I’ve recently purchased an Old Town Vapor 12xt Kayak and thus far have loved it. I’ve taken it out about a dozen times since purchasing it, although most of my time has been spent on quieter sections of the Shenandoah and new Rivers in the tri state area around VA, MD and WV.
I consider myself to be of intermediate skill level, physically fit and well coordinated, and can execute the common self rescue techs such as eskimo rolling, I have a decent seal skirt for the kayak.
My question is thus, does anyone know if a vapor 12 is suitable for longer stretches of class II and III water? One of the main drawbacks in my attempts to explore many of the nearby river sections has been my reluctance to put this new kayak to the test. It has done very well for me in short sections of Class II water, but to be more specific I’d like to take it past the confluence of the Shen and Potomac rivers at Harpers Ferry, as well as the area near the Barnum whitewater area around Keyser, WV.
My goal is not to sit and play in the II and III rapids, but rather to sucessfully navigate them and continue my journey. Of course this is not to say I don’t love riding some long wave trains and the occasional 2-3 foot ledge.
Any feedback would be appreciated, thanks
youtube
I’d love to see a youtube video of you rolling a Vapor.
To answer your question, no. Find a different boat.
If you ever want to
Sell the vapor I want to know I am in pikeville, ky
I never paddled a Vapor…
and I didn’t stay at a Holiday Inn last night, and…
I’m not a whitewater-savvy paddler, but I’ve got a 12 foot Old Town Castaway, a plain-jane rec kayak that is similar in size to the Vapor 12. I’ve taken my kayak down the Delaware River over Skinner’s Falls which is sometimes a class II. I’ve also taken my kayak down the Lackawaxen River during one of the releases from the dam upstream. During the releases the water flows pretty rapidly, but although the runs are long, they are not very difficult.
So, what does a know-nothing like me think?
I think that the Vapor will be like my boat, slow to maneuver and turn into an eddy, but plenty good enough to get you downriver in one piece if you pay attention and don’t fool around too much.
But fooling around is half the fun.
went ahead and did it
Thanks Hackyak, I appreciated your response.
As a follow up I ended up taking the vapor through Harper’s Ferry this past weekend and I had a blast. I went first on the short sandy hook to 340 bridge takeout, then after building confidence came back on Sunday and ran the longer millville to Brunswick route.
There main rapids of consequence were Bull falls, the Shenandoah staircase, mad dog, and white horse.
These rapids fall into that elusive II-III class range where a lot of disagreement on classification arises, depending on water level with the staircase being a roughly 1 mile long stretch of continuous rapids of class II+
In retrospect I should have put my skirt on the kayak before entering the staircase, but hindsight is 20/20. There were some hairy moments where I didn’t have time to pump the cockpit and had to ride a long wave train with several inches of water in the boat, but I’m sure the skirt will eliminate that problem.
I plan on running this section again next weekend, trying some different approaches and having fun. I’m glad I decided to take this route knowing it might be pushing the limits of my boat and look forward to honing my experience in this wonderful section of river, which also has some very nice flatwater sections past Harper’s Ferry for those who might consider it in the future.