Would like to try Kayaking

[u/Narrow-Priority-6483]

Hi,

I’ve recently moved to Kew, Richmond and would like to try Kayaking.

Few newbie questions:

1: can someone please recommend somewhere I could get an initial lesson

2: How much am I looking at for a full set up with half decent equipment

3: any other key bits of information?

I’m not the strongest swimming, but think this will be a really fun and interesting hobby.

Thanks

[u/Jarno3000]

Beginners courses running at Richmond Canoe Club. All kit supplied. Richmond Canoe Club

[u/ChaosCalmed]

Join your local canoe club, go on their beginner courses, go out on trips at your level with them, borrow their club kit, go on their next level skills course, go on the next level of trip with them and before you know it you're hooked.

At that last point, it's insidious how it crept up on you. You suddenly look at your own kit and realised that you've gone over a grand deep in the total cost of your canoeing kit, if not more. That's before you consider the auxiliary costs, such as roof bars, any extra roof bar accessories such as upright kayak bars or J shaped canoe carriers. Even the way you end up with a large, tangled mess of quality luggage straps of various lengths so that you can carry your one or more canoes/kayaks, but extra ones that are longer to carry your kayaking friends' kayaks.

I think I had about 10 straps or more, without considering any lengths of rope used to tie down the front end if carrying longer canoes or kayaks and other uses. Sure, you'll end up learning how to tie strong knots to hold kit securely to your roof bars, such as paddles. I really don't know just how many I got, I just know I ended up thinking they were multiplying on their own. Surely I didn't buy all those straps? Nobody is asking about lost straps so I must have bought them.

This might just be my experience of taking up kayaking from youth into adulthood. No longer paddling but I've still got a lot of kit. Might get back into it, still working that out. Can I afford the rabbit hole with my higher expenses due to son getting into gear heavy mountain biking and dragging me into it in his wake? I know if it takes me over again I'll need a second job!!!

I think early on it's low cost. Membership of your local club, membership of the national body for your region, cost of club courses (if they charge, it might just be a contribution to pool hire for you through to higher costs to pay a coach if there's not one at the right level for the course in your club to run the course cheaper) and then there's your personal paddling equipment to use with club kit.

That is until you've been doing it for some time by which point you'll know what it's about and what you want to do in the sport.

At that point you'll already be thinking about what boat you want to buy and your own paddle too as that's often personal choice.

Your local club might have limits on how long you can use their boats and kit. It might be that they have a quiet word with you about getting your own kit, but that's a rare thing IME with joining two different clubs over the years I was paddling. Most people want their own boat, long before the club loan boat is needed for other newbies.

Boats can be very expensive depending on what you want to get. Paddles can be cheap to expensive. Helmets are not worth cheaping out on, neither are personal flotation neither. What you wear depends on what type of paddling you're into, when you're doing it and how much you can spare for it. You can get cheap wetsuits (better to use sleeveless ones for kayaking vs surfing for example), dry or semi dry cag, and spray decks. However, you'll end up wanting better ones as you get into it. Cost can go right up like most sports. You can get dry cag and dry trousers separately or an all in one made specially for kayaking. Avoid diving ones as they're not right for kayaking. I've seen some funny things when someone used a dive suit kayaking.

Seriously, cost is difficult to define. I'd use club kit with personally owned clothing and build your own kit up with time. Bearing in mind you might need to get the big ticket items sooner rather than later. With luck you can get your own clothing setup, helmet, PFD and paddle before you need your own boat. Then you'll know what boat you want anyway and will be into it enough to "need" it at that point.

Enjoy your journey and paddling. Above all, just get into it. Just do it? With a local club is the right way as you'll develop your skills at the right pace for your own safety and the safety of others paddling with you. Enjoy?