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Kayaking is a wonderful sport that you may do alone or in tandem. If the phrase up close and personal means anything it certainly fits this water sport. The kayaker sits deep in the kayak, in fact the water line is above your bum. This fact and the design of the kayak is the reason the kayak is very stable. Much more so than a canoe. When you sit in a canoe your seat is a foot or so above the waterline. That is the reason the canoe is easy to tip over. The inflatable kayak is even steadier than any other kayak design because the air filled chambers and floor cause the kayak to simply float over the waves rather then cut through them. They float like a cork as the expression goes. Even though they are almost impossible to tip over there will always be someone who managed to do it. We tried to overturn ours while seated properly inside and it was not possible. But children will find a way. Our kayak has two separate chambers for the sides and one for the floor. The sides have a diameter of seven inches, about the size of an inner tube. The floor chambers are four inches. When fully inflated the kayak is quite stiff and when we carry it with the handles on each end it is as stiff as a canoe. Our kayak when deflated fits into one bag. We carry a second bag in which we store the life jackets, beach shoes and a foot pump and the electric pump for inflating from the cigarette lighter in the car. Inflating the kayak takes about twelve minutes total. The thirty five pounds that it weighs is an easy tote for my wife and I . Lightweight beach shoes are handy when getting in and out of the kayak. We put our kayak into the water parallel to the beach and climb in. Push off and away you go. The inflatable kayak is a little slow compared to a hard shell, but if you are not in a hurry it is comfortable. We use our kayak along the shoreline of lakes because that is where the action is. You will have plenty to see. We have seen fish deep down and crabs on the bottom. Best of all is when you have an area with reeds and bulrushes. This is the area birds love. Perfect nesting places and quiet spots for them to stay the night. Sitting in your kayak you will look different to the animals than when you stand on shore. The animals do not recognize you as a potential enemy and practically ignore you. We have almost bumped into great blue herons as they stand still waiting for lunch to come by. They are beautiful and if you see one up close during your lifetime you are a lucky person. Inflatable kayaks are easily deflated. Simply open the valves and the air is out in a couple of minutes. Joe and Irma MacMillan have spent many years backpacking, skiing, and simply enjoying life in the mountains of British Columbia. Their website Whistler Outdoors is full of tips on snowboarding, camping, kayaking, rafting, camp cooking and fishing. They met on a blind date in 1957 and are still married. Take a look at their story here About us
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