how much you can fit in there. My last kayak was a 15 footer with fine bow and stern and low depth (12"). Very hard to pack, couldn't pack high items, and the space in the ends wasn't very usable. The Deltas and Hurricane Sojourns have a blunt shape above the waterline and they're 13" to 14" deep---much easier to pack and they hold a lot more. All of the space out to the ends is usable. Hence a shorter kayak can have more overall volume and be easier to pack than a longer one in some cases. Age has a lot to do with my downsizing. Like a lot of people I went from recreational 12' to transitional 14' to sea kayak 15.5', with a gain of several lbs each time. Then reversed the process as I aged. You can do much better than 45 lbs if you're willing to spend the money on something like kevlar, but I'm not. Stellar: https://www.stellarkayaksusa.com/S14-touring-kayak |
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BobTheRaven |
marrowoflife: "Wow, this is way more info than I thought I would get. Thank you guys! I definitely see the idea of having one big bag to toss all the smaller punches into at each portage, and potentially leaving some light objects attached. A friend and I are going in at Fall Lake in mid August with kayaks. I have a Dagger Axis 12(50-ish pounds) and he has a WS Tsunami 140. I made a portage yoke and he bought one. Tested mine on a 1.2 mile hike with a fairly significant hill in the first half. I did it at a 2.6 mph average (took my GPS with me). 1.2 miles with the hill was very close to my limit... definitely needed to take a break at that point but after 10 minutes, could have gone further. Unsure how much testing he has done but he said the purchased yoke "worked well". |
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marrowoflife |
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mjmkjun |
This response is more of a commentary than your sought-after suggestions but hopefully, someday I'll read a trip report(s) of your BWCA kayaking adventure(s). Good Luck with your search! |
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HappyHuskies |
To be honest, I don't find portaging a kayak to be all that difficult. My kayaks do weigh more than my solo canoes, but they're still in the 45 to 50 pound range, so manageable. I will admit that I've always worried about damaging the cockpit combing with the portage yoke, but so far they've held up. For the portages I carry a rucksack, usually a Granite Gear 3.5, but have used a Frost River Kitchen pack too. Anyway, all of the gear that is packed in dry bags goes into the pack at the beginning of the portage and then back into the boat at the end of the portage. Not an awful process, but definitely more time consuming than just grabbing the pack out of the canoe and heading over the portage. If I was planning a route with a lot of portages, this would get old fast. For trips with just a handful of portages, not a big deal. I will say that while I generally single portage when solo canoeing, but when kayaking I usually double portage, unless the portage is very short (like the portages on the Numbered Lakes). For the last 20 years I've been paddling a Current Designs Caribou S and a Current Designs Slipstream. I like both, but the Slipstream is much more playful, while the Caribou is faster and has more capacity. I've done two week trip on Superior in the Caribou and had extra space. Neither of these boats is still in production, so not sure it helps much. Definitely paddle before you buy. I think this is true with canoes as well, but especially true of kayaks where the fit is very important. I'm afraid I haven't added much new here, but do think you can travel in the BW by kayak and have a good time. Having said that I usually take the kayaks for day trips or take them out when it's windy and I want to play. For longer trips with lots of portages I lean toward a canoe. The kayaks are fun though. I even enjoy just going out and practicing rolls and braces without going anywhere. If you want to kayak in the BW I'd say go for it ...you know what to expect and will have a great time. |
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SevenofNine |
I only went thru the wheeled portages on Fall up to Basswood or went in to Moose lake and just paddled up to Birch so I really didn't hump it over a portage. I have a small cart for the wheeled portages and it works fine. To portage you really have to get your system down and have it ready to all fit in one bag with the rest lighter stuff strapped to the kayak. I used an Army duffel bag with my important stuff in waterproof bags and my buddy used a water proof pack. Hope you find what you are looking for. Both types of boats be it canoe or kayak offer their own experience. |
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em8260 |
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mschi772 |
Now if you use the kayak you already have or you choose some other one, I would definitely have a way of aggregating all the small packs/pouches into something you can more easily carry and using a removable yoke so that you can portage the yak more easily. |
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LilyPond |
To judge the capacity of a kayak you can compare it to backpacking. A 55 liter backpack is sufficient for 3-4 days; 75L is more than adequate (and heavy to carry). The Delta 12.10 has 171 liters in the hatches. Delta 14 202 L. Sojourn 135 140 L. Sojourn 146 166 L. All of those hatch capacities are sufficient for several days. Kayaks have some real advantages compared to canoes: stability in rough water, lower in the wind, ease of double-bladed solo paddling, speed, back support, and your gear is easily protected in watertight hatches. I started out canoeing but far prefer a kayak. I'm sure there are many rebuttals to what I just said, but I love kayak camping. Just one caveat: thermoformed plastic can crack if you hit a rock at speed, especially in very cold water as it becomes brittle in the cold. Definitely not a whitewater material. I've owned 6 thermoformed kayaks and cracked one through human error. The crack was easily repaired with a heated patch. The advantages of thermoformed compared to rotomolded plastic are stiffness (hence speed), light weight, and beauty. Delta 12.10 |
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justpaddlin |
I don't consider it a canoe and you may not consider it a kayak. I just wanted to make you aware of this option. The 15.8 is a new design and looks to be their highest performance model. Their boats are well-made, light and quite strong/tough. Cruiser 15.8 |
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HappyHuskies |
marrowoflife: "Wow, this is way more info than I thought I would get. Thank you guys! I definitely see the idea of having one big bag to toss all the smaller punches into at each portage, and potentially leaving some light objects attached. I highly recommend using a yoke. The one I have was purchased quite a few years ago. Not sure it's still in production and I don't know the brand, but I know Piragis used to sell one that looked similar to mine. I did a shoulder carry into Wind Lake once and can't say that it was much fun. Offhand I don't know the length of the portage, maybe 150 rods and the portage was in very good shap, but my shoulder was not happy. Maybe it would have been better if I'd had a little extra padding on my shoulder. I think a yoke is the way to go. |
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printing |
I would suggest finding a kayak that will be easy for you to portage, and also pack an empty canoe pack in your yak to put all your gear in before you portage. I bet you could be successful to travel by kayak in the bwcaw as long as you have it planned out. Good luck! Haha now you got me on the search for a good bwcaw yak, down the hole I go! Edit: Found this link in my search: https://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Make-a-Kayak-Portage-Yoke/ Removable yoke makes perfect sense! |
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marrowoflife |
Now I'm curious how people have portaged their yak. The removable yoke looks promising. To those who have portage experience, how have you gone about carrying it? Did you shoulder the kayak, make a yoke, or I've even read some people just put a pad between their head and the seat and carry it. |
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bhouse46 |
My preference would be a boat no longer available, the 14.6 Wilderness Secret. I have a 14.6 Tsunami that has been to Kawnippi and has good handling and storage capacity. |
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Wally13 |
I like the big volume of your hatches in your Soujorn 135 ... 140 Litres in each hatch. I have an older Current Designs Solsice GT, 17 ‘ 7” long , but it only has 72 Litres of volume in Bow and 129 Litres in the Stern. And it weighs 54 lbs. It paddles fast and smooth. Wish I had more storage volume. I have had it up to the Center of Quetico on Kawnipi for a 10 day trip and it performed well, but I was a lot younger then and didn’t mind the portage weight. I am thinking of using it In the near future on big lakes like Basswood, Cirrus and Sagansgons. This 65 year old doesn’t need to be portaging a heavy kayak. I will stick to my 16 ft Bell Magic canoe for any portage trips. For Bwca touring it sounds like the Delta’s or Soujorn kayaks would be the way to go. |