: You have to make up your mind whether you want a kayak for water
: travel or one that fits in your closet. Short waterline boats
: are very inefficient. That means that you, as the motor that
: drives the thing, will have to work harder to go a given
: distance. And if you are with others in longer boats you will
: have to hussle to keep up.
: I was at the Cincinnati Paddlefest two week ago and there were
: about 600 plastic kayaks making the 8 mi. float. The standard
: size seemed to be about 11 to 12 feet. Personally, I wouldn't
: acquire a paddleboat less than 14 feet but most folks seem
: satified with the 11-12 class.

Thanks for the feedback. I'm pretty set on picking up this kayak. Like I said, not planning on any expeditions or even public events, just very casual beginner paddling. I've paddled on an identical kayak before and am satisfied with its performance. If I do end up going with a longer one (or even if I stick with this), do you think the aforementioned mounting equipment is sufficient given my circumstances?