Isle Royale Forums

I'll bet this is a lot cheaper to get to this island than a traditional kayak!

http://www.orukayak.com/

I've been following this boat for the past few months. Being a fan of folding kayaks, the Origami boat looks to be very interesting. I do wonder how sturdy it is though.

Would anyone find this comparable to a sea kayak. Thinking about buying one to paddle to Isle Royale from here on out. The way I look at it, after 10 trips using it to paddle to Isle Royale, the Kayak would pay for itself by skipping out on the ferry costs. I'd of course bring my portable VHF radio.

[quoterafiki"]Would anyone find this comparable to a sea kayak. Thinking about buying one to paddle to Isle Royale from here on out. The way I look at it, after 10 trips using it to paddle to Isle Royale, the Kayak would pay for itself by
skipping out on the ferry costs. I'd of course bring my portable VHF radio.[/quote]

Don't forget your compass & a snack.

I've seen them and spoke with others that have paddled them, but I woulndnt buy one for tripping just based on reasons that it's a SOF and could damaged easier than a poly or glass boat, there are no bulkheads and you need to use float bags which would take away from internal storage, not to mention everything would have to go in dry bags. Just a few of the reasons. I've paddled the island quite a bit and have damaged my glass boat in rougher conditions and rocks. I'm much more biased toward a glass or poly boat with the durability and convenience of packing.

I doubt the Origami boat would do well in Lake Superior, but if you want something light and portable, that you can take to an inland lake (like Lake Desor), this may be what you’re looking for. I can’t imagine lugging a hardshell on my back up the Greenstone, but I can imagine taking one of these.

Cool boat, scary concept for the big lake though.They kinda remind me of an old world war 1 fighter plane .So whoever buys one may wish to purchase a silk scarf as well

Rafiki,I don't think this would count as a real good kayak for the big lake. Lack of armor combined with a lack of floatation could get scary if you had to ditch or bail out. Another thing that could be an issue is the amount of flex in the boat, flex equals wasted energy as well as a sacrafice of control.

Being a cheapskate, I can appreciate trying to find a way around the extra boat fee.That being said it is time to put a kayak in the waters of IR.

Being a cheapskate, I can appreciate trying to find a way around the extra boat fee.

Your right...I'm just going to swim there instead. On that note, that would be pretty cool to do...that is if I were an experienced open water swimmer. I mean if people swim across the British channel with sharks and crazier currents, whats stopping me

Anyways guys, this was a joke. I would never attempt to paddle to Isle Royale in this origami kayak. In fact, I don't think I would have the kahonnas to even attempt using a Sea Kayak like some have done before. Drowning is the last way I want to go out of this world. I will say though...every once in a while the thought to go from Malone to Isle Royale Light House in a canoe sounds appealing to my brain. However, I have never made reference to this idea before because I figured it would be shot down on here instantly

Oops, my bad!

I have noticed a little bias on here towards canoes for IR.I primarily paddle the Apostles , and canoes are not recomended for open water in the conditions that crop up there.Now I am not knocking canoes at all, they deffinately have a place.But a good sea kayak properly outfittled with self rescue gear a spray skirt and water tight bulkheads and hatches is a far more seaworthy craft ......and the learning curve is less punishing do to a lower center of gravity. The last time I paddled there, we came across a nice young couple that had been stranded on the island for 2 days waiting for better conditions.4 ft waves were too much for a canoe ....not a kayak.
Rafiki, I read on another thread that you had a desire to see some of the other paddle spots. I found that the responses were brutal at best, and not very encouraging .The best advice I can give is learn your self rescue, and you dont need to learn how to eskimo roll! Learn your basic paddle strokes, learn to use self rescue gear and then build some experience......you cant get better if you dont leave your comfort zone a little....within common sense of coarse.GET WET, PLAY, FLIP THAT DARN BOAT ....A LOT.... learn to be as comfortable upside down as rightside up! Soon after you will start to learn how to use high and low braces with the paddle. Any way these are some basic paddle skills with a kayak.Videos and youtube are valuable learning tools, an instructor helps too....as long as they are not a pompas ass trying to massage their own superiority! Just my opinion of coarse, advice is nice as long as fear doesnt keep us on the bench!

..... I will say though...every once in a while the thought to go from Malone to Isle Royale Light House in a canoe sounds appealing to my brain. However, I have never made reference to this idea before because I figured it would be shot down on here instantly

20 years back, we paddled our kayaks from Malone to the Menagerie Island lighthouse. The trip to Menagerie was pretty easy, but the winds whipped up in the afternoon making the trip back to Malone a pain. We were fighting a north wind and white caps all the way back. I suppose you could paddle to Menagerie in a canoe if the Lake cooperated, but I hate to be caught out on there in a canoe if the weather turned bad.

The lighthouse is worth seeing. While it is pretty well boarded up, you can “break in” by opening up the window facing the south and hoisting yourself up. Not too much inside the lighthouse but a lot of debris. But being inside does make you understand the utter desolation the lighthouse keepers experienced. Their whole life revolved around this lighthouse sitting on a one acre island. Talk about bleak.