Hi all,

I live on a five mile long lake which also has extended back water areas.
I've never kayaked before, but it looks like it would be fun. I'm 50yrs
old, 6 feet, 180lbs and am only moderately fit. I'd like a kayak that has
touring qualities for when I want to cruise up and down the lake, but can
also go into the backwaters where I can get close to plants and water fowl.
Not interested in fishing, but I'd like to bring a camera along at times.

I've done some reasearch and I've narrowed my interest in three boats:
Perception Sonoma 12
Perception Acadia 12.5
Wilderness Systems Pungo 120

I'd like any comments on the comparative merits, particularly between the
Sonoma and the Pungo.

Also, what is the advantage of the smaller cockpit of the Acadia, and is
that smaller cockpit still easy to get in and out of, and would it give me
easy access to a camera bag?

I will have opportunity to try the Acadia and the Pungo at a local dealer's
paddle day next weekend, but the Sonoma is not available for trial unless I
want to wait two more weeks until REI has their trial day.

Thanks,

Radu

I meant Sundance, not Sonoma.

Radu


"Radu Tenenbaum" wrote in message
...
Hi all,

I live on a five mile long lake which also has extended back water areas.
I've never kayaked before, but it looks like it would be fun. I'm 50yrs
old, 6 feet, 180lbs and am only moderately fit. I'd like a kayak that has
touring qualities for when I want to cruise up and down the lake, but can
also go into the backwaters where I can get close to plants and water
fowl.
Not interested in fishing, but I'd like to bring a camera along at times.

I've done some reasearch and I've narrowed my interest in three boats:
Perception Sonoma 12
Perception Acadia 12.5
Wilderness Systems Pungo 120

I'd like any comments on the comparative merits, particularly between the
Sonoma and the Pungo.

Also, what is the advantage of the smaller cockpit of the Acadia, and is
that smaller cockpit still easy to get in and out of, and would it give me
easy access to a camera bag?

I will have opportunity to try the Acadia and the Pungo at a local
dealer's
paddle day next weekend, but the Sonoma is not available for trial unless
I
want to wait two more weeks until REI has their trial day.

Thanks,

Radu

"Radu Tenenbaum" wrote in message
...
snip

I live on a five mile long lake which also has extended back water areas.
I've never kayaked before, but it looks like it would be fun. I'm 50yrs
old, 6 feet, 180lbs and am only moderately fit. I'd like a kayak that has
touring qualities for when I want to cruise up and down the lake, but can
also go into the backwaters where I can get close to plants and water
fowl.
Not interested in fishing, but I'd like to bring a camera along at times.

I've done some reasearch and I've narrowed my interest in three boats:
Perception Sonoma 12
Perception Acadia 12.5
Wilderness Systems Pungo 120


Also, what is the advantage of the smaller cockpit of the Acadia, and is
that smaller cockpit still easy to get in and out of, and would it give me
easy access to a camera bag?

I have an Acadia 12.5 and use it regularly exactly as you intend to do. I'm
your size plus 20 pounds and find the Acadia very comfortable. I have no
trouble getting in or out of it. I carry a camera and binoculars without a
problem. As an added benefit the Acadia is also maneuverable enough to
handle a class l-ll rivers with moderate rapids. This maneuverability will
help you in the backwaters to get close to the plants and waterfowl. The
rear storage area can accommodate enough camping equipment for and overnight
stay.

I haven't paddled the other boats you are looking at, but I'm sure they will
do what you want just fine.

skip

See if you can find a Pungo Classic. They are very reasonable, and are terrific
boats (my wife and I each have one). The later ones have the Phase 3 seating
which is very adjustable and extremely comfortable.
A Classic should run about $400, as opposed to about $600 for the newer model.
The new ones have a hatch, and a slightly different hull design, but at a cost
of 50% more than the Classic, I don't think it's worth the difference.

******************************
Got wood?
Check out my exotic hardwood pennywhistles at fair
prices...http://www.Busmanwhistles.com

"skip" wrote in
:


"Radu Tenenbaum" wrote in message
...
snip

I live on a five mile long lake which also has extended back water
areas. I've never kayaked before, but it looks like it would be fun.
I'm 50yrs old, 6 feet, 180lbs and am only moderately fit. I'd like a
kayak that has touring qualities for when I want to cruise up and down
the lake, but can also go into the backwaters where I can get close to
plants and water fowl. Not interested in fishing, but I'd like to
bring a camera along at times.

I've done some reasearch and I've narrowed my interest in three boats:
Perception Sonoma 12
Perception Acadia 12.5
Wilderness Systems Pungo 120


Also, what is the advantage of the smaller cockpit of the Acadia, and
is that smaller cockpit still easy to get in and out of, and would it
give me easy access to a camera bag?

The primary advantage of a smaller cockpit is that it provides better boat
control in that you're able to maintain body to boat contact easier. A size
of the cockpit affects the ability to get in and out of a kayak only when it
is so short that you can't put your legs in after you're already seated.
Even then, it's not really difficult to enter/exit, but just requires a
different technique. The ocean cockpit on my Skerray is probably half as
long as the Acadia and I've never had a problem entering/exiting.


