KAYAKING. DOES SIZE MATTER FOR RECREATIONAL USE?

Kayaking. Does size matter?

Recent 2018 POLL of Greene County Recreational Kayakers

RECREATIONAL KAYAKS
"SIT-IN" TYPE OR "SIT-ON" TYPE KAYAKS PREFERRED BY RECREATIONAL KAYAKERS IN GREENE COUNTY

• 80.5% SIT-IN TYPE KAYAK PREFERRED
• 19.5 SIT-ON TYPE OF KAYAK PREFERRED

LENGTH OF KAYAKS PREFERRED BY RECREATIONAL KAYAKERS IN GREENE COUNTY

• 64% PREFER 10 FOOT KAYAKS
• 24% PREFER 12 FOOT KAYAKS
• 5.5% PREFER 9 FOOT KAYAKS
• 5.5% PREFER 8 FOOT KAYAKS

Experienced local kayaker Jason Forbes also offered some advice for new people getting into recreational kayaking.
"A lot of factors can come into play here. If the bottom of the boat has a V shape, it will most likely track better. By "track", I mean if you stop paddling, it's how the kayak "drifts". A smooth or round bottom boat is much more likely to turn to one side or spin around. 

A longer boat generally adds a little more stability. Boats intended for whitewater kayaking are very short and have smooth, rounded bottoms. This allows the paddler to spin and maneuver the boat around obstacles very freely. However, on flat water (creeks, ponds, lakes, etc) a whitewater boat is more difficult to paddle in a straight line. On the flip side, a 12' v bottom boat will usually track very straight, but would not do as well in big rapids. 8' and 10' boats are among the most common entry level boats for Greene County."

See more info on types of Kayaks and how to choose here