Carolina 14 by Perception

Advice
#1

Did somebody try the new Carolina 14 by Perception??? Opinions???

Thanks.

#2

Check under product reviews
Check under product reviews on the left hand side of page. http://www.paddling.net/Reviews/showReviews.html?prod=1875

#3

The company rep’s take
A recent thread:



http://www.paddling.net/message/showThread.html?fid=advice&tid=668539

#4

More Important…
have you tried it?



The Carolina 14 has been around a long, long time. Plenty of reviews for it. Would their experience of others help you to figure out whether it’s the right boat. Maybe. But best that you get into one yourself to figure out the fit and paddle around to figure out it handles for you.



sing

#5

same name, different boat

– Last Updated: Jun-11-07 7:58 AM EST –

To be clear, the new 07 Carolina shares a name with the older design, but is a very different boat, so reviews of the older boat won't be that helpful.

Confluence is positioning the Perception line as their Rec line of boats. The new Carolina design follows this thinking, being wider than last year's design, with a bigger cockpit opening, and a flatter bottom shape. Take that into account, and realize that all of those features will make it newbie friendly in terms of how it feels sitting in the store, but will necessarily take away somewhat from performance.

For those who want a similarly sized boat that's higher performance, they have the WS Tsunami 140 and 145's. Also still in production is the Dagger Spectre 14, which is a sleeker hull than the Carolina and not as expensive as the Tsunami's. If you can find one in stock, they're good compromises to the other two designs.

#6

Regardless…
no clues about the orginal poster. How big s/he is? What skill level? Where is going to paddle?



Bottom line, go demo the thing. There are very few “bad” boats. More likely the case of a paddler picking the “wrong” boat.



sing

#7

Carolina 14
It is a totally redesigned boat and looks decent, but I have not had a chance to paddle it myself.



Here’s a tidbit from a local dealer’s website:



“Perception Carolina 14, a 14’ touring kayak - much improved glide over the old Carolina 14.5, accelerates quickly, tracks great, comfortable, high initial & secondary stability.”



Cheers,

~wetzool