Who here kayaks?

Spinner
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Spinner
Edited Date/Time 1/26/2012 1:29am
Not looking for big whitewater stuff. Mostly interested in doing big lazy river stuff, with a rapid or 2 here and there.
Just looking for advice on boats and stuff. I'm looking at a Dagger Zydeco 11.0. Seems like a great boat for the dollar.
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mtnr
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., ID US
mtnr 12/12/2011 7:24pm
12/12/2011 7:24pm
I kayak. Not so much the last few years. I wouldn't spend the money on that unless you are absolutely sure your not going to start running class 3 and up rivers. That is for lakes and rivers with the mildest drops. If you are sure your not going past that, that boat is okay, but you can save a lot of money and get a better boat for rivers if you buy a used big boat like a Dagger Crossfire or similar, that would be the Green Boat listed on their site. The Crossfire is discontinued. Used is the way to go at first. An old Crossfire would cost at most $150 or so. You may find out its not your thing and then selling off your stuff is no big loss. Good luck. Fun sport and like moto, can be very addicting.
pitbike502
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pitbike502 12/12/2011 7:28pm
12/12/2011 7:28pm
used to a lot back in the day.. i originally proposed to my ex wife with an acadia top of the line boat and carbon fiber paddles, seemed like a better idea than a ring, and got more use. used to have a nice relaxing time up and down the adirondack rivers, and it gets your arms nice and built
Fiberglassflyer 12/12/2011 10:50pm
12/12/2011 10:50pm
Like mtnr said, it's incredibly addicting. My wife was into whitewater rafting before we met, and decided to introduce me to the sport. Turns out on the first trip there were to many people for the raft, so I got handed a inflatable kayak. After that first day I was hooked. Bought a hardshell and never looked back. Spent the next ten years running whitewater in the N.W. Best thing to do is buy used equipment like mtnr said. Many people go nuts thinking they will love the sport and buy new gear and after a few swims or other unfortunate occurences decide otherwise. Easy to find good used equipment. If by chance you find yourself addicted as I was, seek out someone local who teaches classes in a pool setting first. I never thought anything would come close to MX for fun and excitement, but I was wrong. Nothing like running class 4+ water in the snow. It's like being in your own personnel snow globe. Woohoo Hope it is a positive experience for you. Like mentioned before, the Dagger Crossfire is the boat to get if you can find one that is not trashed.
slowandlow 12/13/2011 8:45am
12/13/2011 8:45am
The thing to know is that flatwater boats are unsafe and perform poorly in whitewater. Whitewater boats are too slow and unfun in flatwater. You should decide which discipline you would like and buy a boat for that purpose.

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jndmx
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jndmx 12/13/2011 11:21am
12/13/2011 11:21am Edited Date/Time 12/13/2011 11:25am
slowandlow wrote:
The thing to know is that flatwater boats are unsafe and perform poorly in whitewater. Whitewater boats are too slow and unfun in flatwater. You should...
The thing to know is that flatwater boats are unsafe and perform poorly in whitewater. Whitewater boats are too slow and unfun in flatwater. You should decide which discipline you would like and buy a boat for that purpose.
This is very good advice.
The Dagger 11 footer sounds like it might be good for the flat water stuff.

I used to have an Acadia model by Perception which was a nice steady boat for the big lakes and seacoast areas where I live but it was a dog in the little ponds, rivers and streams.
Plus at over 12 feet it was more of a pain to load and get through some of the tighter sections.

I have a Great Canadian Ripple now which is steady little 10 footer I can throw in the truck and paddle in most spots.
It doesn't handle whitewater at all though and the only time I went over was because of screwing around in a little rip I should have stayed out of.

Love it for the relaxation, I go out early morning or late afternoon usually.
Here is a little bit of sunrise from last summer sitting in the kayak with my coffee......listening to the quiet.

slowandlow 12/13/2011 11:53am
12/13/2011 11:53am
P.S You may think you don't want to do any big whitewater, but since you come from a MX background I am willing to bet that after you get a taste of it you will want more. Flatwater kayaking can be very relaxing but offers little in the way of excitement. Whitewater kayaking is very similar to riding a dirt bike; picking lines, negotiating obstacles, etc. Go to boatertalk.com for answers to your whitewater questions and paddling.net for your flatwater questions.
pitbike502
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pitbike502 12/13/2011 11:06pm
12/13/2011 11:06pm
slowandlow wrote:
The thing to know is that flatwater boats are unsafe and perform poorly in whitewater. Whitewater boats are too slow and unfun in flatwater. You should...
The thing to know is that flatwater boats are unsafe and perform poorly in whitewater. Whitewater boats are too slow and unfun in flatwater. You should decide which discipline you would like and buy a boat for that purpose.
jndmx wrote:
This is very good advice. The Dagger 11 footer sounds like it might be good for the flat water stuff. I used to have an Acadia...
This is very good advice.
The Dagger 11 footer sounds like it might be good for the flat water stuff.

I used to have an Acadia model by Perception which was a nice steady boat for the big lakes and seacoast areas where I live but it was a dog in the little ponds, rivers and streams.
Plus at over 12 feet it was more of a pain to load and get through some of the tighter sections.

I have a Great Canadian Ripple now which is steady little 10 footer I can throw in the truck and paddle in most spots.
It doesn't handle whitewater at all though and the only time I went over was because of screwing around in a little rip I should have stayed out of.

Love it for the relaxation, I go out early morning or late afternoon usually.
Here is a little bit of sunrise from last summer sitting in the kayak with my coffee......listening to the quiet.

I had an Acadia, great kayak. We did also primarily use it in the adk lakes and channels.
Fiberglassflyer 12/14/2011 12:20am
12/14/2011 12:20am
Spinner, I forgot to mention the most important part of any kayakingDizzy AFTEY! Please forgive me if you have already heard all the following. Respect for the river is an absolute must. Rivers are beautiful and exciting. They are also relentless and unforgiving. People up here where I live often mistake the Columbia river for docile playground and end up paying for it with their lives. If you do end up getting hooked, try and find an organization that puts on swiftwater rescue courses in your area. Even though you should never paddle alone, you should be totally confident in your self-rescue abilities. Hope you get to enjoy many years on the water.
FlickitFlat
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FlickitFlat 12/14/2011 2:45am
12/14/2011 2:45am
I paddle in the bay at my sisters house in Va. It is a lot of fun. We just have a couple 10' pelican kayaks and one 12'. It can be a lot of fun when the water is choppy. It can also be a lot of work if you catch yourself paddling against the outgoing tide. I also like to fish from the Kayak. That is a blast. I've caught Bluefish, Croaker, Spot, trout, Sandshark. One of the funnest was a 30 lb skate that dragged me all over the damn place. Some of the most fun ever. I'm going to get an Ocean Kayak this spring so I can paddle on the ocean side and take out shark bait. I can't wait.
Fiberglassflyer 12/14/2011 12:13pm
12/14/2011 12:13pm
I tried "water skiing" behind a friend's ski boat once in my hardshell. Redefined the word "stupid".Blink
jndmx
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jndmx 12/15/2011 6:28am
12/15/2011 6:28am
Fiberglassflyer wrote:
I tried "water skiing" behind a friend's ski boat once in my hardshell. Redefined the word "stupid".Blink
HAR!
Fills up quick doesn't it....lol.

Last June I saw a guy trying to "help" someone out by towing the person in the kayak.
It went real well, for about 25 seconds.

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