I am considering getting a kayak, but it is difficult to for me to lift heavy objects like this on top of my fit. I'm very short and I have a physical disability so it would be much easier to slide the kayak into the fit. I know the dimensions of the fit, but sometimes it's just better to try hands on. I really don't want to get the kayak and then find it won't fit in my FIT!

 

We own 3 kayaks, and use them on the Rio Grande every weekend.

One of them does go on top, but the other two are inflatable and go inside....with no problem.

I recommend you buy an inflatable...with the modern pumps......our 2-man which is 13.5 ft long....blows up in 12 minutes.

About 40% of the kayaks, etc. that go down the Rio are inflatable.

 

Thanks for your help! I haven't tried inflatable kayaks before, but I've tried almost every other kind. Do you ever put them in the fit without deflating them?

 

Are the inflatables any good for whitewater/surfing?

How long is the kayak?

The manual says the "Long Mode" can accommodate up to 7'9". Presumably that's with the liftgate closed, so you could obviously get something longer in but it would hang out the back and you'd need to tie the hatch down. I'd feel comfortable doing that with my 8' Yak Board. I'd probably be concerned about a 12'+ hull...4' seems like an awful lot to have hanging off the back. Too bad the back window doesn't open!

 

Do you ever put them in the fit without deflating them?
Are the inflatables any good for whitewater/surfing?
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Good questions. The 2-man is 13.5 ft long, so not possible. We have put it on top of the car.....in order to drive 4.4 miles back upriver and do another run. We drove slowly.

The one man is 10 ft long, so it might go in if you let a little air out.

The Rio Grande is all about whitewater. That is what we do. The inflatable kayaks are actually safer than a hardbody, as they bounce off rocks easily....and they also come with drain holes in them which you leave open while going through rapids....Yes.....believe it or not.

Right now, the level of water in the Rio is way down (it is snow melt from Colorado.....the snow is done), so the inflatables are the only kayaks going downriver for the rest of the summer.....the rocks keep getting higher. Rent one and try it out.

 

I did not notice that hilarycdn was from Canada. My home town is Toronto.

You did not mention what rivers you might be on? I have canoed a good bit in Ontario.......the Grand river, Alqonquin Park, the Trent river system (including a lock or two), and in Alberta the Bow river (moving very fast down the mountain).

We were in Vancouver a month ago, and badly wanted to rent a kayak to go out on the sound....but we didn't have the time.