Swimming is not the best option because there are deadly marine stingers during the monsoonal summer months here..and there's always the slight possibility of a shark at a beach or a crocodile in an estuary.
Using an inflatable dinghy is an option. They can be deflated and stowed for sailing. I once bought an inflatable raft for an Endeavor 24's tender. It had no floorboards and two paddles. It was quickly named the "jellyfish" for its handling characteristics. It was soon replaced by a hard fiberglass dinghy.
Conventional inflatables usually need a small outboard. The cost of this kind of tender and lack of space for stowage ruled this type out for us. An inflatable kayak was considered for Teria, but I looked at kayak forums online and these were not as popular as a hard kayak.
I thought that a kayak would be the only type of hard dinghy that would also fit the boat's stowage spaces. Kayaks are narrow enough to squeeze through the companionway hatch, sit on the fore-deck and along the cabin side, and light enough to lift aboard.
So scanned Gumtree classifieds for a month or so and got to learn about modern sit-on-top kayaks. Finally a scamp kayak came up in my area. On inspection she had quite a few scrapes on the bottom and a paddle blade lost a corner, but the hull was intact with no leaks. I picked her up for $150.
It's an entry level kayak with 130 kg carrying capacity. Designed for one adult, it can also operate with two (or more) people if their combined weight is under 130 kg. I weigh 72 kg which leaves 58 kg's in reserve. There is a flat central deck space and two shallow cargo spaces on decks fore and aft. The two 6" hatches access the bouyancy compartment.
The hull is 78 cm wide on deck but is narrower underneath, this gives it stability and less drag.
Down aft there is a nice skeg to help with straight line tracking. 4 drain holes amidships let out excess water if it come aboard. To carry short distances i grabbed the side ropes and lifted it horizontally to waist level, it can be swung onto the ute tray without too much effort.
We tested the scamp out at Ross River in fresh water above Aplins weir. For a walk over 10 m, I carry the 18 kg scamp balanced on my shoulders backpack style .It was about 40 meters from the car park to the river bank and launched off a floating pontoon.
It's my first ever kayak, so don't know allot about them and can't compare it with others. It's pretty stable , pleasant to paddle, tracked well, turned easily enough and slid along well enough.
The river was very serene, we passed quite a few water birds. Magpie geese, ducks, a Jackanda walking on water lilies with spindly long toes. Some kind of diving shag with wings adapted to swimming-flying underwater, these would dive for some time..others with wings spread were drying out on dead tree branches near the water level.
The sun set added to the picture and the full moon hung just above tree top level.
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| Ross River near sundown - a refuge of peace in the middle of a city |
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| Full moon rising above the riverside cycling and jogging track |
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| Mt Stuart from Ross River. |
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