I’ve wanted a kayak at least since I was a teenager. In the early 2000’s a Feathercraft kayak was at the top of my wish list. They made premium kayaks that would pack down into a bag for storage and travel. Priced at a premium, this was my dream kayak. I never could justify the high price tag and now they appear to be out of business.

Many years later, I started drooling over the Hobie mirage drive kayaks. The pedal system seemed like it’d be a dream to pilot. Specifically, I lusted after the Hobie Adventure Island with its removable dual amas (outriggers) and removable sail it seemed ideal since I could use it as a paddle kayak, pedal kayak, or trimaran sailboat. Unfortunately, it’s 185lbs when fully assembled (seating a single person) and it’s long and large enough that storage and transport plus setup and teardown all combine to make a boat that’s unlikely to be used often and on limited locations. A base price tag of around $5k made it hard to justify, especially since it would only carry one person.

I did eventually get to try one out, as a family friend brought the tandem (two-seater) version to the beach in 2018. His version, with the trailer and all accessories was probably worth upwards of $15k. With a hull weight of 130lbs (240lbs fully assembled) and 18.5′ length, it took multiple grown men to carry the hull over the boardwalk to the beach where it was assembled for use. But once assembled, we were able to fit all 6 of us on the boat at once and had an absolute blast pedaling and sailing around in the ocean. I got to live that dream for a few days, and hauling it around, assembling, and disassembling it reinforced that it wasn’t a practical boat to own… but it was a ton of fun!

In March of 2021, I bought my first Kayak, a 6′ lifetime kayak for kids that I’d been looking at since 2016. With a weight limit of 120lbs, this wasn’t for me, but it was small, easy to store, and the boys could use it at the beach. But since one boat couldn’t hold all of us, so we got a second kids’ kayak… and two inflatable paddle boards!

These boats got a lot of use but I still didn’t own a “real” kayak. Our house was getting smaller by the day with 4 growing boys and I could never figure out where to keep a full-sized kayak.

I started watching the oru kayaks that came out in 2019. Reminiscent of the feathercrafts, they fold up fairly small. Unlike the feathercraft, instead of a skin stretched over a skeleton, these are made to unfold like an origami model and claim to be very sturdy but the price is still a little high. I’m still watching these and maybe one day will add one to my collection.

Things came to a head during covid (specifically the 2020-2021 school year) when I was working from home and we had three boys doing school from home as well. We wished for more space to spread out.

I drafted up an amateur floor plan and we found a contractor in early 2022. Construction finally started in November of 2022 and finished in March of 2023, adding a new master bedroom & bathroom, office, studio, and a garage with – importantly – slightly higher ceilings than before. The new garage ceiling was perfect for kayaks since my dad brilliantly suggested that we use a garage door opener that didn’t require a track in the middle of the ceiling. I now had room for boats!

Later that year, in November of 2023, I finally became the owner of not just one, but two kayaks. They aren’t new, but two for less than the price of one was a deal I couldn’t resist.

Three months later, in February of 2024, a neighbor let me know that they were moving out of state and couldn’t take their two kayaks with them. These being sit-on-top kayaks, in contrast to the two I already had, how could I say “no” to another two kayaks for less than the price of one? I now owned 4 full-sized kayaks, two kayaks for kids, and two paddle boards. We could finally go out on the water as a full family! Especially when combined with the two Canoes I inherited, we could put a lot of people on the water!

Incredibly, one month later in March of 2024, a family friend offered to give away his two older hobie mirage kayaks. Space on the ceiling of the garage was getting tight, but I was able to find room for one more boat up there :)