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Mr. Oliver loves to kayak in his free time. Recently, he is planning to buy a new one with a higher weight capacity. Listening to this, his friend advised him to increase his weight capacity instead of buying a new kayak boat.
Oliver was a little bit surprised, he never thought about it. How to increase the weight capacity of a kayak? If you are also tired of searching about this, keep going to the article to know the effective ways to increase the weight holding capacity of a kayak.
Let's jump in-
About The Kayak Weight Capacity
Before discussing the ways of increasing the weight capacity of a kayak, let’s have a look at the kayak boat weight limit. Every kayak boat has its own weight limits. Based on the type and size, the weight capacity varies. A typical kayak can hold 250-300 ponds generally,
Again most of the Sea or touring kayak can hold around 350 pounds, sit-on-top can 350-400 pounds.
The tandem kayak weight limit is a maximum of 500 pounds while fishing kayak capacity is between 400 to 550 and up.
Beside the person, accessories, several types of equipment are needed to hold the kayak. For safe kayaking, it's better to weigh 30% less than the limit. Sometimes you need to increase the weight capacity for various purposes. Without buying a new one, you can customize the old kayak to hold more weight.
How To Increase Weight Capacity Of Kayak?
Increasing the weight capacity of a kayak isn't a more complex task. You can easily increase the kayak’s weight capacity by following several things -
Choose right location
Our first recommendation may surprise you as many of us never think about it. That is choosing the right kayak location. Selecting the right location helps to increase the weight capacity of the kayak.
When you paddle on the rough water that creates large waves and more splashing water goes through the cockpits. Again, if you are loaded down to the weight capacity, that will also increase the amount of splashing water
The kayak gets lower as the whole cockpits fill up with water. And there is a risk during kayaking.
Hence, if you kayak in flat and calm water, the kayak will be able to carry more weights.
Also, the freshwater is less buoyant than saltwater. So if you want to increase the weight capacity of a kayak, flat calm water is the best option for you.
Proper Paddling Technique
Besides selecting the right water type and location, paddling correctly is crucial for increasing the kayak’s weight capacity.
The riders should paddle in the right direction with proper technique, otherwise, the balance is destroyed. For this reason, the kayak will not be able to carry more weight.
Moreover, the right paddling decreases the chance of entering more water in the cockpit. That will maximize the weight capacity of the kayak.
Improve the Design
For increasing the weight capacity of a kayak, improving the design is worthwhile and cheaper than buying a new one.
The kayak can bear a heavier load by improving the design of the hull. At the same time using airbags make the recovery and rescue system easier by capsizing the situations.
The fishing kayak has a pontoon or tunnel-shaped hull which has a more stable nature. Again the touring kayak hull is kind of narrow comparing the fishing hull. They are deep V-shape and flat.
For this reason, touring kayaks are less stable than the other styles. So improving the touring kayak’s design is effective to increase the weight capacity along with efficiency and speed over long distances.
Even helium gas is used to fill the airbags, which will provide more wiggle room and carry more weight. Using helium instead of oxygen enhances the floating capacity of the kayak.
After using helium gas, you should gain knowledge about the difference between helium and water for a kayak's optimal lift.
Try Investing In Equipment
It’s a wise decision to get new equipment for kayaking in order to increase weight capacity. That will help to hold more weight than the actual weight capacity.
You can use floating bags as an effective piece of equipment that will definitely be helpful for you.
Again, kayak outriggers are another great equipment placement to increase the weight capacity indirectly. That will make the kayak boat more stable and add more gear to the kayak’s storage compartments.
So far, those elements help to float and avoid sinking the kayak boats. Also, increase the buoyancy.
Weather & Temperature
You should know the weather before going kayaking. It's crucial though not directly interrelated with the increasing capacity of the kayak.
Never go kayaking in a thunderstorm or hostile weather. Even while kayaking, if the weather is gloomy just come back to the shore.
Furthermore, below 70 F/21 C degrees of water temperature is suitable for kayaking.
According to the National Center for Cold Water Safety, below 60 degrees Fahrenheit may cause cold shock. That will create problems in breathing, affect heart and blood pressure.
In this situation, you won’t kayak properly. That causes an imbalance or sinking of the boat even if it carries less than its weight capacity.
So weather conditions and water temperature are vital factors before going kayaking. That will not increase the weight capacity but help to hold the weights and float the kayak safely.
Verdict
When you buy a kayak, consider the purposes and weight capacity. If the kayak can’t hold the necessary weight, you need to customize it.
Customizing for increasing weight capacity is a wise decision rather than buying another one. That will save you time and money. If you follow the above steps, you can increase buoyancy and your kayak can hold more weight than its capacity.
