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.

So is a bathtub with 6" of water in it.

Class II, by definition, doesn't require much manoeveribility nor are the
consequences severe or is group assistance often required. From the AWA
site:

class ii: novice. straightforward rapids with wide, clear channels which
are
evident without scouting. occasional maneuvering may be required, but
rocks
and medium sized waves are easily missed by trained paddlers. swimmers are
seldom injured and group assistance, while helpful, is seldom needed.
rapids
that are at the upper end of this difficulty range are designated "class
ii+".


Sure, that's the definition of class II, no argument. But the consequences
certainly *can* be severe. IMO, the issue is not the relative difficulty of
rapids, it's the potential consequences of an swim/pin/whatever. The key
phrase in the above is "trained paddlers." I see no indication that the
original poster has any training. In fact, he seems completely oblivious to
the risks.

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.

How many of those incidents were in recreational kayaks vs. "real"
whitewater kayaks? In conditions up to class II I was suggest that an
inexperienced kayaks would less likely capsize in a 9' long, 30" rec boat
than in most of the "real" whitewater boats on the market these days. An
inexperieced kayak has no business being on anything class III or above,
no
matter what kind of boat they're in.


If I remember correctly, the person who drowned on the Nantahala came out of
a raft. I don't believe there are safe boats, only safe boaters. If you
broach on a rock and lean upstream, you're going over regardless of the kind
of boat you're paddling.

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.

Do you think that was a result of the boat or the operator? I'd suggest
that whoever was paddling that rec boat would just as likely have run into
trouble had they been in a real whitewater boat.


Well, I couldn't speculate, I guess. I would tend to agree that any paddler
who took a rec boat down a whitewater river would suffer the same result
regardless of what kind of boat he/she were in (as above). I would,
however, suggest that someone who knew how to paddle whitewater and were
aware of the risks would not be paddling a rec boat in rapids, and wouldn't
have had their boat get wrapped.

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.

Whether a Sparky is designed for whitewater or not, even someone with
marginal experience could successfully handle whitewater up to class II in
one. An inexperience paddler that attempts anything more difficult is
dangerous regardless of what they are paddling.

They *could* handle it, I'm sure. But when it comes time to rescue someone
like that, do you want to be the one on the hook to provide the rescue? I
think almost all of us would provide assistance without hesitation. But
should we be put in that position in the first place? I would say not. If
you take an ACA course on beginning kayaking, one of the very first things
they'll tell you is that kayaking is inherently dangerous and could have
serious consequenses, up to and including death. Although probably phrased
a little coarsely, that's exactly what those who have responded negatively
to the original post have suggested...