Shrink--

Re class II: that adds another wrinkle. One thing I would not do with
my sea kayak is to run even class 2. The boat turns too slowly, and for
that matter, in rapids, you often have far less than 18' between rocks.

There are some hybrid boats (Prijon used to make one) that are supposed
to be OK for mild rapids, say up to class III, and touring. Never
paddled one, but my guess is that they are not wonderful for either use.
Shorter touring boats might be an option too. If you are going to
run even class 2, I would also opt for plastic. You can bounce good
plastic boats over rocks without much damage. Whitewater paddlers do it
all the time, sometimes intentionally ('boofing'). Not so fiberglass:
hit a rock and at the least you mess up the gel coat. But in any case,
you hit a blank spot in my experience. I have always run whitewater in
a plastic whitewater boat and never tried to blend the two.

As for NS paddling: you have wonderful options off the south (east?)
coast--e.g., to the northeast of Halifax. There are lots of islands and
shoals that provide reasonably protected water and beautiful scenery,
and the shoals limit motorboats. I have not tried any whitewater or
flat freshwater in NS.

You might want to check out a few short outings with one of the
established outfitters. It would give you a feel for what is around,
and in my view it is always good to start out in any new open water by
going out with people who know the area. My experience with Coastal
Adventures was very good.

Dan



Shrink wrote the following on 2/5/2006 1:46 PM:
Dan - thanks so much for the encouragement. You hit the nail on the head
when you pointed out the touring vs. white water distinction. While I am
not yet familiar with the inland waterways in NS, my preference is touring
on big lakes or relative calm and deep rapids (max Class II). My kids are 8
and 10 and have little experience in canoes or kayaks (around 3 canoe trips
under their belts and kayaking during one week at summer camp). I
understand that kayaks are actually more stable when it comes to the chance
of dumping because te low center of gravity and the fact that you don't have
to worry about counterbalancing the weight of the canoe and its load. I
will have to demo a few to see what I prefer. I really don't know yet what
I will be doing more of: lakes or oceans. That's simply because I don't yet
know whether there is a lot of lake tripping that can be done in NS (still
not clear whether there are loop trips that can be done or whether it is
mostly limited to one-way trips). The thing I like about the kayak idea is
that paddling upsteam won't be near as difficult.

If you have any other tips about NS paddling, i'd love to know! Thanks
again!

Shrink