My plastic Necky Tourak was ideal for the Allagash, which we ran right after a hurricane. Ranger said water level was close to spring freshet. Chase Rapids were II+ to III at that level. Even loaded with gear the Tourak surfed waves and did eddy turns with aplomb. I wouldn't hesitate to run up to class III with it, though not necessarily to play every hole and surf every wave. We were lucky with water level. Usually the lower sections of the river are pretty ^&%^((*! scratchy, and in that case a kayak of any kind is a liability. Canoes are just plain easier to get in and out of. Pre-plastic--yea, I'm dating myself--touring kayaks (not necessarily sea kayaks) were a tool of choice for multi-day trips on rivers where the rapids were heavy enough to make canoes questionable (and that had few portages). I think a playful, rockered, plastic sea kayak fits this bill pretty well. Clark Bowlen *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced/forwarded outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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