Opinions on Boats for Beginners

Hi all,

I met some of you on the novice trip on the Poudre! So as you know, I'm a small-made (110#) beginner female paddler. I've been scannign craigslist and mountain buzz for used boats. Someone is selling a Dagger GT 7.5 and someone else is selling a Wavesport Siren. Both boats are designed for small paddlers-- but does anyone have an opinion on which would be better for a novice like me? I'm comfortable on class II and working on my roll so that I will be more confident to move up to class III. I'd really like a stable, forgiving boat, but not one that has so much volume that its hard to roll. Thanks all!

Cheers,
Rami

Look up the specs online and u can also probably also find user comments on the same sites! It was a blast meeting u two hope to see u guys soon! Check out my post I made right before responding to this. Hope this helps.

Don't know anything about those two boats, but you might want to keep your eyes open for a used Jackson Sidekick as well. I am also 110# (5'2") and was originally considering a Fun 1.5 but it just fit me oddly. So I waited for another big-kid/small-adult kayak and got the Sidekick after renting one and liking it. Plenty forgiving AND easy to roll, and it's light. The only hitch is that it's a fairly new model and used ones for sale are probably rare.

Specs: 6'7" long, 22" beam, looks "plump"--I call mine the yellow spud

Thanks, Patty! Someone else recommended the Sidekick too. I think I used one of these when I first started and loved it. However, I havent seen a used one for sale. If anyone sees one let me know, but my budget is pretty limited!

LiquidLogic's Remix 47 is another one to check out. I should've mentioned this earlier but forgot about it. It's narrower and longer than the Sidekick. Easy to roll. I rented one briefly; sitting in it on the shop floor, it felt like there were two mild pressure points near the leg/hip junction. On the water, those became uncomfortable. Also, I think their weight limit is optimistic. It looked and felt like I didn't have much freeboard, and that was on calm pond water. That one I didn't even bother to try in the WW park. But you should try it for yourself.

I rented both models from Confluence Kayaks at a very reasonable rate. When I bought the Sidekick, they credited its rental fees toward my purchase price.

Finding the right boat for you requires taking many things into consideration (fit,boating style,...) and can be somewhat complicated. Two people with the exact same physical make up could pick two different boats and both make a correct choice. Understanding the various categories (play boats, river runners,...) of boats and the pros and cons of their design's is important.

You mentioned not wanting to get too big of a boat due to rolling difficulty. I can see how you would think size would effect rolling but that is actually not the case. The shape of the boat is the determining factor to it's rollability. The more defined the edges are, typically the more difficult it is to roll. You mentioned wanting to get a stable boat. Flat bottom boats such as play boats tend to be more stable. The down side to these are they have sharp edges and tend to be harder to roll.

The boats you mentioned can be good boats, especially if play boating is your thing, if you have a good strong roll; they are not that forgiving though. You might want to look into boats in the river runner category and river runner/creek boat hybrids. These boats are easier to roll and can still be stable. They also have a little more size which smooths out the ride in class III water. Play boats can get tossed around a bit in bigger water.

Jackson Kayaks have been making kids boats for several years now. I recommend looking at these for your size.
I recommend going to Confluence Kayak downtown and talking to their staff (Scott and John are very knowledgable). They can help you understand the different categories/designs and the trade offs of each one. I hope this helps.

Sean