[Paddlewise] Opinion about boats

Hello,

I'm a new paddler and new lurker on this list. I thought I would jump in
with a question and a plea for advice. Of course, it's about boats. I'm
about ready to buy my first one (after private lessons and easy day paddles). 

I've decided 90% of what I'm going to do will be day trips and weekenders
in lakes, big flat rivers (in Florida you don't get whitewater without help
from the Army Corps of Engineers) and saltwater flats area (Mosquito
Lagoon. The other 10% will be divided evenly between day trips off the
beach in calm weather and driving around to my friends' houses to show off.

I've narrowed my search to two boats the Perception Carolina and the Prijon
Seayak. I'm leaning heavy (instructor told me to practice those) towards
the Seayak. While I would like a rudder, I won't buy one for a couple of
months. I don't want to get dependent on it and want to force myself to
practice the leans. It also saves me a couple hundred dollars (which I can
use to buy cool paddle clothes).

So, does anyone have experience with these boats? I'm a pretty big guy
(6'2" and over 240#...please don't make me say how much over), but both
boats fit well when I tried them out. The Carolina better than the Seayak,
but I'm confident the Seayak would be more comfortable with slight
adjustment to the thigh braces and the seat. Of course, a 1/2 hour paddle
does not a full day in high wind in the salt flats with a couple of Redfish
(hopefully!) make, but it was still comfortable.

Is there something about these boats I don't know (do they disintergrate in
30 days?)? Should I be looking at something else? I like the idea of a
plastic boat (price and oyster durability), but does plastic become a
hindrance after developing some skill? 

Thanks for any and all advice.

Dan Horowitz
danh_at_gdi.net
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