I'm new to white water or creek kayaks. I've spent many hours in ocean or touring kayaks. I have been through many rivers and rapids on truck innertubes but never in a kayak. I'm 6'-1" tall, weigh 220 pounds, have a 36" inseam and wear a size 11-1/2 shoe. I want to buy a kayak that will allow me to run the Northern California rivers. Some long slow currents and an occasional class 4 or 5 rapid. Is a Dagger Nomad 8.5 what I'm looking for? any suggestions?

Dagger Nomad would do... Id look at all the creek boats out there and demo them too

Fluid Solo L
Bliss-Stick Mystic
Pyranha Burn L
Pyranha Everest
Liquid Logic Jefe
jackson Rocker

that would be a good short list, I would really consider some of these and pay close attn to things like outfitting and how you feel in the boat after 1hr etc

Take some lessons from a good instrusctor and perhaps build up to "class 4 or 5 rapids"... Im not going to tell you your business but it is a little more difficult than you think and C4-5 creeking does indeed kill experienced boaters

good luck and keep us posted

Laddie wrote:

Dagger Nomad would do... Id look at all the creek boats out there and demo them too

Fluid Solo L
Bliss-Stick Mystic
Pyranha Burn L
Pyranha Everest
Liquid Logic Jefe
jackson Rocker

that would be a good short list, I would really consider some of these and pay close attn to things like outfitting and how you feel in the boat after 1hr etc

Take some lessons from a good instrusctor and perhaps build up to "class 4 or 5 rapids"... Im not going to tell you your business but it is a little more difficult than you think and C4-5 creeking does indeed kill experienced boaters

good luck and keep us posted

For sure, good advice there...

Thanks for the info. I don't think I'll be doing anything more difficult than a C3 for a while. I'm looking for a kayak that will get me through the long calm stretches of water without a lot of effort, perhaps something longer than the Nomad? There is no place around here to try out a creeker or river running kayak before buying it, I'll have to order one off the internet.

Hi

The Nomad is a big boat and still over the weight limit.How accurate is this figure and what does it really mean.My weight is more like 120 kg so i am about 11 KG to heavy.At the mo i have a RPM Max and she sits low in the water,been a gerat boat to learn on and the pool scessions have been perfect.

My question is,will this kayak be worth considering or will i keep looking.

Ta for any advice.

Semtexsam wrote:

Hi

The Nomad is a big boat and still over the weight limit.How accurate is this figure and what does it really mean.My weight is more like 120 kg so i am about 11 KG to heavy.At the mo i have a RPM Max and she sits low in the water,been a gerat boat to learn on and the pool scessions have been perfect.

My question is,will this kayak be worth considering or will i keep looking.

Ta for any advice.

Fit like Edinburgh???

anyway... here is my observation on Dagger... They dont make boats for nearly enough people, so "f"-em, crappy outfitting anyway... Im down to 105 kg and still too heavy for a daggger

At your weight Id be looking at these boats

Fluid Solo L
Bliss Stick Expedition Mystic (upon release)
Pyranha Everest
LL Jefe Grande
Jackson Mega Rocker

(Im assuming youre looking for a creeker)

The weight ratings for kayaks are more guess work as opposed to actual science (yes there is science involved but ...). Really what I would be thinking about is the more volume the better, especially at a heavier weight... Some things Id consider are the differences between a displacement hull vs a plaining hull... you will have a harder time being over ballast in a plaining hull as the edge will engage faster and the boat will be more tippy. If you are in the weight limit of your boat a plaining hull wont be as much of an issue

If you are in the second hand market, Id look at the boat, check the specs and reviews and lastly, DEMO!!!

At my weight 105kg the large Burn is amazing, I paddled the Large solo when I weighed about your weight and it handled like a dream ( I was accordign to the designers a little over the weight specs)

If creeking is not your thing there are plenty of other boats out there that will float you really well (I know as I am a big guy and boats are hard to come by). Reply away and we'll get you some more beta

You might want to also look at the Pyranha Karnali, a new boat for 2009. The LL Remix is actually decently fast, so that's another option. The Karnali was just introduced within the past few weeks, and as far as instructors say, it has good primary stability and secondary stability, which is good for a beginner. Also, it says that it can be used for the class 5-6 creeker.

HI

Ta for the replies guys and i spent sometime at work reading all the reviews.As for looking for a creeker i think i should look at some GP boats as well.One that has always caught my eye is the Dagger GT,yes it will be the larger one and i am sure there are others out there as well.Best thing to do is go and try out as many as i can but want to have some knowledge.

The Pyranha Karnali looks interesting and worth a look whenever they arrive in the country.As you can see upgrading is not easy and the last thing i want to do is make a mistake and buy the wrong boat.

Fit like Laddie,some of thag guys i race bikes with are from the Angus area and i have been learning some of their phrases over the last few years.Also,all of my river trips have been in that area as well on the South Esk and farther north on the Dee.was agood summer on the water and we are now back in the pool for the winter.

All for now.

Alan.