Thanks
Thanks again for the posts, jdb. I’ve learned quite a bit from this thread. More importantly, I learned that I’m not quite ready to purchase yet. 
I’m reading up on initial vs. secondary stability right now.
I believe there’s a shop near my father’s lake that rents. I’ll stop by there this weekend and see about trying out a few different models.
LOL!
Just to be clear - I’m J-D-B and the other guy is J-B-D. But yes! Read up on stability and hull shapes and all that. The “Guidelines” and “In the Same Boat” articles here on pnet are a good place to start.
The other part of the reason is…
the stability issue. A boat has to have a different design to handle flat water than the best one to handle water with waves. The question about recovery from a capsize has been answered more than once, but it doesn’t seem to be making an impression.
You are correct - you are not ready to purchase yet. The most important, and useful, thing you can do to sort this out is to go for a one day session somewhere that they will put you into boats, have you capsize, and work with you on how to handle a recovery. By the time you have figured out how to get back into the boat, you’ll have been introduced to most of the basic safety equipment you’ll need, understand how it works and understand the features of the boat that you are not getting from sitting online. It is getting warm - now is the time to do that.
LOL
– Last Updated: Jun-12-12 4:24 PM EST –
I was wondering when that would cause a minor confusion. I wonder if we have been on another message board together in the past. I was on a scuba site and one of the members went by jdb.
Either arrangment of the letters, I agree with your reading suggestions.
Dreams
are what make life worth living IMO. While I know that most all of the kayaking that I do will be on flat water whether its a lake or a river, there is in the back of my mind the possibility of going to the ocean or some other big water like the great lakes. Not so much for the playing in the surf but to travel(expedition) from point A to point B with several days to get there.
Local flat water paddling can be relaxing and enjoyable but after a while you just might want to go for an adventure.
For me buying once is the way to go.