Problem = 2 BIG + 2 small
They are too long for “playboating” & too short for tripping in a straight line at any reasonable speed (even compared to your Pamlico).
They are just right for going downriver with some load though…
Remix XP is ideal for what it was made
to do, and that’s haul a big paddler and a big load on a whitewater camping trip. Cruising speed of 3.5 mph with the skeg down is pretty good for pools in a whitewater river like the New River Gorge from Sandstone to Fayette Station. Excellent camping boat for rivers like that where the longest pool is 1 mile long and the rapids are big and boisterous Class II-III-IV, but totally too slow for flat water cruising. BTW, I once used a Pamlico tandem as a solo for a long river trip and it worked really well. Fast enough, turns pretty good, and carried me and my gear easily. I just had to watch the wave trains to keep the splash out. There is a big skirt that has 3 openings so you can paddle solo or tandem. The skirt was pretty loose and only worked if the gear was piled high enough to hold the skirt up from imploding. While we’re on the subject of possible river running touring boats how about this Old Town Cayuga in the boat sweepstakes? Anyone ever paddled one of them?
Yep, the 146 and 160
excellent kayaks. Fast and effiecent. Suitable for long distances.
Most of us don’t rush through the pools
in the New River Gorge. We can use a little extra time to think about what we have to do in the next rapid.
Of course there would be no reason to use an XP10 for the New River Gorge unless that was the only kayak one happened to own.
XP10, Old Town
The shops around here won’t get XP10s until early May. Old Town seems to be getting out of the touring/light touring kayak business. The Cayuga 160 has gone by the wayside. The Adventure XL139 and 125 are history as well. Perhaps Johnson is shifting the touring kayak segment solely to the Necky division ?!?