Barry wrote:
I'll take your advice, Dave. I can do a roll in calm waters but have a heck
of a time in rough conditions. A river kayak is so much easier to do a roll
with than my rather wide ocean kayak. However, I love paddling in the
ocean. There's a feeling of serenity and solitude that I find appealing at
this point in my life. I am also drawn to the strength and vitality of the
ocean. It appeals to me...but I have a healthy respect for its strength. I
live in a great area for ocean kayaking...at least in terms of the beauty of
the coastline. However, it's a treacherous coastline as well...one that has
taken the lives of a number of persons in more stable craft than an ocean
kayak.

Stability doesn't equal safety. In fact, narrower kayaks are better
suited to rough conditions than wide ones, in the hands of a skilled
paddler. They're also much easier to roll. That's one reason why high
performance sea kayaks are typically 22" wide or less. If your boat is
more than 23"-24" wide, it will definitely hamper your ability to edge,
lean and roll. Such boats fall more into the "recreational" class than
in the "sea kayak" class.

Brian....

You've not seen me. I am a BIG guy who just doesn't fit into a narrow
kayak. At least I've not found one that I fit it yet. When I'm ready to
move up in quality of kayak, I'll do so more shopping. However, for now,
the Old Town Adventurer 139XT is a great boat for me....although it's
certainly not in the "high performance" boat category, I suspect.

Barry

"Brian Nystrom" wrote in message
...
Barry wrote:
I'll take your advice, Dave. I can do a roll in calm waters but have a
heck
of a time in rough conditions. A river kayak is so much easier to do a
roll
with than my rather wide ocean kayak. However, I love paddling in the
ocean. There's a feeling of serenity and solitude that I find appealing
at
this point in my life. I am also drawn to the strength and vitality of
the
ocean. It appeals to me...but I have a healthy respect for its
strength. I
live in a great area for ocean kayaking...at least in terms of the
beauty of
the coastline. However, it's a treacherous coastline as well...one that
has
taken the lives of a number of persons in more stable craft than an
ocean
kayak.

Stability doesn't equal safety. In fact, narrower kayaks are better
suited to rough conditions than wide ones, in the hands of a skilled
paddler. They're also much easier to roll. That's one reason why high
performance sea kayaks are typically 22" wide or less. If your boat is
more than 23"-24" wide, it will definitely hamper your ability to edge,
lean and roll. Such boats fall more into the "recreational" class than
in the "sea kayak" class.

"Barry" wrote in message
hlink.net...
Brian....

You've not seen me. I am a BIG guy who just doesn't fit into a narrow
kayak. At least I've not found one that I fit it yet. When I'm ready to
move up in quality of kayak, I'll do so more shopping. However, for now,
the Old Town Adventurer 139XT is a great boat for me....although it's
certainly not in the "high performance" boat category, I suspect.

You're right. It's not in the high performance category.

When you are ready to move to a different boat, check out Wes Boyd's
website. It's a place dedicated to kayaks for big guys and gals with specs
and reviews of many kayaks for many purposes: Whitewater, recreational,
plastic sea kayaks and composite sea kayaks.

Link:

http://my.dmci.net/~wesboyd/bigboat.htm

Cheers

DV



Barry

"Brian Nystrom" wrote in message
...
Barry wrote:
I'll take your advice, Dave. I can do a roll in calm waters but have
a
heck
of a time in rough conditions. A river kayak is so much easier to do
a
roll
with than my rather wide ocean kayak. However, I love paddling in the
ocean. There's a feeling of serenity and solitude that I find
appealing
at
this point in my life. I am also drawn to the strength and vitality
of
the
ocean. It appeals to me...but I have a healthy respect for its
strength. I
live in a great area for ocean kayaking...at least in terms of the
beauty of
the coastline. However, it's a treacherous coastline as well...one
that
has
taken the lives of a number of persons in more stable craft than an
ocean
kayak.

Stability doesn't equal safety. In fact, narrower kayaks are better
suited to rough conditions than wide ones, in the hands of a skilled
paddler. They're also much easier to roll. That's one reason why high
performance sea kayaks are typically 22" wide or less. If your boat is
more than 23"-24" wide, it will definitely hamper your ability to edge,
lean and roll. Such boats fall more into the "recreational" class than
in the "sea kayak" class.

in article .net, Barry at
wrote on 8/10/04 6:55 PM:

Brian....

You've not seen me. I am a BIG guy who just doesn't fit into a narrow
kayak. At least I've not found one that I fit it yet. When I'm ready to
move up in quality of kayak, I'll do so more shopping. However, for now,
the Old Town Adventurer 139XT is a great boat for me....although it's
certainly not in the "high performance" boat category, I suspect.

Barry

I missed the start of this, so these comments may be way of track, but I
went on an extensive search for "big guy" kayaks and the CD Storm (plastic)
and Seaward Navigator (glass) were the only two that worked for me. I ended
up with the Seaward. It's a pretty good sea kayak but facts are facts...it's
wide, so it has disadvantages over more narrow boats. But in terms of having
something that fits (I was 6'4" about 240 at the time, now down to 215 and
dreaming of one day have something narrow like my wife paddles) the
Navigator is a good choice, I think.

Keenan
gokayaking.ca


"Brian Nystrom" wrote in message
...
Barry wrote:
I'll take your advice, Dave. I can do a roll in calm waters but have a
heck
of a time in rough conditions. A river kayak is so much easier to do a
roll
with than my rather wide ocean kayak. However, I love paddling in the
ocean. There's a feeling of serenity and solitude that I find appealing
at
this point in my life. I am also drawn to the strength and vitality of
the
ocean. It appeals to me...but I have a healthy respect for its
strength. I
live in a great area for ocean kayaking...at least in terms of the
beauty of
the coastline. However, it's a treacherous coastline as well...one that
has
taken the lives of a number of persons in more stable craft than an
ocean
kayak.

Stability doesn't equal safety. In fact, narrower kayaks are better
suited to rough conditions than wide ones, in the hands of a skilled
paddler. They're also much easier to roll. That's one reason why high
performance sea kayaks are typically 22" wide or less. If your boat is
more than 23"-24" wide, it will definitely hamper your ability to edge,
lean and roll. Such boats fall more into the "recreational" class than
in the "sea kayak" class.

Barry wrote:
Brian....

You've not seen me. I am a BIG guy who just doesn't fit into a narrow
kayak. At least I've not found one that I fit it yet.

Consider this: According to Old Town's specs, the cockpit on your
current boat is only 17" wide and you say you fit in it. That being the
case, you'll obviously fit into a boat that's much narrower than the 28"
beam boat you're in now. There's a woman in our club who's nearly 300#
and she paddles boats that are 20" wide. What specifically is your fit
issue?

When I'm ready to
move up in quality of kayak, I'll do so more shopping. However, for now,
the Old Town Adventurer 139XT is a great boat for me....although it's
certainly not in the "high performance" boat category, I suspect.

No, it's definitely not. When the time comes, try a Current Designs
Sirocco or Gulfstream. They're pretty roomy boats, but still perform
quite well.