There's a reason half the cars in town are topped with kayaks.

Sure, the bright slender boats make good car hats (reducing sun exposure and premature wrinkling). But it's what the kayaks can do in the water that makes them such a splendid summer accoutrement.

Of course not everyone has the storage or the spending cash to own a kayak of their own.

Enter: the rental shop. Rentals make it simple for novice or occasional paddlers to test the waters. Literally.

RAD Jet Ski Rentals on the Causeway in Naples sits comfortably between the shores of Long Lake and the patio of Rick's Cafe. They rent kayaks by the hour, half day or day (as well as paddle boats, jet skis and other tools of the lake).

We took our kayaks to go and headed a couple miles back up Route 302 to Sebago Lake State Park. Entry fee to the park typically costs $4.50 per adult but was free to Maine residents the day we were there.

We opted to put in at the boat launch - for the easy parking and the easy in.

Despite the season's heavy rains, the Songo River was easy to manage. Boats came and went sporadically, but overall it seemed we had the river to ourselves.

It took about 45 minutes of mellow paddling to reach the Songo Lock. We beached our kayaks to take a break and watch the locks in action.

The locks are opened and closed through some old-school mechanics and sheer physical effort. Boaters pay $6 to pass through. On the other side, there's a small food stand with hot dogs, burgers and the like.

With hunger satiated and daddy long legs removed from the kayaks, we headed back the way we came.

At the mouth of the river (just past the boat launch) is a slender sand bar stretched out far, far into the distance.

Boaters were lined up en masse on the lake side, but there was still plenty of room for us to drag our kayaks up, ditch the PFDs and take to the water.

The boat launch is ideally located, giving river-goers the option to stick to the Songo or hang on the lake. And while Sebago is a notoriously busy bowl of water, the river traffic was minimal.

The traffic on 302, however, exploded just after 10 a.m. If you plan to rent from RAD, get there early. We didn't make reservations on the day we went and there were plenty of boats to be had.

Single rentals cost $48 for the day. For rental details or more info: 207-693-8200.