Sea Kayak Rentals

WE LOVE to rent our really cool gear to qualified paddlers, because, as paddlers, WE LOVE COOL GEAR AND really enjoy sharing our stash of cool gear with you -

But take these reality checks:

Canoeing and Kayaking Deaths

Many canoeing and kayaking accidents and deaths in Alaska have occurred on unsupervised rentals.

Skill, Experience, & Proper Clothing

Lack of adequate skill, sufficient experience and proper equipment all feature prominently in most paddling tragedies and close calls.

Sea Kayak and Gear Rental Program

Excellent Equipment, and superb destinations for indpenedent and experienced paddlers. We offer the finest supply of composite and plastic sea kayaks for short and long term rentals so you can explore our stunningly beautiful and wildlife-rich back yard.

Destinations include Homer - Kachemak Bay, Whittier - Prince William Sound, and Seward - Kenai Fjords. Other destinations include locations on the Kenai Peninsula, the Kodiak Archipelago, and Alaska Peninsula. Contact us for details.

• Kayaks by Nigel Dennis, Valley, Kajaksport, Nigel Foster, Necky, Wilderness Systems.
• Paddles by Lendal, Lightning, Aquabound
• Nylon and Neoprene Skirts
• Paddle Jackets & Paddling Pants (Kokatat, Rapidstyle, & Palm)
• Drysuits and PFDs by Kokatat
• Other outfitting needs - flares, bear repellent spray, dry bags, tents, rain tarps, cook ware etc.

Groups Only - No rentals to solo paddlers. We only offer unsupervised kayak and gear rentals for qualified paddlers that are members of a paddling group. Sorry no rentals for solo paddlers. Don't bother contacting us to ask if we'll rent a kayak for you to go on your solo vision quest, the answer is NO. If you have to ask why we won't rent to solo paddlers, don't bother to contact us either. If you've got something to prove, you can do so in someone else's kayak, preferably your own.

Skill levels for unsupervised rentals. The minimum standard of skill and experience for renting our gear and doing your own thing in our area is the British Canoe Union 4 Star Sea Kayak award (or an equivalent level of experience).  See the instruction page for more details, and contact us for skill equivalency information.

BCU Four Star Sea Kayak standard - A Four Star sea kayak paddler is a useful member of a sea paddling group and comfortably paddles, does assisted rescues (including towing), and likely has a combat Eskimo roll, all in moderate conditions:

. Winds and Seas - up to Force 4  (11-17 knots, 3-5 foot seas) in open water and as much as 3 miles from land in any direction;

. Ocean Tidal Streams - of up to 3 knots;

. Surf  - 3 ' surf (this involves 4.5' breaking waves, roughly 2 feet overhead while sitting in your kayak).

Competent leadership.  Groups with BCU 5 Star Sea Kayak leaders (or equivalent), or level 4/5 BCU Sea Kayak coaches (or equivalent leaders) and an average skill level of the group at BCU 3 star kayak level are ideally suited for unsupervised rentals.

Average Skill - Experience Levels of Rental Groups

The average skill level of a group without a professionally trained/qualified leader should be near or beyond the BCU sea kayak 4 star standard. This means not all members must have passed 4 star assessments (or their equivalent), but most are solid 4 star paddlers, and the remainder are on average, 3 star kayak paddlers (solid intermediates).

The ideal customers for unsupervised rentals of our gear.

.  Own and paddle kayaks like the ones in our fleet - mostly rudderless West-Greenland style expedition kayaks: NDK, Valley, Kajaksport, Nigel Foster, etc.

. Have planned and completed multi-day sea kayaking trips before, and want to do a trip in Alaska (who doesn't?).

. Have taken British Canoe Union training and assessments (or equivalent, such ACA coastal kayak open water courses) 2 and 3 Star level Closed Cockpit Kayak skills (preferably 4 Star Sea Kayak, or equivalent) from US instructors and coaches at the following North American instructional centers/paddling schools:

Body Boat Blade, Orcas Island, Washington . Alder Creek Kayak, Portland, Oregon . Atlantic Kayak Tours, Saugerties, New York . Great River Outfitters, Waterford, Michigan . Sea Kayak Georgia, Tybee Island, Georgia . Sweetwater Kayaks, Tampa Florida . Riptides & Rapids, Mountain View, California . Aqua Adventures, San Diego, California . Maine Island Kayak, Peaks Island, Maine . Alaska Kayak School, Homer, Alaska . any American Canoe Association or other appropriate paddle sport governing body, such as the Canadian Recreational Canoe Association, and others in Australia and New Zealand.

. British and other foreign paddlers that are at the 4 star level, or equivalent, as a minimum.

Prepare for your trip

Paddling skills training - If you really want to paddle on a trip with our cool gear, it would make complete sense to prepare for your trip by spending a year (or the time you need) working on your skills and paddling boats like ours. Work towards your BCU 2 and 3 star kayak awards and your 4 Star Sea Kayaking skills (or equivalent) before deciding to rent our gear to come paddling in Alaska. Any 5 Star training could be very helpful.

