"Chuck Darney" wrote in message
om...
I don't own a kayak yet but was wondering if there's a rule of thumb
regarding the length of kayak you would want to have on a river as
opposed to lakes/coastal waters/etc.? I wouldn't want to do any real
white water, but slower rivers with somefaster moving water that may
require some manuverability.

I'd like to get a boat that would be able to do this without losing
the benefits of a longer boat on open water. Would 17' be too long or
would something shorter do better? I've been looking at boats in the
15' to 17' range. Primary use would be open water but there are some
nice slow but smaller rivers in the area that would be nice to use.

Thanks for any suggestions.


This depends upon a lot of factors. I have just taken (for the 2nd time) a
4-day trip down the Sacramento River with a group of boy scouts. I used a
17' 1" Sea Lion on both trips (plastic touring boat). The scouts all used
canoes. The first trip ran from Redding to Red Bluff (45-50 miles), the
second from Red Bluff to Willows (50-55 miles). The conditions were
generally as you describe above and were. On the first trip, there was some
class II (perhaps III at one point) whitewater. The boat performed admirably
in these conditions. The eddys were challenging at times, but manageable.
The whitewater was surprisingly easy to handle and only required some stern
rudders and low braces to manage. All things considered, I don't think boat
length was as much as a factor as paddling skill. The canoes all were loaded
with gear and scouts (2 per boat, 3 in one of same) and were much less
capable on the water than the kayak. It was faster, easier to turn, and
generally more fun.

Other boats may perform differently. As John F. points out, different hull
designs and different cargo loads/distribution can greatly affect
performance.

Rick