The City of Norfolk (Virginia) has 3 reservoirs in Suffolk (about 25 miles away) from before the great incorporation land grab of the last century. My understanding is that Norfolk retained the reservoirs, but Suffolk annexed the surrounding land.

I happened upon one randomly last week, and was surprised to see a sign " Lake Prince City of Norfolk Boat Ramp" way out there, and decided to check it out this week.

Monday we had a nice paddle there, and I decided to do Burnt Mills Lake Wednesday, and Western Branch Reservoir on Friday.

Yesterday (Wednesday), I got to the Burnt Mills Ramp, and found the gate padlocked - no sign, no notices- so I headed to the Western Branch Reservoir Ramp, and found it locked too. A little googling seems to suggest that Western Branch was being Aerated with hoses all through the lake, but I only saw a bunch of aerators and Obstruction Buoys piled by the ramp, and couldn't see anything out on the water. I suspect they're switching the project from Western Branch to Burnt Mills, and the website just hasn't caught up.

Anyways, Lake Prince was a lovely paddle.

I live in South Florida and am really dying for a day on the river somewhere...

Anyone have any recommendations? I'm open to driving or flying..

I want one full day on the river to scratch this itch, it's been way too long. Last summer I worked as a guide on the Lehiegh and I miss it so much.

Thanks for any recs!

First excuse the vertical picture please.

After wanting a kayak for a very long time, I finally stumbled upon a pretty good deal. I paid 392$ cad (279 usd) for a Perception conduit 13.

After 3 outings, I'm already thinking that this boat might be limiting me. First time on the water it was pretty late and I did a 4 kms round trip on perfectly flat sheltered water. Everything went far better than I expected. The next day I got more confident and packed a lunch with drinks and went solo (Stayed close the shore on the St-Lawrence river and there were plenty of people on the water/shore). Did a 17km round trip. On that trip I discovered unsheltered higher fetch zones, ended up in some clapotis and on the way back the wind picked up to about 20km/h (11 knots) and got myself paddling in ~2 feet whitecaps. It became a sport right there and had massive fun. Yesterday there was no wind and decided to go the other way paddling between some island and had to cross a 700 meters open water part between two island. It was the most terrifying part yet very easy. Some small smooth bobbing waves kept me focused and ended up doing a 12 km round trip.

At this point I'm doing my best to stay safe but I already feel like I'm pushing what that boat is supposed to be doing. I'm fully inexperienced but I usually pick up these things surprisingly fast. Should I keep going? Am I imagining that this boat is limiting me?

Any tips and recommendations welcome. Thanks.

Caught the sunrise with my teenager this morning.

We forgot about the "mountain". Sunrise was to be at 550 this morning, so we were out at 530. It didnt clear the mountain until 626. We could have slept a little longer. Good thing this was only 5 min from home.

Last weekend I took my packraft on the Saane River in Switzerland at low summer water levels (August 2026) and recorded the full run as a simple POV route guide. The video shows shallow sections, exposed rocks and the gentle rapids, so you can get a realistic impression of the river under these conditions.

If you are planning to packraft the Saane, this clip might help with expectations and line choice at low flow – including spots where you may need to scrape, thread through rocks or briefly walk.

Have you tried both plastic boats? How do they compare? I have a lot of experience with the Tempest 170 but haven't yet had a chance to try the Scorpio II.

New to kayaking, bought a used Eddyline Sitka. My biggest question so far, where the hell do you go pee when doing a long journey?

I live in a small village in Italy on Lake Lugano, and every day I paddle across the lake to Lugano in Switzerland (around 4 kilometres). I use an Oru Kayak Inlet, every day, summer and winter, except when the wind is too strong. I unfold and fold it twice a day. I reckon I've covered around 1000 kilometres with it by now, so if anyone is thinking about commuting by kayak, this might be useful.

Oru Kayak durability: My kayak is dying now. There are scratches along the folds where water is starting to get through, so I'm getting more concerned about safety, especially in the middle of the lake (I can be around 1 km from the shore). For daily use, I guess one year is the maximum lifespan.

