Kayak drag test

[Boomstick]

Thought I'd share this, being an interesting test and some good laughs.

 

If you don't watch around the 8:15 mark and not laugh, there's something wrong with you.

 

 

[Bass Junke]

Pretty funny. That video laid all my concerns to rest. 

An encounter with a police officers would have made this the perfect video. Would have loved to hear Chad explaining what he was doing to the officer. 

[bulldog1935]

Saw a kayak flight test one day on the interstate.  

Going the other way, a guy had his kayak in the truck bed with the nose propped up over the cab - guessing he used bungees for tie-down (v. smart people using cam straps).  

It launched pretty well at 70 mph.  

[VolFan]

I had a Dagger Delta come off my Explorer in college taking two crossbars with it. After it hit the interstate it got a gentle 65 mph kiss from a semi to move it to the side of I-40. It had a pretty good scuff from where it touched down and a dent that popped out from the semi.

[CountryboyinDC]

I have drug through a kayak, I didn't realize that it was rare.  I patched it several times with Home Depot buckets (no plastic welding, just a heat gun) which held for a while. I cut the kayak up with a Sawzall so it would fit in the recycling bin.  The thing that struck me was that most of the wear was at the extreme stern.  I'm sure the fact that it was worn down allowed rocks to puncture it as I went over more and more rocks in shallow rivers.  At any rate, I think dragging an empty (not even rigged) kayak is a bit different than the kind that happens organically when you run shallow rocky rivers.  PE kayaks are tough, though.

The guy in the video did miss the definition of rocker, but his deadpanning about trying to find the boat ramp was funny.

[Boomstick]

19 minutes ago, CountryboyinDC said:

I have drug through a kayak, I didn't realize that it was rare.  I patched it several times with Home Depot buckets (no plastic welding, just a heat gun) which held for a while.

What kind of kayak? He specifically mentions fishing kayaks. For example, I am aware the hull of a Bonafide SS127 is 7/32" thick, at least in some areas. Your lightweight paddlers kayak that is not geared towards fishing does not nearly have as thick of a hull, so it's relative to the style and model you have.

[CountryboyinDC]

1 hour ago, Boomstick said:

What kind of kayak? He specifically mentions fishing kayaks. For example, I am aware the hull of a Bonafide SS127 is 7/32" thick, at least in some areas. Your lightweight paddlers kayak that is not geared towards fishing does not nearly have as thick of a hull, so it's relative to the style and model you have.

Wilderness Ride 135.  I can't imagine that being considered anything other than a fishing kayak.  

[Choporoz]

I have thoroughly abused my Wildy for years and it is not the worse for wear.

On the other hand,  my Hobie scratched when I looked at it....nothing deep yet, but surface scratches easy...and enough compounded wear that I replaced the (aft) keel guard after 18 months ....and put a bow guard on after 24

[Boomstick]

12 minutes ago, CountryboyinDC said:

Wilderness Ride 135.  I can't imagine that being considered anything other than a fishing kayak.  

Wow! I'm not super familiar with the model, but that does not strike me as a thin hull model.

[J Francho]

 

Reminds me of Slap Chop Vince.

[fishwizzard]

It’s not a terribly good test as he is dragging it flat without any weight on it. Load it down with an average amount of fishing tackle and only let the stern drag and I think he would have had a much different result.

 

My first yak was a cheaper one from West Marine and even 10 feet of dragging the stern across a concrete ramp caused a noticeable amount of wear and I’ve never cared to repeat the experiment with my nicer yak. 

[CountryboyinDC]

1 hour ago, Boomstick said:

Wow! I'm not super familiar with the model, but that does not strike me as a thin hull model.

I don't think it is, and I don't think the kayak is in any way to blame.  I used it for almost 11 years chasing shoalies and smallmouth in shallow, rocky rivers.  When it got to leaking too much, I thought about getting another with the framed seat (mine just had the "pan").  I rented a Jackson Coosa HD, and saw a lot of improvement over the WS Ride 135, but at a cost.  The Ride (new) cost me $200 and a used but good condition Old Town Appalachian canoe (in retrospect, not that great a trade).  If I'm lucky enough to fish as much in my current river rig, I'll gladly buy another when it wears through.