On Monday, May 4, 1998 at 2:00:00 AM UTC-5, Richard Culpeper wrote:
John:
The R5 can give you a taste of everything, but is not very good at any one
thing. For fla****er touring mixed with a little easy wild water, it is a
fine boat -- great for easy weekend overnight trips. It tours nicely on
flat water, can easily handle rough open water, and can handle
non-technical easy wild water if the eddys are not tight. When compared to
a sea kayak, it is fairly slow and has poor storage, but can still easily
hold a weekend's worth of gear. When compared to a wild water kayak it is
far too long and too slow turning -- it handles more like a typical
recreational canoe than a kayak. You can run non-technical wild water, but
don't expect to make any quick turns.
The R5 is a boat which many people start with but eventually grow out of
when they specialize as sea or wild water paddlers, so you might consider
looking for a second hand one ($650CDN is the going rate for a new one
including a cheap skirt and paddle).
Richard Culpeper
Instructor, OWWA, OSCRA
John Buffett wrote:
Hi all:

I am a rank beginner. I can roll a keyak in a swimming pool. ( For Now!
)
My ambitions are fla****er touring and maybe Class I or II WW.

What impressions does the group have for the:

River Runner R5 with paddle and skirt at $650 Can.
River Runner R5 Excel with paddle and skirt at $850 Can.

I know they are far from top of line but they are in my price range.

What are the goods and bads of this boat ?

Appreciate any feedback and thanks in advance.

John
drove from austin, tx. to dallas when i saw one for sale. i could see from multiple photos it was just what i was looking for. it is quite fast( for a boat that has at least some whitewater ability) stable and tracks exceptionally well.( here again, for a boat that can turn if put on edge a bit. it is certianly not any sort of dedicated whitewater boat, nor does it really belong on a flat lake. it is what the name implies, a generalist moving-water tourer, for class 2 with long, slow stretches . goes upstream rapidly. forget about playing, quick eddy-outs, though with a little foresight( a practice we could all benefit from) i find it can to be made to turn reasonably for it`s length. stay out of creeks! has the one-size-fits-all saw-toothed footpegs, which belong in a swimming pool, not a river. i plan to replace with real aluminum footrest and some thigh bracing. currently very difficult to roll. at 6ft, 165 lbs i cannot lock into hull properly. i feel this is a very good hull design for it`s intended purpose but was never outfitted appropriately , due to marketing/ cost restraints.i can`t see that anyone currently makes a hull very similar to this.the prijon expedition moves in this direction, and is doubtlessly a better made and equiped boat(with hatches!) but appears to have knife- edge, bow and stern. somewhat faster, i`m sure,and better tracking, but i think it would be a real hand full in standing waves and eddy lines. the r-5 was canadian made, and seems to be rare very far south of washington or new england. mine was apparently sold new in u.s.a., it has seda graphics, no mention of r-5 or the "dimension" company. happy paddling!