The story of a kayak owner and their transformation

Let’s talk about the average story of a kayak owner and how they may have purchased their recreation kayak.

Some of us may be familiar with all or certain parts of the story. It’s sort of the evolution of hobby ownership in general. So, let’s begin with the status quo story of kayak ownership and namely again, it’s the recreational kayaker, maybe a family man, or the single guy, or single gal who ends up buying a kayak for one reason or another.

So once upon a time there was this person who overheard somebody talking about kayaking and going fishing or exploring with their paddle gear. They talked about kayaking in the middle of nowhere and how peaceful the experience was. While listening to the experience he was intrigued and his curiosity grew. And from that point, the seed was sort of planted regarding an interest in kayaking. Then while commuting home he noticed a kayak on the top of somebody’s SUV. Then soon after that he noticed someone kayaking at the local lake. He kept thinking about how amazing it would be to have a kayak of his very own to use whenever he wanted to.

One weekend he decided to do a little window shopping by visiting local box stores looking at different style kayaks.

He noticed the price points have really come down for kayaks and you can grab a decent 10-footer for about $200. But he’s not a hundred percent confident that he wants to spend that kind of money. Plus, he’s curious as to whether the experience you get from the cheap kayak may differ from a high-end one. This thought and his affordable price point becomes the weighing factor as he decides to hold off and think about it for a while and continues on with life as usual.

Soon after he decides to brows Craigslist and Kayakster to see what he can find available for sale by local kayak owners.

He quickly notices a few kayaks for sale that are cheaper than what he found in the store. And although they’re used it’s a great starting price for his new hobby. After interacting with a couple of sellers on Craigslist he eventually gets his hands on an affordable kayak. Loads it up in the back of his truck and now he’s ready to get on the water. Well, actually there’s a little more to the story.

Before he puts his kayak on the water, to enjoy the personal freedom of his new (used) kayak, it’s important to know the local regulations. You see kayaking is pretty popular today but before kayaking canoeing was the craze. And in many parts of the world canoeing is still the dominant water sport because of the versatility of a canoe. So most of your water runs have regulations already established. This is a good thing even if at first it seems over bearing by local authority. You see, with a kayak you have the liberty to access so many waterways that are off the beaten path from regular boat users and if you’re not aware of local regulations you can accidentally find yourself in a water hazard, impacting local wildlife, or worse yet – injuring yourself or others. The best practice is to know about the local regulations from a local source. And the very best practice is to have the regulations in writing. Once the local law is understood its now time to get on the water!

Freedom! He now has freedom to kayak and navigate all over the water way. How liberating is this? TO some it’s honestly not a big deal, but to the rest of us it’s simple amazing and outstanding. The solitude of kayaking and floating along remote locations and watching wildlife is priceless. Eventually our new kayaker (in this story) gets in his grove of paddling around and/or kayak fishing and begins to think about improving his situation. As the sun rises higher in the sky he starts to think about sun protection and maybe next time bringing a sun protecting long sleeve shirt, hat, and gloves. Then he starts to think about the kayak itself and how he could use a rod holder and maybe a guideline to tie up his yak when he goes to shore. He continues to think about improvements (without stressing) as he enjoys the fresh air and solitude of kayaking.

So, our guy in the story is done for the weekend. He’s refreshed. Life is good. He feels like his own captain of his own vessel and now he takes it home and cleans up his kayak and stores it away. As the following week begins he feels refreshed at work but eventually by the middle of the week he sort of forgets about his kayak experience. Unfortunately, as time goes on and life commitments pull him further and further away from scheduling an entire day to adventure out in his kayak, he starts to recall the freedom he once experienced. He finally buys the extra gear he wanted when he was last out on the water and he does his best to use the kayak as much as possible. Early in the morning or in the evening whenever he can. And then at some point he comes to a crossroads where he doesn’t use his kayak as much anymore. It may be time to sell it because it’s now just taking up space. He remembers how easy it was to buy a used one online and so he starts to thinks that he can sell his kayak quickly and, in the future, he can buy a better one. He also notices that he can rent his kayak online using kayakster.com allowing others in his local area to get on the water without having to buy a kayak while he makes a couple of dollars at the same time.

The take away from the story is to paint a picture of the average kayak owner journey and to highlight how awesome kayaks are.

It’s helpful knowing that you do have options to access the sport while not blowing your budget and at the same time you have options to sell your kayak or rent it out. The point is to not let your gear sit around too long when you can get your money back and/or upgrade to a more ideal kayak like an inflatable, or a sit on top kayak, etc.

So, what are your thoughts on this example?

Do you have a kayak that needs rescuing and can be sold or put up for rent on Kayakster.com?