I have an Acadia 12.5 and use it regularly exactly as you intend to do.
I'm your size plus 20 pounds and find the Acadia very comfortable. I
have no trouble getting in or out of it. I carry a camera and
binoculars without a problem. As an added benefit the Acadia is also
maneuverable enough to handle a class l-ll rivers with moderate rapids.

The ability to handle classs I-II rivers is more of a function of paddler
skill than the craft you're in. Even with less than a years experience a
friend of mine handled his 16'6" Prijon Seayak on a class I-II river just
fine. A class I-II river, by definition, doesn't require much
maneuverability anyway.

This maneuverability will help you in the backwaters to get close to
the plants and waterfowl.

I've regularly paddled my 18'6" long CLC Northbay in narrow backwaters. Any
kayak can be turned around in it's own length with a series of sweep
strokes. Unless those backwaters are less than 18' wide or so most kayaks
will work fine in backwaters. IMHO, recreational/light touring kayaks don't
provide a manueverability advantage that can't be achieved with basic
skills.

The primary advantage of the Acadia/Sundance/Pungo is that the higher
initial stability provides a more stable platform for taking pictures, and
they the're less espensive than a general touring boat.

Skip said:I've narrowed my interest in three boats:
Perception Sonoma 12
Perception Acadia 12.5
Wilderness Systems Pungo 120

Of those, I like the Sonoma best (13, not 12 right?) I didn't like the 10 foot
version though. If you plan to be scraping over logs and such, you might want
to go with one of the other boats as the Airlight material in the Sonoma is not
the most durable. Having said that, it is a really fun little boat.

Brian Blankinship

FWIW-- I was in a Dick's Sporting Goods store today, and they still had Pungo
Classics at $399 (which may have included a cheapie paddle and pfd, but I'm not
sure). These did NOT have the Phase Three seats, but the ones in the boat
looked OK

******************************
Got wood?
Check out my exotic hardwood pennywhistles at fair
prices...http://www.Busmanwhistles.com

(Blankibr) wrote in
:

Skip said:I've narrowed my interest in three boats:
Perception Sonoma 12
Perception Acadia 12.5
Wilderness Systems Pungo 120

Of those, I like the Sonoma best (13, not 12 right?) I didn't like the
10 foot version though. If you plan to be scraping over logs and such,
you might want to go with one of the other boats as the Airlight
material in the Sonoma is not the most durable. Having said that, it
is a really fun little boat.

The original author corrected his first post and wrote that he was
considering the Sundance, not the Sonoma. As far as the Sonoma goes, I was
at a demo day last year that had the full line of boats from Perception,
Wilderness Systems, and Old Town. It was primarily beginning kayakers but I
saw more people tip over in the Sonoma than in any other boat...by far. When
I tried it I thought it had unecessarily low initial stability. The
airlight material seems like a good idea but I thought the seam construction
looked shoddy. Eddyline, with their carbonlite material did a much better
job in construction. If someone is looking for a very light recreational
kayak I'd look at the Lincoln Quoddy Lite and Chebeague.

The Sundance is a wonderful boat, as is the Pungo. However the maker
of the Pungo is experiancing HUGE problems. In a year or so they may
not be around. Most likely it wouldn't matter to you except for
replacement parts. What happens if the phase three seat breaks three
years from now and Wilderness Systems is no longer around?







"Radu Tenenbaum" wrote in message ...
Hi all,

I live on a five mile long lake which also has extended back water areas.
I've never kayaked before, but it looks like it would be fun. I'm 50yrs
old, 6 feet, 180lbs and am only moderately fit. I'd like a kayak that has
touring qualities for when I want to cruise up and down the lake, but can
also go into the backwaters where I can get close to plants and water fowl.
Not interested in fishing, but I'd like to bring a camera along at times.

I've done some reasearch and I've narrowed my interest in three boats:
Perception Sonoma 12
Perception Acadia 12.5
Wilderness Systems Pungo 120

I'd like any comments on the comparative merits, particularly between the
Sonoma and the Pungo.

Also, what is the advantage of the smaller cockpit of the Acadia, and is
that smaller cockpit still easy to get in and out of, and would it give me
easy access to a camera bag?

I will have opportunity to try the Acadia and the Pungo at a local dealer's
paddle day next weekend, but the Sonoma is not available for trial unless I
want to wait two more weeks until REI has their trial day.

Thanks,

Radu

Radu Tenenbaum wrote:

I will have opportunity to try the Acadia and the Pungo at a local dealer's
paddle day next weekend, but the Sonoma is not available for trial unless I
want to wait two more weeks until REI has their trial day.

I'd suggest trying what you can next weekend and then trying some other
boats at the REI trial day. Why be in such a hurry - better to take
your time and try several boats while you have the opportunity.

If you get a chance to try a Dagger Blackwater, take advantage of it.
The drop-down skeg makes a huge difference in tracking ability and can
be easily pullled up for increased maneuverability.

--
//-Walt
//
// Sigs suck. Oh, the irony.