Boats & Accessories
Don't spend a fortune on a PFD, or Personal Flotation Device, commonly known as a life preserver. Unless you plan to go far offshore in deep water, you will never need it or wear it. Most of the places I go, self-rescue would be a matter of standing up, or a couple of strokes to shallow water or the shore.
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This is for sit-on-top kayaks with closed hulls. Open-hull sit-inside kayaks don't really need hatches.
You can order any kind and size of hatch on eBay. They are easy to install - just trace the hole on the hull and cut it out with a jigsaw. A hatch like this one has a storage bag for small items like keys and phone, which removes for access to the inside of the hull.
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This is a cable-lock I made, about 12 feet long. It is just 3/16" coated steel cable from the hardware store, with crimp ferrules, and a big steel ring in one end. The ferrules fit through the scupper holes on the boat, but the steel ring does not. Together with any padlock, this will secure the boat (or several) to your truck, roof rack, a tree, or anything else that is handy. You can take this cable with you, it will give you peace of mind if you leave the boat unattended to go exploring on land.
The object is not to stop a determined thief - you can't do that. It is to stop someone from casually taking your boat with their bare hands. Don't lock the boat by the handles - they are easily cut with a pocket knife and cheap to replace. Run the cable through a scupper hole, and a thief would have to destroy the boat to steal it. If your boat doesn't have scupper holes, you can probably find someplace to thread the cable though, or make a suitable hole in the seat.
You can find a cable like this all set to go on Amazon for under 20 bucks. Where I used a steel ring, you could use a second padlock.
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This is a scupper cart. It is a set of wheels that fits in the scupper holes of the kayak and lets one person wheel it around like a wagon. The big advantage of this sort of cart is that when you get to the water, you can pull it out, flip it over, and stick it in the top of the kayak. Then off you go - no need to double back to put the cart away. Also, you'll have it if you get somewhere that you might want to portage.
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To transport your kayak, you'll need some way of securing it, whether on a roof rack, truck bed, or trailer. I recommend the type of tie-down strap shown above, with hooks on the ends, and cam buckles, not ratchets. Ratchets are a pain in the ass, and you don't need all that much force anyway. In fact, you don't want too much force, your boat is only made of plastic!
More: Tie-Downs ...
