Pelican kayak question

reviews of the Perception Swifty
http://www.paddling.net/Reviews/showReviews.html?prod=93



Looks like a lot of folks love this boat for the same kind of use you’ve spoken of.



These have decent resale too if you eventually decide to trade up (the guy selling it has priced it about $100 below the usual for that kayak used plus a paddle.)

Unfortunately you were right
Taken down within hours. I couldn’t call today anyways, have to go to the school with my daughter tonight for open house. Won’t have the cash until next month anyways. Will continue to keep an eye out though on Craigslist.



And no, I haven’t made it to Wiegel in Franklin yet. I was just in Franklin last week visiting my brother-in-law, just didn’t have a chance to hunt for Wiegel and stop with the kids and such.



For the record, I’m up near Emlenton on the Allegheny. So, no, Pittsburgh isn’t too far, but quite a hassle to get to compared to Erie (about halfway between in distance, but a lot closer to Erie in our western Pa “distance measured by time” scale that we all use, haha.)

Sting Ray Paddles at…
Once you figure out a length (there is a guide for that on the Werner paddle web site), the Aquabond Sting Rays can be gotten mail order from Eastern Mountain Sports or I think REI, likely other places.

oh, well
At least the listing proves that we do regularly get good deals on Craigslist hereabouts. Something will turn up for you.

If you are set
If you plan on buying from Dicks.the perception kayaks are a better buy.only a extra 100$± than the pelican models. and a lot better quality. bewar the kayak paddles.the ones at Wallmart are about same cost and better quality.

How about this?

– Last Updated: Mar-19-15 10:45 AM EST –

http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/boa/4932457597.html

www.searchtempest.com
Mr.Rogers

I am probably one of those kayaks you have seen. IMO you WILL NOT be happy in a playboat on the river, at least not after the second trip. Will it work? sure. Will you have a good time. Yep, until trip #2 when you find yourself fighting the thing to get to the better line on the river. One of the kids in scouts has done a lot of trips in a 10-12 foot playboat. He is ALWAYS dead last in any trip and a tired pup.

A great float is from Kennerdale to Emlenton and it is over 15 miles. IAW the guy at the canoe rental, its 18. There are a couple riffles where you want to get to a decent line so you dont hang up on rocks. There is some slow where you might want to make a little time. Something you can manuver a bit and will go where you want it to when you want it to will make the experiance a lot nicer.

Was able to find a brand new Solara 100
that fit my budget perfectly. It’s obviously still a 10’ kayak, but it has a lot of decent features and I was able to get a fairly nice paddle (Werner Skagit 2-piece). Comparing this kayak to those I had been looking at (as well as a couple of Tsunami models) I understand better many of the comments everyone provided. I can see moving to a longer boat designed more for day touring sometime in the next couple of years, but this boat feels and handles way nicer than I would have expected from those big-box store boats and it would be perfect for my wife if I moved to a different model in the future. Thanks again for the input!


  • R

nice pick

– Last Updated: Apr-07-15 1:43 PM EST –

Still a 10 footer, but probably one of the best 10 footers you could have picked up. Current Designs makes great boats, and I'm sure you can see the difference in the poly material over the Pelican, and the overall quality features like two hatches with bulkheads, paddle holders, nicer seat and deck bungees. After I sold my $250 Dick's 10footer, I picked up a Current Design 12ft Kestrel, and have loved it for one season, but you know what? I should have picked up the 14 footer instead, but this is the route I hear many of us go through, enjoy!

Glad to hear…
Glad to hear you found something that will suit you.



Since I mentioned back then how you described me perfectly, I’ve been watching Craigslist. Of course as luck will have it, my kayak budget dropped to $0 because I need more than I thought for car inspection. Can’t fit underneath the Jetta to work on it (man is this thing ridiculously low) and need to head to the shop. So, I’m spending my kayak budget.



What kills me is, I know eventually what I want to do and know I would be looking next year to upgrade to something like 14 foot. Now that my budget dropped to $0, I find a Perception Carolina 14 brand new looking in the pictures, paddle, and skirt for… gasp… $500! If it wasn’t for the car needing work, I would have left at noon yesterday and driven down and bought it. Grrrr!!!



Wonder what the chance it will still be there in 3 weeks when I can get the kayak budget back?



I still think I’ll be looking at the $200 job. I just figure my daughter would use it next year sporadically and I’ll be in better shape financially to pick something better.