Cold water paddling - A thorough familiarization with cold water paddling issues is important: "to dress for immersion or not?", shock drowning, efficient rescues, critical importance of group awareness and communication in the group, hypothermia prevention and treatment, etc.

Wilderness Camping Skills - Emergency Medical - First Aid. All of our paddling venues are wilderness (to a greater or lesser degree), and some very remote. Unless you are an Alaskan with good bush experience, have sound experience in wilderness travel in remote regions, or are a return visitor to paddling Alaska wilderness, you may not be physically or psychologically ready for the demands associated with self-guided wilderness travel in south coastal Alaska.

First aid skills in the group must be good; wilderness first responder is a good standard;  or get an experienced paddling EMT, nurse or doctor to come along with outdoor experience to join your paddling group.

Wilderness camping skills must all be functional. These include but are not limited to: camp site selection, minimum impact camping and travelling, bear safety, navigation and planning, moisture management, kayak and gear repair, hypothermia prevention & treatment, environmental hazard awareness, and local knowledge (from us, other outfitters, water taxi operators, etc., just get some LN and make sure its good).

Rental Fees

The base prices for the rental of single kayaks w/ paddle, skirt, PFD (and other safety gear as needed - extra paddle, bilge pump, etc.) are listed below. If you are a group of 4 or more, or are looking for a rental of over 2 weeks, we'd are happy to discuss a group rate with you, please contact us.

PLASTIC SEA KAYAKS

$325/week 

$55/day if less than a week

Valley - Avocet RM, Aquanaut HV RM, Aquanaut LV RM

Current Designs - Scirroco

COMPOSITE SEA KAYAKS

$350/week

$50/day additional days

$65/day if less than a week

Nigel Dennis - Explorer LV, Explorer, Explorer HV, Romany, Romany HV, Romany surf

Valley - Aquanaut, HV Aquanaut, Nordkapp H2O

Kajaksport - Viviane Expedition

Wilderness Systems - Tempest 170 Pro

Necky - Tesla

DOUBLE KAYAK

$625/week

$89.30/day for addiitonal days

$125/day if less than a week

Valley Aleut Sea II

Other Gear Rentals

We also rent clothing (paddle jackets and pants, limited supply of dry suits), and camping gear, including stoves, pots and pans, rain tarps, dry bags, tents and a limited number of synthetic sleeping bags. Bring your own bowls, utensils and cups.

Sea Kayak Rental Destinations

 We offer sea kayak rentals out of HOMER for Kachemak Bay & Cook Inlet, WHITTIER  for Prince William Sound, and SEWARD for Kenai Fjords. There is a minimum $250 delivery/pick up fee for kayaks to and from Whittier and Seward. No delivery/pick up fee in Homer for groups of 4 or less, but for groups with 5 or more paddlers there will be a $50 pick-up and delivery fee in Homer.

Kodiak, Shuyak and Alaska Peninsula. If the details of transporting the kayaks can be worked out (this all depends on your schedule and budget), we can supply kayaks for trips around Kodiak and Shuyak islands (for 4 and 5 star paddlers), and the Alaska Peninsula.

Our philosophy - safety as an attitude.

There are many objective risks in wilderness paddling in Alaska, and things are going to go wrong. We believe in anticipating what can go wrong most often, and in being prepared to pick up the pieces. On the water, we practice rescue incidents many times in a wide variety of conditions. Have you practiced rescues in cold water? The most frequent problems occur on land: tent poles break, stoves malfunction, etc. Someone brought a down sleeping bag and it became soaked in the tent. Etc.

By practicing rescues in a variety of conditions (that you expect to paddle and camp in), and expecting things to go wrong, an incident becomes just another "drill". Understanding objective risks, such as winds (there are several kinds? Of wind?), cold water, rapidly changing weather, following seas, surf, breaking waves, calving glaciers, bears with cubs, etc.), and practicing skills to manage these risks is a way of building and maintaining a wide safety net. Can't be too safe, can we?

Trip Planning Services

We are easily able to offer routine information on transportation (to and from ports and paddling areas). But if you want us to do original research on complex scheduling and lodging, and make reservations for you, we offer trip planning services fee of $25/hr. ($50 minimum). Unless you have a wickedly complex trip, this will be money well spent. The web is so powerful, we'd be surprised if you couldn't find out and plan virtually anything on your own. But if you need to solve some serious Alaska logistical problems, get in touch.

The Rental Process

Contact us with your plans. Contact us as far in advance as you can, our gear is in high demand most summers, and it can be difficult to supply you with the kayaks and gear you need if you wait to the last minute. Contact us for availability of the gear you're looking for.

Make a reservation - obtain, fill out and return to us all appropriate rental forms with a 50% deposit towards your reservation. After paperwork and payment of your deposit are complete, we will confirm your reservation.

Damage/loss deposit - We will need a damage/loss deposit to send you off with a kayak and gear. Cash, check or credit card. $250-$500/kayak depending on the number of kayaks you are renting. If this seems unreasonable, contact us. We're happy to discuss it with you.

Experienced paddlers that want to organize a kayak trip in south coastal Alaska should contact us, we'd be happy to help you explore your options for your Alaskan paddling adventure.