Big Man Creek Boat?
Forum: BoaterTalk
We are down in Southern West Virginia and are fairly low-key - mostly running the Greenbrier, the New, lakes around here like Moncove, Tuckaho, Moomaw, Summersville, Bluestone, and creeks like Second Creek and Indian Creek. We will occasionally go run the Upper/Lower New in rafts with guides as well.
I picked up an Ocean Kayak Big Game Prowler SOT fishing boat and have been loving it completely all season.
However! We ran the Greenbrier at flood stage and Second Creek when it was way up and something became incredibly apparent (at my skill level anyway) - my 13 foot banana boat that I'm perching on top of is not going to cut it for whitewater (beyond a point) nor does it have the chops for serious creeking with badger damms and rock faces to dodge etc. I learned this the hard way. After being swept right from my boat by a wall of water a couple times in fast precarious water and eating a few rock faces and random tree limbs, I have set fairly strict parameters for when I will and will not run the river... ;)
My boat is an awesome flatwater boat, awesome fishing platform, and it has no problem with light whitewater, wave trains, etc. Anything more aggressive is just not a good idea (again - for me).
One other detail - I weigh about 375 pounds and that obviously informed my choice of the Ocean Kayak Big Game, with a 600 pound capacity - plenty for me and a load of camping gear makes for a great weekend.
ALAS THE QUESTION - I would like to get a second boat, shorter, more agile, that can utilize a skirt, designed for creeks and slightly larger whitewater - I'm not talking class Vs on the Gauley - but class IIs, IIIs, etc. I am a fairly large frame and carrying a lot of weight. What are my options?
Something along the lines of the LiquidLogic Jefe maybe, http://www.liquidlogickayaks.com/jefe_grande.cfm, but with more displacement, a larger keyhole, more weight capacity, etc.
Anyone? Many thanks in advance!
