Dagger Savannah

I am getting near 60 and am an active cyclist. 4 or 5 time a week. I kayaked many many years ago and got away from it. Still have an old kestrel 12hd.

I want to do some flatwater kayaking and maybe do a couple days on the Erie canal in NY. Thinking I might buy a used boat to find out what I really want. I found a 2001 Dagger Savannah which has been stored indoors by the original owner. Not used a lot. I think it might be a good option at 14’ it is pretty wide 26" and has a fairly large cockpit at 34x19. I am 6’ 215. Want something stable but faster than my Kestrel and with more storage. Seems like it has kind of the same specs as the Wilderness Tsunami 14-14’6.

It has a few scratches on the bottom but they all look minor. Hatches seem okay.

Is the 2001 Dagger Savannah a good choice?
If it was stored inside is the 20 year age something to worry about?
What else should I check?
What is the disadvantage of an older kayak like this has the technology materials changed?
What would be a fair price?

Thanks for the advice.

I have bought a couple of older Daggers over the years including a Magellan that was mid 1990’s vintage and an RPM whitewater boat of similar vintage. They used excellent plastic and seem to have held up better than other brands of that era. I sold the Magellan 5 years ago only because it was so heavy and I did not have a garage to store it in – the couple who bought it still use and love it. Gave up whitewater so I also sold the RPM for what I paid for it. These are durable boats!

More recently I bought an older (2004) Perception Monterey which is similar to the Savannah in design (25" beam, 14’ length, 34" x 20" cockpit) for a family member who weighs about 200 pounds and is just shy of 6’. Works well and is very stable but tracks nicely (though it does have a skeg – I see the Savannah has a rudder which would perform the same function in strong crosswinds).

By the way, per the Perception catalog, the Savannah is 25" not 26". And looking at the hull shape, I would judge that it would be a faster and more nimble kayak than the Tsunamis, which I find rather barge-like. Looks like it has very good cargo volume, though at your weight you would need to pack lightly since the rating on the Savannah is 300#. If you wanted to pack a lot of gear you might be better off going with a longer or larger capacity boat like the Tsu 145. But for most of the use that you describe I think you might like this boat.

I paid $400 for each of those boats, which was a pretty common range for an older plastic touring kayak over the past 10 years. The Monterey buy included a Werner paddle and an Extrasport PFD.

With the current higher demand for used boats you might be paying more like $500 for a boat in excellent condition. A lot of it depends on local demand. But this looks like a good boat if you can get it for a reasonable price.

I paddled one years ago, so I’m going off memory. I don’t recall anything impressing me about Savannah. Sluggish to paddle, seat and outfitting were lackluster, heavy for its size, no feedback whatsoever from the hull. I would characterize it as paddling oatmeal.

A Tsunami would be a much better choice, IMO.
I wouldn’t sweat a ~20-year-old plastic boat if it was mostly kept inside.
Comparing older rotomolded boats to new ones, there haven’t been any earth-shattering developments. The newer 3-layer plastic boats are quite different