Can anyone with experience help me with a question? Would the Carolina 14.5 or the Dagger Specter 155 in Airalite be a good boat to use for exploring sounds and protected coastal waters? They both fit me well and feel very stable in the calm lake but I am concerned how they would perform in windy and choppy conditions. How is secondary stability in these boats? Are they made for this type of paddling or just calm lakes? How is the Perception/Dagger quality?
This will be my second kayak and I am basically still a beginner so stability and ease of loading on my car is important.
Jan
GREAT BOATS!
I just bought a Carolina 13.5 in plastic. It’s a wonderful boat but I have no experiance in Airolite. It’s a fine boat for the sound. Carolinas are Extremely stable for a long boat and I’ve found just this weekend that no matter how the waves are, the boat barely notices, and I was in 3 ft. swells and surfing sideways! The boat appeared to be laughing at it all. The boat you describe will be right in it’s element. BTW, did you know Perception and Dagger merged?
I love perception boats. That’s all I’ve ever owned. The quality is great. I’ve been totally happy with all of them. I love the company as from the beginning they have had a tremendous variety of styles for every kind of paddler, every size, age and physical ability for every kind of water. And since the merge, they now have an even greater variety. Have fun. You’ll love that boat.
merger
What do you think the merger will mean? In my experience, it often means cutbacks and cheaper offerings.
My husband says Perception is an inferior company to other kayak makers. I like the boat but worry about dealing with the company if I have a problem. The dealer here is a large sporting retailer, not an independent paddle shop. They don’t seem to have a lot of paddling expertise.
any other opinions out there?
Opinion
I’ve called Perceptions customer service dept several times in the last few months with questions. They have always been extremely helpful.