About TK Watersports™
Rated 5 stars on our own website, on TripAdvisor, Facebook and Google by our customers, we are TK Watersports™, the trading style of TKL Leisure Ltd. We’re part of the TK Mission Adventure Group, providing kayak and paddleboard hire in two great locations, TK Watersports in Plymouth, UK and Mission Bay Watersports in Auckland, New Zealand. We provide top quality kayak and paddleboard hire, trips and excursions in the Plymouth, Torbay and South Devon areas of the UK at a great price! Plus we only use the very best equipment from Islander®, Wavesport®, Palm Equipment, Aqua Marina and Gladiator!
Paddle the local rivers around Plymouth, Saltash, St. Germans, Millbrook and Torpoint, or go kayak surfing at Bantham, or explore the sandy beaches of the Cornish Coast. For that longer trip paddle from Saltash to Calstock and back on the wonderful River Tamar.
Why not wonder along the coastline of Wembury and Heybrook Bay in South Devon or the beaches around Torbay, or paddle the River Dart. Or you can try exploring Exeter Canal and stopping off for a pub lunch at Double Locks!
At TK Watersports™ you’ll find a highly reputable Devon and Cornwall based kayak hire and excursion company with years of experience providing safe, insured, top quality sit on kayaks, sit in kayaks and paddleboards for hire. We pride ourselves on keeping all our kayaks and paddleboards well maintained in first class condition, and updated. In fact, we’ve invested over £20,000 in new equipment over the last three years!
Governed by British Canoeing, we provide comprehensive safety briefings from our in-house team of highly experienced and fully trained instructors and guides, who are trained by our in house former SAS instructor Pete Bray! We carry £10 Million of Public Liability and £1 Million of Professional Indemnity Insurance for your peace of mind.
So you can rest assured that your hired kayak or paddleboard from TK Watersports™ is a safe vessel from which to explore the water. After all, we’ve been doing, what we do since we launched in August 2014 and we have seen competitors come and go!
From our headquarters in Plymouth, we operate from the first Saturday in April to the last Sunday in October each year, SEVEN DAYS A WEEK. Please note we do not operate from 1st November to 31st March each year. To book your kayak hire give us a call on 01752 601617 or 07939 483737 today!
Our current fleet of 12 boats consists of -
Single seat Islander® Calypso Sport sit on top kayak (6 available) tracks well in a straight line,
Single seat Islander® Paradise sit on top kayak (1 available for the smaller paddler),
Single seat Wavesport® / Perception Scooter sit on top kayak (3 available) more manoeuvrable for more fun,
Single seat Islander® Jive sit in closed cockpit kayak (1 available),
Two seater Wavesport® Scooter Gemini sit on top kayak (1 available),
plus Gladiator and Aqua Marina Paddleboards. And we also have one road trailer that can hold 8 boats!
Ww also have a selection of top of the range Palm® buoyancy aids, at TK Watersports™, we don‘t cut corners on safety. We also carry a range of Palm® dry tops and cags. We also feature Palm® paddles in both left handed and right handed varieties.
All our kayaks are British made. The Jive, Calypso and Paradise kayaks are made at the Palm factory in Clevedon, just outside Bristol and the Scooter and Scooter Gemini kayaks are made at the Gaybo factory in Brighton!
Your highly experienced guides, Darren Evans, Gavin Bennett, Linzi Taylor, Dan Huxham, John Griffiths and Pete Bray look forward to paddling with you.
YOUR FREQUENTLY ASKED TK Watersports™ QUESTIONS - ANSWERED!
TK WATERSPORTS™ - HOW DID IT ALL BEGIN?
Well our boss, Darren Evans was asked by friends if they could paddle with him, thus Tamar Kayaks, as we were called then, was born using Riber sit on tops.
We spent the next two years finding the right boats and the best equipment, that’s when he came across Islander ® and the rest is history! Today TK Watersports™ caters for small groups to corporate team building events, school groups to stag / hen days. We can even arrange a mix of kayaking and stand up paddle boarding. The service we provide is governed and regulated by British Canoeing, which we are members of.
WHY DON’T YOU OPERATE ALL YEAR ROUND?
