newb

[piercew]

I wanted to introduce myself, I'm Pierce Wesselink and am fairly new to kayaking, a good friend of mine got me hooked this summer. I wanted to say thanks for the forum, it helped me sell my fishing kayak so i can purchase a whitewater boat. If anyone has any advice for a bigger paddler please lay it on me! I'm 6' and around 265 lbs with size 13 feet. I'm currently looking for a boat so please let me know any recommendations you may have

Thank you,
Pierce W.

[SteveGabbard]

I have a Jackson superhero that is way too big for me at 180 lbs. I'd sell it.

[AR-Nimrod]

Pierce,

Big guy myself (6'3" and 245 with size 13/14 feet). The Liquid Logic Remix XP-10 (what I paddle) is a good fit for bigger paddlers. Still, I have to wear fairly close fitting shoes to get my feet in comfortably. At 6' you should have a little easier time of it. The XP is a crossover boat that handles Rec. and WW paddling well. There are dedicated WW boats that will also fit you. Check out the LL Stomper, Pyrahna Karnali and Everest, and WS Diesel. There are other "man sized" boats, this is just a few that come to mind. If you are gonna be around Rockport any this summer we can probably arrange a test paddle of my XP.

And welcome to the board.

[piercew]

Chris,

Thanks for the info! How does the 10 xp roll? I really want to learn to roll this year and would like a boat that would be good to learn this skill in.

[Cowper]

I don't own an XP-10 but have paddled one several times, including for use as an instructional boat at the annual Rec School. So I've spent more time in that boat than most "non-owners" and I feel comfortable trying to answer your question.

Because of the stability in the XP-10 design, it is also slightly harder to roll than some smaller boats (stability is loosely associated with ease of rolling; some of the same features that make it hard to roll it from "rightsideup" to "upsidedown" can also make it a little harder to roll from "upsidedown" to "rightsideup". But at your height/weight, you'll barely notice the difference after you get your first few rolls.

I know several who have learned to roll in their XP-10's. If you don't get it right away, I can loan you an easy-to-roll RPM Max to use, just in the pool, until you get the ideas behind the roll. Once you get your first 10 or so rolls, you can switch back to the XP-10 and you may or may not even notice the difference any more.

[AR-Nimrod]

Pierce,

I will defer to Cowper on the rollability of the XP-10. He's been paddling for years, lustrums, decades, (a really long time) and my observation has been that if it floats he can paddle it. I was holding his paddle when he 'hand rolled' the borrowed XP at Rec. School. I have rolled mine a few times in a pool but, my roll is not reliable enough for me on moving water so I swim. I live too far from the roll classes to attend regularly so still need to learn that skill myself. I will encourage you to attend the annual Rec. School next June. Maybe you'll get Cowper for an instructor. I had him a few years ago and learned a lot in the 2-day class.

[sig]

I can roll my XP10 fine though when I have borrowed other boats (like a Mamba) at the pool I can tell those boats roll a lot easier. I'm cough220cough and 70 inches.

I wear some NRS Attack(?) booties and they fit in the boat fine. Dunno what size they are but my work shoes, Chaco's, hiking boots, and tennis shoes range from size 10-12 (scratches head).

I don't regret buying the XP10 a bit more than a year ago when we bought boats for the first time. It has allowed me to learn to boat, to go down the Ocoee and the Tot, kayak camp on Lake Ouachita and Degray, etc.

[piercew]

I wanted to thank everyone for all the advice of the last few days! I bought Steve's Super Hero and think I'm going to be very happy with it! Thanks Steve! I am still open to any tips and tricks for a new boater, i want to take in as much as possible. I hope to run into you guys on the river in the near future!

Thx
Pierce

[hdh]

Advice.....Go to Rockport...