Surfing Kayaks

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Surfing Kayaks are another bizarre phenomenon seen in the surf zone.

Never tried it myself but I've seen them around. Apparently there are many types of surfing kayaks, including recreational, touring, hybrid, wave witch, white water, surf skis, and waveskis. The one I see the most is the waveski. This beast is a kayak designed primarily to surf. It's short, about 7-foot or so, sometimes with fins, and the rider is strapped on top. Some models have a closed hull design.

The main advantage of this type of kayak seems to be its ability to paddle around easily. I could see using one of these somewhere like Waikiki where the outer breaks are a half mile out. I’ve done it on a shortboard and it’s a long paddle. Paddling one of these up and down a long beach to pick off waves would also be nice. They seem to paddle out fairly quickly after a ride but can taking a beating on the big sets.

The main disadvantage seems to be that they're more gear-intensive, though not as much with the waveski. Still, I like the simplicity of surfing gear - just you and a board. I’m not so extreme that I'd rather bodysurf, but still.... A board can also duck under waves when the bigger sets come in and just seems to catch more waves, particularly a shorter surfboard in fast breaking surf.

However, I've seen enough of these kayaks in the waves to catch my interest. Under the right conditions, I wouldn’t mind discreetly trying one of these monsters out.

Tips for surf kayaking.

Waveski sighting at Ocean Beach, San Francisco on 21 July 06

Some guys with waveskis in Argentina.
Obviously not my video, but it shows some long rides if you can get past the annoying background music.

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What Other Visitors Have Said

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Surf Kayak Enthusiast Not rated yet
Used to canoe (kayak) at school some 20 years ago and just recently bought a sit on kayak, first time out in the surf without knee straps I was 'addicted'...

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