hi all,hope i have not done something stupid,i think i may have tried to leap before i can walk with my boat choice,i started kayaking about a year ago and i would say that since then i have come on ok,im rolling 65% of the time and making eddy's ok,
i have been paddling a tek sport xcess 240 which for those of you unfamilliar with it is about the size of a family volvo,its been really good to me though,its large volume makes you feel safe on the water like a big comfy duvet wrapped round you,trouble is after watching all the playboaters throwing their small boats from end to end on the river made me realise that mabye i didnt want to feel safe in hms titanic anymore
So not to waste any time and before i changed my mind i grabbed the bull by the horns and sold the big ole volvo and bought a 420 with rapid + and the vacum footrest,i have also ordered the ratchet strap upgrade kit, i fully expect to be thrown around like a rag doll but i hope i dont live to regret it,is it just possible i can learn everything i need to know from the 420 or will i need to flog it and get an older more stable boat to begin with?any one out there from scotland who fancies helping me out with some on river pointers or possibly a few t rescues or a bit of life saving email me at [mail address protected from spambots with javascript]
_________________
\"If You Aint Livin' OnThe Edge Your Takin' Up Too Much Space\"

Nah you can never bite of more than you can chew boat-wise ... just make sure the boat is the right size for you.
In my opinion, if you want to go for it, do it. Just get used to your new boat, get some coaching if you need and consolidate your roll!

Are you part of a club? If not get in touch with your local kayak club and see if they can help you out, it's always good to expand your horizons.

Hope this helps abit.

Kicks

cool, you sound as if you are taking your first steps into playboating. I paddle a shiny new red jackson star, great boat. don't worry you haven't bitten off more than you can chew... if you have some decent playspots near you you should be able to easily throw down ends loops and airblunts in that boat with practice. A year ago i started playboating and at my first comp i came 3rd. it is a steep learning curve and really fun!!! hope to see you on the river!

thanks for your reply's, i think more than anything its just nerves not knowing what to expect going from a comfy river runner to a small playboat that looks like it will spin like a windmill in a hurricane,only got it the other day so hopefully i wont get too much of a bashing and come back to say next week how much fun i had getting chucked about, i think im kinda hoping that the jump will take me too the next level of paddling and because the boat will demand a better tecnique from me i.e bracing etc than hms titanic i will learn fast on a steeper learning curve,does that make even one ounce of sense?

Haha, yeah that makes sense.
Good luck mate and have fun!