this site has some great info!!
i have been kayaking a little while but mostly on flat water. i have demo'd a few boats down some CL III.
i am wondering the overall performance differences between a creek boat and a river runner.

i plan to primarily paddle CL III and CL IV rivers and regularly paddle on lakes.

i an 5' 11" and weigh 195 so i am right on the edge of a lot of boat sizes.

i appreciate your comments to help me narrow the search for a new boat.

Boats called river runners usually feature a planing hull with slightly less volume and better edges than the large round displacement hulls used in most boats called creekers. This makes for a sharper ride/better steering as long as you're in control, but they might prove a little edgier and easier to get grapped or trown of course. One of the reason that for really big creeks a creek boat is adviced lies in the point of the boat. A bow with a flat point is easier to get stuck under a rock or in the riverbed. It doesn't happen a lot, but it can lead to nasty situations. Overall a river runner might be better for your technique, and will serve you fine on class 3 and 4 white water, but on class 5/5+ water a creeker might be better for your health. However, as you apparantly are not an experienced white water runner, I wouldn't advice you to paddle class 5 right away in any boat.

i think i have narrowed it down to a jackson super hero. it seems to get lots of great comments. has anyone had any bad experiences i should be aware of proir to buying one?
thanks,

scuba

The new JK Super Hero would be a grand choice... has the hull of the fun series but the volume of a creeker...

I havent heard of anything bad about them

I have looked at a JK Hero, and the thigh braces were a bit too wide for me. The Punk rocker was better, but it all comes down to personal preference.