KayakShare.com

Great locationnEasy pickup/returnnOutstanding customer servicennWe rented 2 kayaks and one was still being used by the previous renter when we arrived. The owner responded immediately and allowed us to take another instead. He also gave us an extra hour for our rentals along with a 50% off coupon to make up for the inconvenience -which was so generous and more than he needed to do. Already made another reservation!

I love the concept of kayakshare, just not the current execution. The idea of self-service kayak rental is both ingenious and novel. However, this first iteration at the Port of Everett missed the mark.nnAll starts off well with online scheduling and a code texted to you to access the kayak. The kiosk was easy to find thanks to precise directions on their website. I’m thinking this will be similar to an Amazon Locker experience...nnUnfortunately it’s not. What you encounter is a rack that holds 4 kayaks and what looks like 2 SUPs. Each are locked to the rack in a web of cables and locks with numbers on them. The cables all wrap messily around a portion of the rack. On this part of the rack there are two large key boxes similar to what a real estate agent uses. Are these part of the process for getting my kayak....I don’t know but I spent some time messing with them.nnThen there’s this unlabeled red plastic box on the ground near the rack, and by chance I opened it up and inside was another box with a lock on it and a keypad. This must be where I enter this code I was texted when I scheduled.nnUpon opening the lock inside are individual keys that have tags on them with worn away writing. They must go to the locks on the racks and the web of cables?nnI had rented “Double Kayak #6”....does that correspond to lock #6, or the number on the actual kayak?nnFound a key to open lock #4 that was connected to kayak #6. Ok I guess I’ll use this one. Now, do I take the key with me or do I put it back in the red box?nnFinally...the experience on the water. Meh. These kayaks are not nearly ideal for this area. They are big plastic kayaks that sit high on the water, are open top, and have no rudder. The Port of Everett is where the Snohomish River meets Puget Sound and there is a very strong current. These kayaks were almost useless out in it. We paddled for 45 minutes and didn’t make much headway. Decided to call it instead of taking our scheduled 2 hours.nnWe landed and hauled the kayak back up to the rack and opened the red box again....no keys. Looks like other renters decided to take the keys (as I had also considered). Luckily there was a lock open and we locked everything back up and left.nnAs i said the concept is great but the execution sucks. My recommendations :nn1. Invest in better kiosk equipment (Go use an Amazon locker and copy this experience somehow)n2. Have clear step-by-step signagen3. Pick gear appropriate for the areannThis way you don’t have to field so many text messages and phone calls from confused customers.