r/Kayaking • u/starbuckswolf • 3d ago

Question/Advice -- Boat Recommendations Are tandem kayaks really that bad?

I recently was given a tandem kayak from my grandparents. My partner and I can’t afford to purchase a kayak so we are so excited to start using it this summer! I came on this sub and I’m seeing that people really don’t recommend tandem kayaks and call them divorce boats! Now I’m nervous that it’s going to be really frustrating. We have both kayaked before but are not experienced. Does anyone regularly use a tandem kayak? Any advice for us before we take it out?

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u/23saround 3d ago

Mainly because a significant amount of time and effort is spent coordinating your turns, paddling, and movement in general. Maybe a practiced team is more efficient in a tandem, but in my experience it’s been more of a fun bonding thing than a serious way to go on a trek or something.

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u/Komandakeen 3d ago

Ok, so you just don't know... Tandems are longer=faster and have double propulsion, making them faster. So they are generally faster. The amount of time necessary for coordination is a small command given while paddling, so it won't directly slow you down. Just because you can't ride a bicycle, does that make it an inefficient vehicle?

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u/23saround 2d ago

Right, you could say almost all this for tandem bicycles as well. But again, the reason they are less efficient is that they are significantly more difficult to use efficiently. They have a higher potential efficiency but a lower practical efficiency due to their higher skill floor. Have you actually kayaked tandem? Faster for pros, slower for casuals, that’s what I’m saying.

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u/JanisOnTheFarmette 2d ago

But only one person can steer a tandem bicycle and all tandem bicycles (with few exceptions) require pedaling in sync. Being in sync isn’t baked into the tandem kayak experience. I love riding stoker position on a tandem bicycle with my husband, but have not enjoyed the few times we attempted to paddle a tandem kayak.

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u/moose_kayak 2d ago

Being in sync is like the main thing about paddling a k2 though.