Kayaks

My trawler is 38 feet, with fly bridge. We would like to bring kayaks with us, to explore around after anchoring. Considering recreational, sit-on-top kayaks (b/c they are easier to get in/out of, and self bailing).

My avatar shows my trawler and fly bridge configuration. There are full metal railings and stanchions all around.

Any advice on the best method to store the kayaks on the trawler?

Lena has an older Ocean Kayak Frenzy. It stores easily on the fly-bridge, it's only 9' long but weighs 44 lbs which seems heavy when we're getting it on an off the boat. We spend most of our time in warm climates so sitting in water is OK. I'm not sure how well suited that feature is for the PNW or cooler waters though. It is fun when the surf is up and easy to board if you roll it.

We went with AirFusion Elites. Whilst not the sit-on-top you are considering they addressed many of the similar challenges about use and storage. At 32 lbs they are light enough to easily lift up and store anywhere on the boat, and being inflatable we simply pack them up for challenging passages, big storms and winter storage - they pack into a suit-case sized bag. For good weather
anchorage-hopping we simply lift them up onto the fordeck or salon roof. Unpacking or packing takes about 1/2 hour, and is about as complex as erecting a tent (ie not a big deal).

They are pretty good kayaks too!

AirFusion Elite Kayak | Advanced Elements

(P.S. No connection to the company, just a happy user)

We store an eddyline Sky kayak. It is 10 ft long and weighs 32 pounds and is unsinkable. Because it is stored on deck a cockpit cover helps keep the rain out and the interior clean.

We've done a lot of sea kayaking in the past, and these origami inspired Oru Kayaks are just plain beautiful, taking their lines from the West Greenland style. No storage issues here when compared to a fiberglass or plastic kayak!

Folding Kayaks That Go Anywhere | Oru Kayak

Motorized Oru?!!?

Oru Kayak with a motor!

Gauhaur (sp?) makes some kayak racks that bolt to your stanchion of your rails or lifelines. I have two sets that I have used on both my sailboats and now will use on my trawler.

We got rid of the flybridge for that very reason!

I'm w Old deckhand,
Eddylines are great.
However I prefer the Sand Piper model.

We like the sand piper too, just does not fit the boat.

I took a demo of the Oru at REI. My only concern was the cockpit was a bit confining and hard to get in/out of. I thought it will be hard to get into the kayak from the cruisers swim step, and then back into the cruiser after returning. However, its a very intriguing design. Launching from a dock or shoreline, the Oru fits a need while being convenient to store and transport.

The best folding kayaks have to be Feathercraft;

Feathercraft » 

Eddyline Merlin and Raven for us.

I have a similar layout. When I was bringing a Laser along, I had a SS support fabricated, over the aft hatch, high enough to walk under the Laser when stowed there. Now that I bring a pair of kayaks along, that is where I stow them. My avatar pic shows them. I have 1 that is 14' long, stowed upright, with the bow resting on the upper deck. The second is 13.5' long and rests on top of the first one, stern to the fwd end. They nest nicely, so all I have to do is tie them to the rails with their own painters. The longer kayak weighs 40 lb, the other, 35. Getting that weight up over my head used to be easier than it is now, so I sometimes need to raise the kayaks to the aft cabin deck first, then get up there myself and lift them the rest of the way. If they get used enough, I can do the dead lift all the way to the rack. That may not happen till towards the end of the summer as I age.
The SS rail I added is welded to existing rails, and screwed to the deck. It was installed in 1997, and solved that stowage issue for good.

OK, I was lazy before.

I have the Garhauer Marine Hardware kayak racks . As I mentioned before, I have used these on my past two sailboats and am planning on mounting them on my new boat (tonight if I can get the time).
Here is an example of them mounted on a Catalina 400 (not mine)


Here they are mounted on a trawler and is what I am planning on doing.


The Kayaks that we have are the Eddyline Skylarks. Great little kayaks but they can be tough for larger people to get in. If you are too wide, or have legs that are too long, it can be a challenge.

nmuir said:

We went with AirFusion Elites. Whilst not the sit-on-top you are considering they addressed many of the similar challenges about use and storage. At 32 lbs they are light enough to easily lift up and store anywhere on the boat, and being inflatable we simply pack them up for challenging passages, big storms and winter storage - they pack into a suit-case sized bag. For good weather
anchorage-hopping we simply lift them up onto the fordeck or salon roof. Unpacking or packing takes about 1/2 hour, and is about as complex as erecting a tent (ie not a big deal).

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I have been thinking about inflatables as well. NMuir since you are in the PNW (as I am) maybe you can comment on this. The kayak is coming out of the saltwater, and so you want to hose all of that off. And before stowing, you'd like it to be dry. But we might not have a sunny day for a few days. What would you do, perhaps deflate and then just leave in a heap in the cockpit until the sun cooperates?

Couple videos showing how seaworthy sea kayaks can be. Had our limits tested a couple times and was amazed at how much the kayaks took care of us, rather than our skill being the determining factor.

Bob Cofer said:

We got rid of the flybridge for that very reason!

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Very nice. You turned ho hum into "nice boat".

Delfin,

Thank you! We are looking forward to finally having an easy way to use our kayaks. Still figuring out how to attach the rack without putting holes in the roof.

Bob