The problem with short, fat, plastic yaks is that they don't paddle well at all and you end up wiggling side-side instead of just going straight. Fine for piddling around small lakes where you never get more than a mile away from the launch but I wouldn't want to troll Lake O in one. But anything that gets you on the water is better than nothing!
BTW -- If you are wearing through the plastic on your yak dragging it over the beach, put on some Kevlar felt skid plates using G Flex epoxy. Most epoxies & adhesives won't stick to polyethylene but G Flex will.
http://www.noahsboatbuilding.com/itemdesc.asp?ic=655-K&eq=&Tp=
CLofchik got a reaction from spiro in Picking Out A New Kayak
