Big Stupid man with questions - Kayaks for Big Guys?

[Miner Paddler]

Any general rule of thumb on Max weight in Kayak's? Volume measurements are Greek to me. I weigh about 240 at 6'2' looking for a starter boat stay alive in up to class II-III long term use. I'll take a raft for any more than that. i.e. A good boat for me to go to Whitewater school next year/ roll sessions etc.

[Michele Jackson]

I'm sure some of the bigger guys will chime in, but it seems most boat manufacturers list a weight range (i.e. paddler size) for each boat. For example, I just happened to be looking at the Jackson kayak website. Here is the link to the page about the "Fun" series which looks like a good all around boat. It looks like you'd fit into the "Super Fun" size.

http://www.jacksonkayak.com/kayaks/prod ... =funseries

[WoolyJR1]

Miner,
I am 5'9 and 250. I paddle a Large Pyranha Burn. The max weight is 279 according to the Pyranha website. I have plenty of leg room and you can adjust it for a tall person. It is a river running/creek boat. I am super pleased with this boat. It is fairly easy to roll. I have looked at, but not yet paddled a Super Fun, but I have not heard anything bad about them. I know for play they are good up to 310lbs. Hope this helps you a little. Good luck and hope to see you on the river sometime.
J. R.

[Gordon Kumpuris]

I'm a big ole boy too. 6'3" 220.lbs (before breakfast!). I paddle both a Dagger Honcho which is a design that is about 4 or 5 years old I think and a Jackson Super Fun. I love them both. The Super Fun would be my boat of choice for 90% of my paddling except my size 13 feet get pretty cramped. I use it for park & play and day trips but there is no way I'd take it on a multi-day trip. I would need orthopedic surgery at the end of the trip. That said, I think last year's design added a slight buldge to the top of the bow of the boat to allow for ever so slightly more foot room. The Honcho will surely handle your size but if you find one it will have to be a used one. I don't think Dagger makes them any more. As for the Super Fun, my inseam is about 33 inches that coupled with my size 13 feet make getting into the boat slightly interesting. I have to loosen the back band all the way, get in and then tighten the backband. That is no big deal because I'd probably be doing that anyway even if I fit looser. One more thing.... The Fun series come with Happy feet bags and I think Happy buns pads or something like that. My model did not come with the happy buns. I took out the happy feet to give me a tad more feet room.

If you are near Little Rock you'd be welcome to come and check either of them out. Although they are not for sale.

I take that back. Both are for sale. $1,000 each.

[canoe]

O.K, admit it, you're going over to the one paddled darkside, aren't you? Dale

[Ryans_Brother]

I was exactly your size when I started boating, and I found the Wavesport Y to be a great boat. You can find them used for $300 - $400. I would offer you mine, but I sold it last week.

The Y is super easy to roll and has great initial stability. In my opinion, here are the drawbacks to the Y: 1) front deck lower than newer designs, so your legs are straighter (less comfortable to me). 2) has more volume toward the tips with less rocker, so it can be a little harder to turn.

Having said that, I highly recommend the Y for beginners for the cost, stability, and roll-ability.

My $0.02,
Rick

[super ez]

I will go with Gordon, Jackson super fun (2007 model) is a great boat;

Super Ez, Rpm Max work well if you can find them.

I have T-4 for sale; it is stable, a bit edgier than the super fun.... it would fit you.

[Kim Tucker]

You might want to try the larger Dagger Mamba or the Wavesport Diesel. Either the one would be very user friendly and easy to roll. The larger Mamba (comes in three sizes) would be a bit larger than the big Diesel, but both should work at your size.

[okieboater]

I'm gonna second the recommendation on the big boy's Mamba.

When I was doing my tests on the water between Super Hero, Mamba and Burn.

It was basically a flip of the coin between the big Mamba and the big Burn. At the time, all the big time creek runners were in love with the Burn and that is what really tipped me toward the Burn. I think the Mamba was a ton easier to roll than the Burn (and still do). I've seen Wayner (NOC Instruction) just rip Lesser Wesser one afternoon in a Mamba. He was doing forward and back ferry moves from the river left micro eddy, surfing the big hole and to the big river right rock and going back and forth. I know a lot goes to the man, but the Mamba design had to help a bit as well.

The Super Hero just did not feel right to me altho I went into the tests thinking that was the boat I wanted. Which speaks well of testing in the water back to back before you hand over the cash.

My opinion, the outfitting on the big Mamba fit me almost perfect and most likely I would have paddled it basically stock.

Been working on the large Burn for many months now and finally have it outfitted so it fits, but it's been a real challenge. Starting out with getting a new seat from England. Bill Eades (Pyrana Tech rep out of St Louis I believe) was a tremendous help. His advice made the boat go from ok fit to a really great fit and he is the man if you have questions on outfitting pyrana boats. Drain plug redo, threw away the hip pads and did a new custom setup and threw away the basics of the thigh padding and I totally redid that setup plus some new style low thigh braces and the list goes on. However, at this point, the Burn fits like a glove. But, I believe the Mamba would be the choice for a person who did not want to get into serious outfitting changes like I do. At this point, I have to say the Burn is probably the most comfortable boat I have, altho the average boater would not have gone thru all the work I had to do to get the Burn where I wanted it to be from a fit standpoint. All this aside, consider the large Burn in your selection.

I have been hearing good things about the Mega Rocker as well. The Super Hero did not work for me, never had a chance to test ride the Mega Rocker, so anyone with a Mega Rocker wanting to share opinions, please jump in.

I have never been tempted to buy a Diesel. Not sure why. Three of my good boating buds have Diesels and just love them. One of them retired pretty young and for years has been just about every where in his Diesel and it is his boat of choice. The other one feels the same.

Bottom line here, if you are going for a new boat, go to NOC and test in the water.

On the used side, my favorite all around boat is the RPM Max altho the flat tail might not work that good for you off the bat, after you learn to keep chest forward and hinge at the hips - it is an awesome boat for surfing and river cruising and the price is right.

That Super EZ has always intrigued me. Just never got around to buying one. But, if you can find a good deal on one, might be something to look at.

My advice to anyone these days is to if at all possible buy used till you get a lot of time kayaking. Go to as many of the ACC events as you can and ask other people your size if you can do a test run in their boats and at least get their feedback.

Not sure where you live but, If you showed up at Rockport with a cooler of good beer, my bet is you would be able to test a lot of boats and get major feedback.

[Miner Paddler]

Thanks mucho for the head start on the search Great Commments thanks for the time. David

[rock bottom]

I',m 6'3 and 230lbs , I bought a diesel 75 for my first kayak and seem to fit in it very well, was stable enough for me to make a first ever float on the cossatot from 246 to ed banks which is class II i believe but still a fairly hard run for a virgin ww paddler, only turned over once in the diesel. I dont know about any of the other brands but thats my experience.
If you want to try mine I live in glenwood and would be happy to let you test it somewhere.

rock bottom

[ryno]

I'm 6'0 245,I paddled a gus for years and now have a jefe. both good boats for your size. I also paddle a g-ride 6.5. as for older boats a prijon samuri and a prijon rocket are good choices for some one your size.