Alright. Where do I start. “Stuck” in Colorado. Used to love long boats and now into WW. So I got an idea this past June. Took the long boat here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYuCfMT-Kxw (somebody’s else’s footage in a short boat) with a 2x4 (greenland paddle). Had a blast for an hour. Till I missed a roll (6 attempts actually!) and got beaten around on the drops below when I swam.
It was an Island Qaarsut. I put a couple holes in the deck (all patched now). So I got to thinking maybe I should get a plastic long boat for this stuff. Was in deception pass recently. At disposal were tempest 165 RM and CApella 160 RM.
They both felt like a tank. Not the agile roadster feeling I get with the Qaarsut. I am 5 ft 6 inches 140#. Any thoughts on the boats that would work for me and this application?
Thanks.
-Assad
Valley Avocet RM
http://www.paddling.net/Reviews/showReviews.html?prod=426
There is no hard chined poly kayak.
Necky Looksha Sport LV
May be just the ticket for a low volume, hard chined, poly boat for that river type work. It’s only 14 feet, so not a real “sea kayak” so to speak. But may be worth a look. I bet it would be fun to paddle.
My wife has one.
They do not have forward bulkheads so you MUST use air bags for swift water.
The only hard chined plastic
boat I can think of is the Point 65N Crunch. It’s available in two flavors, the Rocker and Rocket. It’s a pretty fun boat, but not widely available in the US, yet. Paddled one at Sweetwater last October. Good rolling boat and fairly low volume.
~wetzool
Prijon Seayak?
More votes for Avocet & Crunch Rocker
I’ve paddled the Avocet pretty extensively in Class II and III whitewater – and find it ideal for that purpose. Have paddled the Point 65 Crunch Rocker, which to me at 5’11" and 165 felt pretty snug in the cockpit, once. Haven’t tried the Rocker in whitewater yet, but she IS fast. The Rocker will never turn as easily as the Avocet of course. (I do have a Crunch Rocker for sale. Let me know if you are interested).
if Point65 can do the crunchrocker in
roto then valley can do an anas in roto!
Plastic Drop Skeg Elaho?
From Necky. Diamond chined rather than a single hard chine, but manuverable as heck and had aggressive WW style braces. Narrow cockpit whichj gives me good contact at 5'4", so you'll be fine at two inches taller. Length a couple of inches under 16 ft. Great great rolling boat.
Downside is that the hatches aren't the dryest (full sea kayak, bulkheads front and back and a day hatch) and it may be hard to find - they only made them for two years around 2003. But I suspect it'd work. Really fun boats.
There is a major up side to somethng that has to be gotten used anyway. One risk in taking a long boat thru drops and stuff is that the nose can get pinned and the water starts turning it into a pretzel, since they aren't reinforced the way WW boats are. If you get a much newer and more expensive boat you'll feel much worse if that happens.
eric, i like the analogy
and i suppose if truth be know the anas is not that great of a true greenland kayak…but still it would be nice to get a poly-anas-cult going on 
Second the Elaho, and the Crunch
Celia's right on about the Elaho. I had one for two years, although it was fiberglass, and have also paddled the plastic version quite a bit as a school fleet boat. Superb edging and very confidence inspiring boat -- it's a multi-chine hull. Nice low deck and the cockpit coaming is actually recessed a bit, so the top sits at the same level of the deck -- a nice touch that aids layback rolls and sculling with your body in the water.
As a Point 65N dealer, I'll echo the other comments -- the Crunch boats have a very pronounced "V" hull and that can be unnerving for a beginner as the boat wants to lean over off the V when sitting still. It will stop at the flat part of the hull, though (provided your head doesn't keep leaning over!) Get a little momentum going and that feeling disappears, but it does feel a little tippy when you first sit in it.
A few months ago we sold two Crunch Rockers to a pair of adventure racers that had been paddling in canoes and had very limited kayak experience. They love the boats and the durability and they said once they paddled them a few times that initial "tippy" feeling pretty much went away.
Consider this an open invitation to anyone who'd like to demo a Point 65N boat if you're in or travel to the Virginia Beach area.
-Tom
Rollerblades on ice
Your vido shows watr made for a whitewater boat. Or, other way aound. Why ty to fit an unfit boat whn theres so many tht fit?
If you insist on a long boat, why not go with a surf or ocen design sit-on-tp?
Better and safer
Lose my idea of the Elaho - a SOT would be a hugely more prudent idea and I gotta think that there is something out there with at least well-defined chines. Just caught that you were in there with a GP as well. Really would suggest a nice tough plastic bladed WW paddle for that. Strikes me that a GP could catch and break off between rocks too easily.
agree
with your gear recommendations. I already have a jackson and an AT2. But there is absolutely nothing that turns me on more than paddling a skinny long boat with a stick (you get them in carbon fiber too) on some bumpy stuff. And being inland, well places like union are the closest I come to that. Not to mention the priceless feeling you get when your WW buddies see you and they have to rub their eyes twice to believe what they are seeing! :))))
-Assad
Worth a thousand words
Being surprising is always worth the effort. It’s just nicer when it happens without expensive carnage.
so
"and i suppose if truth be know the anas is not that great of a true greenland kayak...."
just out of curosity...exactly what do you use to determine a good greenland kayak?
Best Wishes (and truely curious)
Roy
maybe this should be a seperate thread....
WW slalom boat?
Ok, I know it's not what you asked for, but if you enjoy the speed of a longer boat a WW slalom boat might be great fun for you in those conditions. Unfortunately, the only plastic one I know of is the Perception Fox, and they're not easy to find. It'd be a good fit for your size.
http://www.desperate-measures.co.uk/product.aspx?prodid=49
What about a Pirouette?
Just a thought - for what Jarra wants, is there a lot of reason to go for a full slolam boat rather than something like an older Pirouette? I really don’t know myself - this is a serious question.
slalom boat
Sat in a fox. My ankles were screaming! I am getting a used slalom boat in a month (kevlar), but thats for running gates. I need a sea kayak to practice my skills so when I get out to the coast I don’t feel alien to a long boat in rough stuff.
-assad
p.s> I ain’t buying this plastic boat till feb/march so maybe something will come out by then.