A New Addiction for Just Over $200

Flying along Carvin's Cove

The boat is easy to maneuver and fast

Parking the boat

End of the road

Took my new kayak out for the first time this afternoon and I feel like a guy who's just had his first hit of cocaine. Wow! What fun.

I've been a water rat for years, mostly with canoes and rafts, but also with motor boats, fishing boats and I'm even a graduate of Annapolis Sailing School  (you can say "la-de-da" here). I have paddled a kayak duckie (a rubber kayak) in the ocean, but that was nothing like this. I can't wait to get this baby in a river and a little faster water.

It was tricky at first and difficult to find my balance, but once I did, this little baby took off. It is a matter of constantly adjusting the nose of the boat like the site of a rifle, but it's easy to learn. I bought the boat Friday at Dick's for $179 and added the paddle for $34.95.

I had a pfd (personal floatation device or life jacket) and I didn't need anything else, save for a camera. the boat has a nice little waterproof storage compartment which doesn't hold much, but a snack and something to drink fits in there just fine.

The lake here is Carvin's Cove, Roanoke's water supply, but I can see the James River or the New River in my near future. I recommend this (but I'd stay away from water with motor boats; the wake is unsettling for a boat this light).