As a Vineyard native, I've been messing about in boats for more than five decades; I took up whitewater kayaking while in college and embraced sea kayaking in the early days of the sport once back home on salt water. Since then, I've seen the equipment improve dramatically in terms of both design and construction-- but for me a watershed moment came in 2012 when STELLAR KAYAKS introduced their revolutionary 18-foot "Performance Sit-on-Top" (or surfski) which was lighter, faster and at the same time safer than the high performance sea kayak I was paddling at that time. I was "sold" on the open-cockpit concept, and completed a record setting 55-mile circumnavigation of the Vineyard in my new STELLAR S18S that fall. After several friends who owned heavy plastic kayaks asked me to recommend a quality lightweight alternative, I decided to bring the STELLAR line to Martha's Vineyard so that others could experience the ease, simplicity and beauty of paddling these wonderful boats. With models engineered for beginner, intermediate and experienced paddlers I can match each customer to the right boat for their skill set, and enjoy sharing wonderful adventures in Vineyard waters with fellow STELLAR owners. I hope I'll be able to put YOU in one of the "kayaks of the future".... today!

Dana Gaines
​KAYAKs MV