Not exactly
"the boat will stop at a certain point"
Actually, it doesn’t take much effort to roll any sea kayak over. The point is that the stability of a sea kayak is active. Basically, you can’t sit like a lump in a sea kayak.
“unless the paddler leans out or overreacts in some other way”
This is true and people get to the point where they don’t have to think about it pretty quickly.
The “problem” is that many people dismiss sea kayaks as “tippy” way too quickly. It really doesn’t take that much time for most people to see the tippiness as normal.
Celia’s very smart and should give you very good guidence for an appropriate boat for you!
Austin Outdoor Gear and Guidance
It’s a bit of a drive from Dallas, but check out Austin Outdoor Gear and Guidance. I met some of their guys at the Texas Gulf Coast Seakayak Symposium and they seemded pretty knowledgable. They also have demos and instruction.
http://www.kayaktexas.com/
Try different boats
– Last Updated: May-19-06 2:45 PM EST –
"A seakayak is overkill for this kind of paddling."
Outside of shallow, rocky rivers, a sea kayak isn't overkill at all. Personally, I prefer using my 16'/21'' sea kayak in just these kinds of places.
A shorter boat would be easier to manuever in narrow, twisty channels, but it's really not that hard to learn to use a sea kayak in such a place.
There is nothing wrong with short wide boats and you may end up preferring this kind of boat.
All that I'm suggesting is get some experience first. A little experience at this point will go a long way.
Tippy feeling, selection
It’s perfectly normal for a kayak to tip a bit in waves. With pactice you learn to relax and let the boat move while you stay loose and centered. it’s a bit like riding a bike ove bumps, or skiing bumps, or riding a horse.
IMO, new paddlers focus too much on boat length when they’re looking, and not enough on width and depth. A kayak that’s too wide or too deep will be uncomfortable to paddle, especially if you’re short or have a short torso – as many women do.
A decent paddle can make a huge difference in your paddling comfort.
Gee thanks
Serioulsy - must be some aligned stars these last two days.
And njkayaker is right - the boat won’t stop for you like hitting a wall. It’s just that if you stay out of its way and are fairly light, good chance you won’t be putting out the amount of force necessary to take it over just from rocking around in short chop. The extreme case is a woman I know who has a Soltice GT and is herself a very, very lean runner. When she got into serious bracing work, she practically had to throw the boat over to where she could do a deep brace. But that’s an older design - the newer ones tend to be a bit less protective.