Potomac Catalyst 100 - reviews?

I’m a beginning kayaker and I’m looking at the Potomac Catalyst 100. I’m concerned about the comfort of the seat with no plastic back rest to support it, as well as the fact that it’s not one solid piece (it’s a yellow and white piece bonded together). The rep at the store was staying that could come apart and wasn’t very durable.



Does anyone have experience with this particular model you can share with me? I’d be grateful thanks!!

Potomac two piece
I don’t own the catalyst but I have two other Potomac kayaks from Dick’s with the same two tone hulls, one 10 ft and one 12 ft. Three years of riding in the back of a pickup, torqued down with ratchet straps, stored stacked up on (and moremthan once falling off of) an old bunk bed frame under a tarp through MS summer and winter with lots of seat time scooching over downed trees and beaching on sandbars plus the occasional concrete boat ramp encounter and the only maintenance ever done was a garden hose rinse after each use and sometimes before each use to get out a bird’s nest or two. I know for a fact they are still watertight because they hold rainwater just fine. Say whatever else you want to about the boat, I don’t think you have to worry about the pieces separating.

Check it out
Check it out closely before buying. I once saw a new one at Dick’s with its seam already split.

Your location and consider used
Where do you plan to paddle, to be able to judge whether this boat would be a good candidate, and what about going used. More boat for the same money and someone else already got the scratches on it for you.

I have one
My first boat was a catalyst 100. I still have it and it doing fine years later. The seat is remarkably comfortable, at least for me. I like the boat but I outgrew it quickly. It is great in still water but when you get into rivers or the sea you will probably want a longer boat. I keep it around for friends that want to try out kayaking since it is so stable. It’s an excellent first boat for still water.

Catalyst
I have a Catalyst and have run it over class 2 rapids with out any problems, have paddled well over a hundred miles of creeks and small rivers in N. Alabama and S. Tennessee in the boat, without any problems at all. I had to modify the cockpit a bit to fit my long legs and the “waterproof” rear storage compartment is not water proof. One of the most stable yaks I have paddled. Love the boat.