Which touring kayaks have large weight capacity without sacrificing mobility?

You have a few choices, Nancy, but not a million of them. And all of them will have a caveat: Short of getting a sit-on-top, which I don’t think will work for the kind of paddling you want to do, you won’t know what really fits until you go sit in one.

Necky Looksha V Kayak

But there are certainly boats designed for larger paddlers, and with the capacity to handle 400 pounds (boater and gear). One candidate would be the Necky Looksha V ($1,699 polymer/$2,999 composite; necky.com). It’s what’s described as a “high-volume” kayak, meaning it has more interior room and is a little bit wider in the beam than most boats. Still, it’s known for easy paddling and good tracking, and a rudder helps with maneuverability. Necky doesn’t list a total weight capacity, but it’s a big boat (over 17 feet), with roomy bow and stern hatches, so I shouldn’t think 400 pounds would pose any real challenge to it, especially for lake paddling.

Better yet might be Wilderness Systems Tsunami 175 ($1,650; wildernesssystems.com). It’s a roto-molded boat like the less-expensive Looksha, but it isn’t quite as performance-oriented and is a bit wider and even more stable. The cockpit, in fact, is three inches wider and four inches longer than that on the Necky. It’s rated to 400 pounds capacity, has a rudder, and comes with fore and aft stowage hatches as well as a small “day” hatch right behind the cockpit. Plenty of room for multi-day trips.

Lastly, Perception’s Eclipse 17 Airalite ($2,400; kayaker.com) offers 425 pounds of weight capacity with a cockpit that’s in between the Necky and Wilderness Systems boats. It’s made from Airalite, a really wonderful material that offers the light weight and looks of composite boats but doesn’t cost too much more than plastic.