Richard,

The boat for you just might be the Vertige-X made by the Canadian
company Esquif. It's very close in design to the Dagger Caption but
with softer chines so the rapids don't catch the edges as easily. It
also has just a little less front to back rocker so it has greater
speed than the Caption. Esquif advertises it as a tandem boat but I
have mine set up as a solo canoe. It's not an ideal boat for tight
creeks but it's absolutely great for the rivers that you described.
I've had mine on the Upper Yough, Gauley and a bunch of other heavy
duty rivers where I found it to be very stable and maneuverable. Oh
ya, it's the same length as the Caption, 14 feet.

Jim Michaud


"Richard Ferguson" wrote in
message
...
| Thanks to all for their comments. Obviously if I buy used I am
going to
| learn in it, and then I will know better what I really want.
|
| What I most want to avoid is a boat that is designed for use by
experts,
| and would be difficult for me to learn to use. My paddling
instructor
| advised against the Ocoee, for example, even though he had one he
wanted
| to sell.
|
| I will say that my personal inclination is probably to bigger water
in
| bigger streams, rather than difficult technical small streams. I am
| more oriented to tripping than class IV, in terms of my paddling
goals.
| I may think that I need to paddle some class IV to improve my
skills,
| so that class III wilderness rivers will not seem so tough. The
short
| playboats, that look like kayak playboats, seem bizarre to me, but
maybe
| that is an aesthetic consideration.
|
| I am probably learning bad habits paddling my big boat. The boat
has so
| much volume it tends to cruise through larger waves, and so stable
that
| I don't depend as much on bracing for stability. A lot of what I
hear
| about whitewater paddling doesn't even seem to apply to me in my big
| boat. I am expecting to have to climb a learning cliff with almost
any
| whitewater boat.
|
| Richard
|
|
|
| Oci-One Kanubi wrote:
|
| Whereas, I'd vote AGAINST the XL series if the OP is expecting to
| continue as a serious whitewater paddler. The XL series is
obsolete
| and it would be a matter of a short length of time before he would
want
| to sell it for something more current. Buying a used, and
slightly
| obsolete boat is probably a good idea until he knows exactly what
he
| wants, but buying something as primitive as an XL is probably a
false
| economy.
|
| The Probe 14 is a much better suggestion, but if you (OP) check
| Mohawk's website (I'm too lazy to do it for you) I'll bet you will
find
| that your weight is within the range of some of the Probe 12
series. A
| great long whitewater boat (with a rabid cult following) is the
| Bluehole Sunburst, but there will be a bidding war if one comes on
the
| market, since Bluehole is again out of production. Another good
| big-guy boat that has been around long enough to show up on the
| used-boat market is the Outrage X. Two years ago I would have
killed
| for a used Rival; then I got my Prodigy X!
|
| But if you spring for the price of a new Bell Prodigy X you will
want
| to kiss me when we meet on the river one day; the expensive
Prodigy X
| is one schweeeeeeet whitewater canoe!
|
| Generally speaking, you should consider what kind of whitewater
you
| like best: if you like big water you could get one of the longer
boats
| suggested here, but if you like (as I do) tight, technical streams
then
| you should go for a shorter boat that is rated to carry your
weight.
| Something in the 12' to 13' (I think my Prodigy X is 12'4") range
| should make a pretty good all-rounder for someone of your size
(and
| mine -- 200 and a variable bit) that will be able to handle
technical
| streams.
|
| -Richard, His Kanubic Travesty
| --