I'm looking for a boat I can take first-timers out with. Middle-school to adult. Bay and estuaries. Nothing remotely scary. Close to shore, no long crossings. An hour or two at a time with maybe a stop for lunch or a snack. Performance is not a priority. Stability is a priority. 12 foot length is fine. I'm looking for plastic, sit in, not SOT. No rudder. Able to accommodate a spray skirt (although I wouldn't put one on someone the first time out). Any suggestions appreciated. Thanks Bob Oakland, California *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
On Saturday, September 28, 2002, at 12:57:40 PM PST, Vaughan wrote: > Performance is not a priority. Stability is a priority. 12 foot > length is fine. I'm looking for plastic, sit in, not SOT. No rudder. Hi Bob, I'm thinking that either a Necky Looksha Sport (14'), or Necky "Santa Cruze" (12') might be about right. I've not paddled a Santa Cruze, but I have paddled a Sport. It was the first kayak I ever sat in, and it was fun and very stable. The Santa Cruze is the length you mentioned, and I'm sure it's terribly stable as well. The Sport that I paddled did have a rudder, but I'm sure you could get it without the rudder if you want. I can think of a reason or two why you may want to consider a Looksha Sport instead of a Santa Cruze...rock gardens and sea caves! A plastic Looksha Sport could be just about perfect for that type of paddling...so you could use it even when you don't have guests! -- Melissa *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
At 01:28 PM 9/28/2002 -0700, Melissa Reese wrote: >On Saturday, September 28, 2002, at 12:57:40 PM PST, Vaughan wrote: > >> Performance is not a priority. Stability is a priority. 12 foot >> length is fine. I'm looking for plastic, sit in, not SOT. No rudder. > >Hi Bob, > >I'm thinking that either a Necky Looksha Sport (14'), or Necky "Santa >Cruze" (12') might be about right. > >I've not paddled a Santa Cruze, but I have paddled a Sport. It was >the first kayak I ever sat in, and it was fun and very stable. The >Santa Cruze is the length you mentioned, and I'm sure it's terribly >stable as well. > >The Sport that I paddled did have a rudder, but I'm sure you could get >it without the rudder if you want. > >I can think of a reason or two why you may want to consider a Looksha >Sport instead of a Santa Cruze...rock gardens and sea caves! You've never been to Oakland, Ca. , have you? Rock gardens and sea caves? >A >plastic Looksha Sport could be just about perfect for that type of >paddling...so you could use it even when you don't have guests! A Looksha Sport would likely be a good choice. There are a lot of other similar boats that would be fine as well such as a Prijon Calabria, Dagger Calisto or Charleston, Walden Passage, and probably many others. Since a 12' boat was considered I'm wondering what Bob paddles. Putting someone in 12' plastic boat if you're paddling a 17-18' composite boat will mean you're going to do a lot of waiting. Just another data point: A friend of mine runs a rental fleet and most of his rental boats are "real" touring kayaks (16' and longer). Most of his clients have never been in a kayak before and I think he's only had 3-4 people capsize all season. Most first timers can get feel for the stability in a very short time. A fat 12' boat might be real stable but, in my experience, most people don't have problems with the stability in a longer, narrower boat either. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Perception Carolina, Catalina, or Corona. The Carolina is very stable yet capable of being pushed farther then some of the smaller rec boats out there. Plenty of Perception on the used market. Most available with or without rudder. http://www.kayaker.com/products/boats/boatindex.asp?type=tourin g On 28 Sep 2002 at 12:57, Vaughan wrote: > I'm looking for a boat I can take first-timers out with. Middle-school to > adult. Bay and estuaries. Nothing remotely scary. Close to shore, no long > crossings. An hour or two at a time with maybe a stop for lunch or a snack. > > Performance is not a priority. Stability is a priority. 12 foot length is > fine. I'm looking for plastic, sit in, not SOT. No rudder. Able to > accommodate a spray skirt (although I wouldn't put one on someone the first > time out). *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
--- Aaron White <aaronwhite_at_mn.rr.com> wrote: > Perception Carolina, Catalina, or Corona. Yes, I was just going to suggest some Perception models. These are good and the Sole (new last year) is nice. Not too long, more narrow, good initial stability - some beginner friends we took to a demo day enjoyed it a lot. __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? New DSL Internet Access from SBC & Yahoo! http://sbc.yahoo.com *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
