A kayak that is just over 9' long and almost 30" wide with a nearly flat
hull is *not* going to be a stiff tracking kayak. Even someone with
minimal
skills should have little trouble manoevering it whitewater up to class
II.
The orignal author asked about paddling it in whitewater, not class IV-V
whitewater. I've taken much stiffer tracking kayaks (a 16'6" sea kayak)
through class II whitewater several times. On one such occastion I was
leading a couple of other people on a two day trip down a river that had a
lot of class I+ rapids and one class II section. My bosses boss was in a
15
1/2' sea kayak and only had about a years experience. She had no trouble
whatsoever handling the class II rapid.


But I think you have to consider that class II is every bit as lethal as
class IV-V if you don't have experience. In fact, it seems like a large
number of whitewater accidents I've heard of recently happened on class II
stuff. A recent drowning on the Nantahala occurred in class II, if I recall
correctly. A friend of mine was nearly drowned early this spring on a class
II section of a class IV river in the Obed-Emory system, after he broached
on an innocent looking rock which happened to be seriously undercut. And on
a class III river closer to home in the early summer, I saw another badly
wrapped rec boat pulled off the rocks, badly trashed. A Sparky has no place
in whitewater of any sort, IMO. It wasn't designed for it, and given the
way the original poster posed the question, he has absolutely no preparation
for whitewater paddling anyway. Dangerous boaters are dangerous to everyone
else on the water, and I would suggest that this individual stay far, far
away from whitewater.