Hi Rich, You are facing the same dilemma I was facing when I posted about a "sea kayak playboat" a year or so ago. I really don't think that there is anything that will cover both a w/w playboat and an ocean surfer although probably the Zip by Necky would come close except when you have to paddle a ways to get out or to the surf zone. I think that it's inescapable that you'll end up with two kayaks (at least) for ocean surf and for river play. You should realize that most w/w paddlers have more than one boat just for rivers; I have 3. My wife sold her sit-on-top w/w kayak but I thought it was a POS anyway. She thinks I should sell the rest but I'm having a problem with that. So, having no luck at finding a sea-kayak playboat I bought a Mariner Express with the idea that its relatively small size (and no dangling bits like rudders) it would serve for close coastal and rock gardens. So far it's been a real joy but I've never had it in ocean surf. Several Paddlewisers have though so maybe they could comment. I don't believe an Express would be suitable on rivers though; for one thing it's 16-feet long and it's fiberglass and my recollection of fiberglass w/w boats is that they end up in pieces after one season. The Mariner Coaster, at about 13 feet, has a reputation as a very good ocean playboat for surfing and rock gardens. I've put one on my wish-list but, again, I don't think it would make a good river playboat even in graphite/kevlar form. Mariner will happily build either of these for you since they are now back in the kayak biz. Go to www.marinerkayaks.com for the link. In the UK there is a kayak called the "Rockhopper" (http://www.teksport.co.uk/rockhopper_kayaks.htm) that looks as if it would make a very good playboat for tidal races and rock gardens. It has an adjustable skeg to help get you to the playspot and looks more like what I would think a sea kayaking playboat would. It's not cheap to buy and with the US dollar equal to 2 British pounds it's even pricier. Plus you have to get it here; I don't know of a US distributor. I talked to a paddler at Deception Pass who has paddled the Rockhopper and he was enthusastic. Still, I would rather have a "real" w/w boat on a river. If I were still doing w/w my choice would be one of the Jackson boats (maybe the Super Hero since I'm a pretty big guy) for rivers and for ocean play I would be looking hard at a Mariner Coaster. Right now I'm pretty happy with the Express since it's a 7-hour drive to the ocean but only 2.5 hrs to Puget Sound so rock gardens are pretty tame within a day-drive. Rob Gibbert would have good insights on this, I think, since he still does both ocean surf and w/w rivers. I'm sure that Chuck Holst (forgive me if I've misremembered your name Chuck) would also have valuable input. Good luck, Craig Jungers Royal City, WA *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************Received on Mon Sep 24 2007 - 07:00:53 PDT
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