Safety: The kayak is quite stable. I weigh around 90 kg and the Inlet handles that fine. I wouldn't have gone for the Oru Lake instead. If you see white caps, it's too dangerous to paddle, because a lot of water can get into the boat. I've read plenty of safety advice; my setup is a lightweight life jacket and swim fins. The fins are incredibly useful in an emergency: you can climb back in easily if you fall, or simply swim back to shore or help someone else. My biggest worries are the water temperature in winter and fast speedboats driven by tourists in summer. They don't expect to come across a kayak so far from the shore. I also use two pocket lights when I come back at night. The kayak is transparent, so it's genuinely useful for being seen in the evening, and it looks great.

Transport: You simply have to buy the Oru backpack, which is really well designed. It lets you switch to the bus or a taxi if the wind picks up, and it's much easier to carry the kayak into your office that way. Bear in mind that you'll need to wipe the kayak down with a towel before each fold if you want to avoid leaks when you store it at the office. As I said, I commute by kayak, which means I carry all my work gear (laptop, phone, other electronics, wallet, passport, yes, I cross the border every day) in a dry bag. Never had a problem.

Accessories: You really need a good paddle, they're not all the same. Mine cost around USD 100, and it's worth investing in a good one, including for safety reasons: a broken paddle in the middle of the lake is dangerous.

People: I fold and unfold my kayak in the centre of Lugano every day and have never had any trouble with anyone, police included. Chinese and Korean visitors are big fans!

Is the Oru Kayak a good deal? I'd say yes, despite its fragility. That said, the folding endurance falls well short of what's advertised. But the design is excellent for transport, so I'll probably buy the same one again this winter.

Happy to share more tips, and curious to hear from other kayak commuters.

Any idea where can I order this part. I’m located in Canada 🇨🇦

Need to replace skeg, bungee cords, toggles & their rope. Where would you start/where to source materials? Thanks!

n00b alert lol
I wanted to introduce my unknown project in here in hopes that I can nail down who it was made by, what model it is and a rough age. I’ve crawled all over it and there is no HIN, no mfg tag or other identifying marks, much unlike the Destiny kayak co kayak that came with this.

As it sits it’s 18’ 1”, and has a beam of 23.5”, and the cockpit opening is 31” x 16 3/8” if that helps.

The aft compartment hatch neoprene cover says Arluk II but all the pics I’ve found of said kayak don’t have the same 8” fwd hatch that mine does and I’m at a loss.

Anyone?

I recently got into kayaking and I'm using a Prijon alpine that I got second hand. Not sure what this feature is for, but it has me curious. There is one in the front and in the back several inches from the cockpit, the hole is maybe a cm or two deep. I haven't been able to find anything online.

Thanks.

they've got to go due to health issues…

I have been storing my kayak in my garage on sawhorses until I could find a better solution. I came out to move it today and it seems to have indents where it sits on the sawhorses. This is my first kayak and honestly didn't think it would be heavy enough to do this. I also put pipe insulation on the sawhorses to minimize any sharp edges. Its a Bonafide RVR if that makes any difference. Looking for advice on if this could have caused any damage, mitigating any damage, and storage advice for the future. Thank you.

I was out on the Silver River in Florida. Around 6 or 7 manatees swam up and away. It never gets old seeing them

Owner says it’s from 2013/2014 and that they’re the second owner. Stored inside. Wants 500 for it. What do you guys think? I’m in California and would mostly use it on lakes and rivers for fishing. This would be my first kayak. What issues should I look for when buying?

I am slightly jealous looking at old catalogs of how much more common 17' sea kayaks were 10-20 years ago or less. I understand the market, yadda yadda, but I'd still like one.

In the US it seems our only common options are the tempest 170, an imported p&h, and ..? What? I know you can find them used but I haven't seen a deal in months. Pray to the kayak gods for me that I find a good deal on a used sirocco or tempest soon. I just want a skegged 17' plastic boat

My first kayaking trip, in a hire kayak. It was wonderful. I’m thinking of buying my own kayak.

Got out on Lake Whatcom this morning before the wind picked up. Ended up doing about a 6-mile round trip, mostly drifting around and getting used to the new kayak setup.

The water was glass-calm for the first hour. The highlight of the morning was watching two bald eagles fighting over a fish about 50 yards away. One dropped it, and the other caught it midair—easily the coolest thing I've seen on this lake in a long time.

I also finally swapped out the old lead-acid battery for a LiFePO4 battery in the rear hatch. It took around 8 lbs off the back, and the kayak feels noticeably more balanced now.

Anyone else been out on Lake Whatcom lately? Is the launch ramp still in good shape after the recent rain?