Can't decide

[alanw]

I bought a used yak to save money. It's almost as good as a new yak if it was well taken care of and kept out of the sun and is not more than a year or two old.

Just look for cracks, sun damage (brittleness, fading) and avoid that. You can usually get a good deal because of extras that come with the yak.

One thing to remember is that a plastic kayaks life span is about 10-15 years max if taken care of, so even a 3 year old yak is just about 1/4 of the way done and the price should reflect that.

[Old Man in the Sea]

used is fine for a kayak - save enough money to buy a fishfinder or more fishing poles..

[chxh8me]

Originally Posted by alanw

One thing to remember is that a plastic kayaks life span is about 10-15 years max if taken care of, so even a 3 year old yak is just about 1/4 of the way done and the price should reflect that.

Really?

Not trying to argue... and I'm not saying to get an old/faded kayak...but....

My first kayak was a OK Scupper Pro (the old one with the two hatches, no tankwell) that I traded some guy my mt bike for back in the day. It had to be at least 5 years old when I got it, and extremely sun-faded. Had it for another 7 years, most of which I left locked up at the beach amongst the beach homeowners kayaks until I had a garage. Still used it up til this summer, when I upgraded to a OK Prowler 13T (a gift from the wife).

For the Scupper Pro, within the last year I ended up getting new hatch seals, new buckles for the hatch straps, re-ran the rudder lines with some new parts, used it a couple more times, then sold it.

Worked fine all those years, and I'm sure the new owner will get plenty of use out of it. Needless to say, I beat the crap out of that thing for years, with no issues.

Again, not arguing, or suggesting abusing your kayak like this, but just curious where the 10-15 year time frame came from.

And don't worry, my new yak will be taken care of and babied.

[alanw]

Originally Posted by chxh8me

Again, not arguing, or suggesting abusing your kayak like this, but just curious where the 10-15 year time frame came from.

If it's on the internet, it must be true right? Seriously, there's dozens of articles and posts online suggesting the life span is 10-15 years if taken care of, like this one http://www.mademan.com/mm/how-long-d...yaks-last.html

Plenty more: http://www.bing.com/search?q=plastic+kayak+life+span



I've posted about a dangerously sun damaged yak before:
http://www.bigwatersedge.com/bwevb/s...ad.php?t=19248

Just like any other plastic, YMMV

[chxh8me]

Originally Posted by alanw

I've posted about a dangerously sun damaged yak before:
http://www.bigwatersedge.com/bwevb/s...ad.php?t=19248

Haha, yah, saw that one when I was trying to sell mine (even posted on that thread). I think he wanted about twice as much as I got for mine. Amazing.

[alanw]

Yea and you know that plastic cannot be eroded by salt water so rinsing it off after each use probably has no effect on how long it lasts. The rivets and other hardware are what rinsing off will help prolong the life of.

Dragging damage and especially sun damage are what kills yaks early.

One post I read suggests hitting a yak with a hammer (not too hard). Brittle areas will crack or break while soft new plastic will just bounce back. I'm not planning on banging on my yak anytime soon though