The simple answer is that the water temperature being too cold, and weather conditions during the winter months are not favorable for safe kayaking. Should you capsize the water temperature will just drain energy from your body and you can get into difficulties very easily.
CAN I HIRE A MIX OF BOATS?
Of course you can, sit in recreational kayak, sit on kayak, or stand up paddleboard, it’s up to you.
WHAT DO I WEAR WHEN KAYAKING OR PADDLEBOARDING?
As kayaking and paddleboarding are water based sports, you will get wet. So we recommend you wear a wetsuit but if you don’t own one, wear several layers of thin clothing. Do not wear thick woolen jumpers as these get very heavy when wet. We can provide dry tops and cags when needed. Trainers are ideal as they can grip the kayak and slippery surfaces of slipways. We provide dry bags for your valuables and mobile phones.
HOW DOES YOUR HIRE SERVICE WORK?
Our new kayaks and paddleboards in vibrant colours are available to hire for a weekend, a full or half day. Simply make an advance booking right here on the website, or give us a call on 01752 601617 or 07939 483737. We’ll take the information we need such as the type of boat you require, buoyancy aid size, and the date for your hire. On the day of your hire we’ll meet you with the boats at your launch location so you don’t need to worry about transporting the boats!
If you’ve got experience, based on a minimum group of three boats, you are welcome to take one of our fleet of boats out for a trip with friends. If you’re less confident, though, for an additional £20 each, why not book one of the team to accompany you on your boat trip? Our team are all passionate about kayaking and will be happy to accompany you on your day on the water whether it be in Plymouth, Cornwall, Torbay, Exeter or South Devon.
WHY A MINIMUM GROUP OF THREE BOATS?
All hires are based on a minimum of three boats except on accompanied paddles or where you are paddling with others who have their own boats.. The reason is safety. If one of you were to get injured, one boat can stay with the casualty whilst the other goes to summons help. Plus if you need to tow the casualty, taking turns will help prevent you getting tired. Also always paddle close to the shoreline but away from rocks. All our boats carry basic first aid kits and safety flares. Our safety message - KAYAK SAFETY THE BEST IT CAN BE, ALWAYS PADDLE IN A GROUP OF THREE!
CAN I HIRE DOUBLE SEAT SIT ON TOP KAYAKS?
Yes of course you can. New for 2020 season, we have two seater Wavesport Scooter Gemini sit on top kayaks available for hire at great rates. Ideal for paddling with the little ones!. Double seaters count as one boat in our minimum group size requirements.
HOW DO I MAKE A BOOKING?
Booking is simple here on our website or by giving us a call on 01752 601617 or 07939 483737. After agreeing to our terms and conditions of hire, just select the type of boat required whether you need a sit in recreational, sit in sea touring, a sit on, or a paddleboard, your buoyancy aid size, your desired launch location (or we can deliver to and collect from your home) and enter the date required.
You can also easily pay online using your debit or credit card. We accept American Express, Visa, and MasterCard, or you can pay by ApplePay or cash on the day. At the checkout you’ll be asked for your name, address, phone number and email address, these we use to confirm your booking and for ID checking. ALL HIRES REQUIRE A £50 HOLDING AND DAMAGE DEPOSIT. TK Logistics, our sister business, do charge a £10.00 delivery and collection fee per hire.
WHAT IS THE COST OF HIRE?
Our current price list is displayed on our Hire Tariff page and prices are subject to change.
All hires are subject to tide and weather conditions.
HOW DO I GET THE BOATS TO MY LAUNCH LOCATION?
With TK Watersports™, don’t worry about getting the boats to your launch location, as we take care of that! For a delivery fee of £10.00, we deliver the boats to your launch point where you’ll meet us at the start of your hire, and we collect from the same point at the end of your trip. We’ll stay in contact with you during your excursion to see how your getting on. We provide detailed laminated maps to help you navigate Plymouth Sound and the local rivers safely.
Our Suppliers
Go Paddling in Auckland, New Zealand
From November to April, whilst visiting Auckland in New Zealand why not come paddling with our team at Mission Bay Watersports. Nic Mead and his crew look forward to paddling with you. Find us on Mission Beach, just to the east of the city centre.