You can paddle 12-14 foot "touring" kayaks on rapids, including most all Class Is, many Class IIs, and even some Class IIIs but it really depends on the nature of the rapid.
I have paddled 17+ long kayaks and 16+ long relatively straight keeled canoes on Class II water, but long boats often require a different approach. These boats typically do not spin quickly like shorter, whitewater specific boats so it becomes necessary to scout and pick your line further in advance. This type of boat can often be maneuvered laterally more efficiently by side slipping than by multiple quick turns. That works fine on most "point and shoot" type Class IIs, but if you are looking to take one of these down a tight, highly technical, Class II boulder garden you could have issues.
It is true that back in the day there were quite a few plastic whitewater kayaks in the 12-13' length range (Mirage, Sabre, Spirit, T-Slalom) and the 11-12' range (Dancer, Pirouette, Response, Reflex II, Crossfire, T-Canyon) but these boats had significantly greater rocker than a touring kayak like a Tsunami, so they paddled more like shorter boats.
I would strongly recommend that you at least try sitting in any boat you are considering buying. For you, fit may be far more important than the hull design, length, or model. Although you are very light you are relatively tall. You might find that a small person boat appropriate for your weight simply does not have enough space to comfortably get your legs into. You do not mention foot size, but if your feet are largish, you could find that a lower volume boat with low decks does not provide sufficient foot room.
I’m still not sure what your looking for exactly , you want a shorter boat than a flatwater tourer, that has hull speed and is ww capable- I think the stinger or green boat fits that bill pretty well and also I know Jackson has a new boat that would also fit that niche. However, none of those boats would be my first choice to learn ww in- since they are a bit “tippy” but I think they meet your criteria.
In the ww realm, boat design changed in the late 80s and early 90s. Long pointed boats (male boats) were replaced by shorter rounded boats (female boats). You’re looking for a male boat. I’m not being sexist when I make this comment- this is the way one of the designers explained it to me when he shortened the boat and rounded the ends.
so what you get in a stinger, green, or jackson karma is more length- which translates into hull speed but you still have a bit of the modern curves on the ends of the newer ww boats but you also get a bit old school because they aren’t as flat on the bottom (displacement hull) as the ww play boats. As important as all this is, you mostly need a boat that fits, has adequate flotation, and is comfortable to paddle in its intended environment.
I’m always a little leary when others start suggesting using a “rec” boat in ww. Part of this is ignorance on my part- I’m pretty unfamiliar with rec boats in general- but I’m also concerned that as a beginner you might have better success and be safer in a boat that is designed for its intended environment.
Stay safe, regardless of what you end up paddling.
Hey! Without my POO I might not be kayaking at all right now. Sure, had I known I would really fall so hard in love with kayaking I would’ve liked to bought a used boat and not give some retail store my money, but I didn’t know at that time and I could return a Walmart kayak easily.
My line of thought was this: sitting around bored, oh wife has inflatable kayak lets go try it, oh it’s fun with two people lets try one, oh that’s even better lets rent some, these are fantastic lets buy some just like these, hmm I wonder if there are even better ones out there lets research…and here I am.
I do believe the flat bottom would work perfectly down a snowy hill though!
Foot size Foot size is 13, never thought about that, thanks! I definitely plan on sitting in and most likely demo’ing any boat before I make a purchase.
Thanks I appreciate the information. While the kayak shop claims the rivers around here can get into class III when high I just don’t see it happening. I definitely plan to be as safe as possible and would never take any major rapids solo. My friend will most likely have a crossover so I can always watch him or take them in his boat first just to be safe.
While I think the stinger is neat I feel like it is going to push too much water. Though if I get a chance to demo one I won’t let it pass me by! I haven’t researched WW boats and was curious in the difference between the rounded ends and pointed ends, figured the rounded ones were just for doing flips.
When I start to see rapids I don’t think I can handle in a long boat I will definitely pick up a full WW kayak, probably prefer something with pointed ends.
Multiple bulkheads Sea kayaks these days typically have one larger dry hatch area in front and two in the back. The smaller one just behind the cockpit holds stuff you might want to pull out while on the water, but is made small enough that if the boat suddenly takes a wave on the side while the paddler is reaching in there, the boat won’t get enough water to be unstable. The one nearest the cockpit in back is called a day hatch, and they can hold a surprising amount of stuff.
There are also compartments on some newer sea kayaks that are depressions molded into the hull with a hatch for much smaller stuff. They have a cover and could appear to be like the other hatches, but they don’t go through the full depth of the boat like the bulkheaded compartments.
Depth/Deck Height Unfortunately, these numbers are mostly meaningless. Manufacturers measure differently (e.g., some measure bottom to under the deck, other measure to top of the lip on the cockpit rim. Then, it mainly matters how tall and wide the deck is at your feet, but no one gives these measurements (you are tall with large feet, so your feet will be in an area where the deck is much lower and narrower than it is at the cockpit - you should try rather than rely on specs).
Alright, I figured I would definitely need to try them, I was just making a spreadsheet to compare several of them and was curious about this. Thanks for the help.
Also thank you Celia, hadn't thought about a wave hitting while having one open, makes perfect sense.
Dependson the whitewater I take my 13.5 ft Northwest Sportee down the Kenai River. Its is a wide deep river with a Class 2+ rapid on the section I do. It is pretty fun and its a nice cruiser for big open waters too