Miles of Yellow Lines

We like to get out on the water both close to home and while we’re on our travels. We’ve taken our kayaks out on the Great Lakes, and we’ve taken our inflatable paddle boards out on Lake McDonald in Glacier National Park. The kayaks are great for serious paddling but require extra work to bring along. The inflatable paddle boards are great for throwing in the back of the truck and doing some casual paddling to enjoy the scenery.

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Paddle Boards

We took the plunge and bought our own inflatable paddle boards a couple years ago. Even though we already had kayaks at the time, we wanted something a little different for getting out on the water. We also wanted something that would pack down and could be transported easier than kayaks.

ROC Inflatable Paddle Boards (Amazon link)

We’ve been very happy with these paddle boards over the years! They’ve been on several trips with us, and they’ve held up- even when they’ve been rolled up in the back of our truck in extreme heat! Each paddle board comes with a backpack for storage, a pump, a paddle (that breaks down into two smaller pieces), a small dry bag, and an ankle leash to make sure you stay with the board even if you fall off. We decided to purchase from ROC because of their great reviews and amazing customer service. One of our backpacks split along the seams and they sent us a brand-new backpack right away.

Kayaks

We each have Wilderness Systems Tsunami 145 Kayaks. We purchased them from a local outdoors store. They were described to us as “tanks” that could essentially handle anything. We’ve taken them out on smaller local lakes, we’ve taken them out on rivers, and we’ve taken them up to the Great Lakes on multiple occasions.

These kayaks have been great! They have lots of storage (cargo space in the front and the back). After about a year, we added a rudder (controlled with a foot pedal), which has come in handy. These kayaks are also compatible with spray skirts, which we’ve purchased for our Great Lakes trips.

We upgrade from 10 ft recreation kayaks to these 14.5 ft kayaks years ago and we’ve been so happy with our decision!

Kayak Accessories

Below are some of the kayak accessories that we use regularly. We also have personal floatation devices (PFDs) and paddles. Please know that this is not a comprehensive list of kayak gear.

Roof Racks and Crossbars

We’ve had a few different kayak transportation set-ups over the years. With our first set of kayaks (10 ft long), we were able to put them in the truck bed and tie them down for short distances close to home. Once we upgraded to our current kayaks (14.5 ft long), we had to make some adjustments. We purchased ladder racks for the back of our truck along with some thick foam pads and strapped them securely to the top. Once we bought our current travel trailer, we discovered that the kayaks on the ladder racks hung out too far behind the truck, so we made another change and purchased roof racks along with kayak racks.

These racks have been great, and they give us plenty of clearance between our trailer and the kayaks. They also attach to the roof of the truck without any permanent changes. There’s no need to drill any holes, which was a relief to me! Note that the length of the crossbar you need will depend on your vehicle.

Cockpit Covers

Once we moved to the roof rack set-up, we invested in cockpit covers. With the ladder racks, we put the kayaks on upside down. With the roof racks, the cockpits are facing out, so we wanted to cover them for transport.

Paddle Leashes and Compass/Emergency Whistle

You never know what’s going to happen out on the water. It’s always good to be prepared. These paddle leashes were an affordable way to make sure we didn’t end up without a paddle at an inopportune time. It’s nice to know that if we ever would lose our grip on the paddles, we can pull them back in. We also keep these tiny compass/emergency whistles strapped to our PFD’s.