Are you against building one? Chesapeake Light Craft has some beautiful looking performance kayaks. The plans, cost wise, aren't bad, their CNCd kits are pricey. I'm sure there are other plans or kits out there. I haven't seen one of their plan sets, but I bet most of them are between one and two sheets of thin marine plywood. I also bet they have stencils you just trace onto the sheets for cutting. https://www.clcboats.com/shop/kayak-kits/performance-kayaks/
Cool! I am not against building one. I could probably get a used one for near the cost of building one myself, but it would definitely be fun to build my own. And, my grandfather was a boat builder (though, I don't think anyone ever referred to him as a shipwright!), so maybe I've got some of his skills in my blood. I will check that out. If I report on my adventure this time next year and start with, "I was doing great until my kayak sank!" you'll know how it went.
Stitch and glue plans would be my preference for a first timer. Definitely much easier than other methods.
not currently, no. It's 30 yards away hanging from the ceiling, all dusty in my workshop so I'll get them next time I'm out there. I went the CNC kit route. Major learning experience. Took a ton more time than I expected, with the drying/curing/sanding. In hindsight, I was was doing it just to have a touring kayak, I'd go out and buy one. But if I wanted the experience of building one, I'd for sure go with them again. My step-father also built one of their canoes.
I bet it was a lot cheaper back then. Their cocktail class racer has gone up like 25% since the pandemic arrived and wood went up.
looks about the same honestly. This is the one I built. They clearly have a ton more options now. But that price for the complete kit looks about right.
If you're using a hybrid or a mountain bike, I'd look at other bikes, but unless you find yourself doing half or full Ironman's, a road, gravel, or cyclocross bike is more than adequate.
I am using a mountain bike I got at Walmart about 10 years ago, lol. I'm too cheap to buy a new one, just because I don't ride enough to justify it. I run regularly, and don't cheap out on running shoes, but I probably won't upgrade my bike. My backup bike is a Huffy hybrid, lol. If I were 23 instead of 53, I'd probably upgrade and get a little more serious. There is another KBR triathlon near me in 2 1/2 weeks. It's about the same distances, with a bit shorter kayak portion, but it's RBK instead of KBR. That seems weird to do the water at the end. It's also a trail run, instead of road course. But, I looked at the pictures from the previous event AND the recreation area offers to rent kayaks for the event - most of those are ordinary kayaks like I have, and a lot of the bikes are mountain bikes. And, there's another one in north Georgia in mid-October that is shorter distances in each KBR event. Same thing - in the pictures of the previous events, they have a lot of kayaks like I have. I also looked at the results from last year's race, and the pace I did in each event, including the kayak, would put me in the upper third. So, those are a totally different crowd! Those are my people. I might go do that one.
Oh god...a bike from one of the major manufacturers would be light-years better just from a maintenance standpoint let alone rider comfort, speed, reliability, etc. I guarantee you can find a decent used bike for comparable cost that's better in every aspect than a brand new bike from a big box store.