> I'm looking for a boat I can take first-timers out with. > > Performance is not a priority. Hey Bob, It would seem to me that for a guest boat you would be better off looking at what's available used since performance is not an issue. The type of boat you are looking for is exactly the kind of boat most people are trying to unload in order to upgrade. You can check your local classifieds as well as local kayak shop bulletin boards. There are also a number of online sources for used kayaks that are pretty good. Here in California you might check out Recycler.com. I have bought a couple of boats listed on this site myself at a significant savings. Happy hunting! Scott So.Cal. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
I bought a guest-boat a couple of months ago: A Rainbow Oasis, made in Italy. (Or was it Oasis Rainbow? I don't know.) It's 4.25 meters long (about 14 feet I think), quite wide, and plastic. I paddled it myself a couple of times, so I would know exactly what any guest was paddling. I liked the boat so much better then my own trusted Prijon Seayak, that I modified the Oasis to be more-or-less seaworthy and paddle almost nothing else these days. When I take a guest, I persuade them to paddle the Prijon, so I can use the Oasis. Good points: Excellent surfer, good tracker in wind and waves, stable, good seat, large cockpit. Bad points: Needs lots of modifications: Thighstraps, keelson, extra floatation, extra decklines. The plastic is so soft that I have to put pieces of foam inside before tying it to the roof of my car. Niels. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
[Moderator's Note: Content unaltered. Excessive quoting (i.e. headers/footers/sig lines/comments from previous posts, etc.) have been removed. Please edit quoted material in addition to removing header/trailers when replying to posts.] Take a look at some of the recreational kayaks offered by Dagger at http://www.dagger.com/. > I'm looking for a boat I can take first-timers out with. Middle-school to > adult. Bay and estuaries. Nothing remotely scary. Close to shore, no long > crossings. An hour or two at a time with maybe a stop for lunch or a snack. > *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
----- Original Message ----- From: "John Fereira" <jaf30_at_cornell.edu> Subject: Re: [Paddlewise] guest boat suggestions? snip > > Since a 12' boat was considered I'm wondering what Bob paddles. Putting > someone in 12' plastic boat if you're paddling a 17-18' composite boat will > mean you're going to do a lot of waiting. Just another data point: A > friend of mine runs a rental fleet and most of his rental boats are "real" > touring kayaks (16' and longer). Most of his clients have never been in a > kayak before and I think he's only had 3-4 people capsize all season. Most > first timers can get feel for the stability in a very short time. A fat > 12' boat might be real stable but, in my experience, most people don't have > problems with the stability in a longer, narrower boat either. > Actually, I meant 12' as a minimum. I sold a Wenonah Advantage and Sundowner. Gave away a Numbus Puffin and sold an Ocean Kayak Scupper when the fleet had taken over the homestead. OK, OK, now I wish I had kept them all. Now I paddle a Seda Revenge. Great for tanning your legs and getting at lunch while afloat. A bit too tender for first timers. The round hull feels tippy, even though they won't go over. I like it for summer days when I paddle to the foot of Broadway at Jack London Square, flop my feet over the sides into the water, lean way back and eat lunch. The tourists love it. Also a Futura Blade. Gotta pay attention on that one and a bit wet for cool weather. My favorite is a Mariner Express. My only complaint is a rear hatch that takes too long to take off and put on (bomb-proof though it may be). I had thought 16 feet would be a bit short in a world where sea kayaks are over 17 feet long, but hull speed calculations notwithstanding, it keeps up just fine. I love that boat. I call her Goldilocks. Not too hard, not too soft, just right. I'm blessed to be able to paddle three times a week, summer or winter, day or night. Some co-workers were in a restaurant on the Oakland estuary and saw me paddle by one evening. Asked all sorts of questions at work the next day. My neighbors and neighbors' kids ask about my boat. Since I consider paddling the Gospel of outdoor recreation, I thought I'd look for a boat to share the experience with the most folks possible. I don't mind waiting for them. I had a zipper installed in one of my spray skirts (best thing I ever thought of) so I can reach a thermos of hot coffee, a cold soda, snacks and sandwiches etc. while goofing about on the water. Thanks for all the suggestions so far. I'm making a list and checking it twice. Bob *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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