Other thoughts and info…
So far it looks like you’ve obtained some good information and received good advice. The poster who mentioned selling his Carolina and moving up is a good example of what I warned against earlier. I don’t want to bash the Carolina design, because I believe it is decent for it’s design purpose. As I said, if you have Identified that your needs meet the design criteria of that boat, then buy one and be happy. However, it looks like you want to go in a different direction.
My thoughts on Airalite are still mixed at this point. I believe the Sanoma to be a good boat, and have seen very little negative on it. I think there is still work to be done on the proper use and aplication. I would personally not buy an Airalite boat other than the Sanoma at this point. Buying a new kayak is a major purchase that you want to last for many years. You can feel confident that a poly Perception will give you years of service and pleasure, but not so with the Airalite–at least not yet. I am not personally sold on the Airalite as a viable material, not when composites offer other benefits for minimal cost increases.
Now, more tidbits on the Avatar. It seems you are leaning toward the Avatar, so here is some additional info. The boat is very easy to roll, and will help your learning curve when you are ready to learn. The cockpit is a nice size for learning to re-enter and roll when you reach that point. I have found the hatches to be water tight for average paddling, and virtually water tight when rolling and practicing rescue manuevers. They do leak a little, but not enough to create a problem. While the Avatar is not a high volume boat, the hatches are a good size and make loading and unloading a snap. The skeg box limits the capacity in the aft compartment, but that is true of most skeg boats. You will find the low rear deck to be helpful as you learn other types of rolls. The deck rigging is well laid out, and the perimeter safety line is a nice feature. Although the Avatar is poly, I have found it to be easy to load/unload and carry by myself. In fact, I prefer to carry it alone. I did not like the factory backband because it has ridge on the bottom that fits into a slot on the seat pan. I found this to be painful when rolling, and not much better when at rest. I swapped it out with an aftermarket band in about 15 minutes. My Avatar has been used thouroughly, but not abused, and I have had zero problems with the plastic or with the outfitting. As you know it does not have a day hatch, but there is plenty of room behind the seat for various items and a lunch.
If I think of any other info that will help you make an informed decision, I’ll let you know. Paddle well…
Avatar
It’s a worthwhile design,hopefully they replaced the rustable seat back ratches that only fit a specific type of back band strap and the skeg deployment bungie last longer than a year.
re. seat hangers on the Aerolite boats, it appears to me it was pure accident (no testing) that the deeper hangers in the Eclipse and Carolina get a right angle pull wheras the top edge of the backband strap on the Sonoma13 follows a slanted edges spreading the pressure over a larger area,or the Sonoma10 seat hanger has a bent/stiffened edge at the seat back strap. Given that the seat hangers on the Sonoma, Eclipse and Carolina are all the same thickness it appears that the difference between the four models where the back band strap can rip the seat hangers in the two most expensive ones tells me someone sitting in front of a drafting board is not the person taking it to the water, and neither of them run the development process of new models.
Thanks Everyone!
Thanks so much for your “Avatar tidbits”. I love tidbits, especially when I’ll likely have to wait another 6 weeks before I’ll be able to check out any actual 3D Avatar. I’m really enjoying and thankful for all the information that people have been nice enough to give me here.
I haven’t even attempted rolling yet, although I’ve been told that I should. Ok, it does make me a bit nervous to be upside down in a kayak, but I do want to be learn to roll. It’s just that my Dagger is so stable that I’ve haven’t come close to tipping over in it, plus I don’t have a skirt, so rolling hasn’t been a real consideration. But it’s good to know that the Avatar is very easy to roll, since I’m such a complete beginner in that area. I do have excellent balance and instincts, and I’m hoping that I won’t freak out too much when I do try this.
People here have mentioned that choosing a kayak is such a personal thing, as we aren’t all built the same, nor do we have the same comfort levels. And there are major differences in what we want (or need?) in a kayak, even when we use the same type of boat. I guess that’s why there are so many models of kayaks made. Choices are great, but when you are as new to kayaking as I am, the selection can be a bit overwhelming. (Goodness, I have a hard enough time picking out a pair of new shoes, so you can just imagine what this has been like for me.) So I’m very grateful for all the wonderful help and for all the advice that I’ve been given here. Ok, so some of the advice wasn’t exactly what I was hoping for, but I’m glad that people have been so honest, as I have listened and I do consider myself very fortunate that I can learn for such an experienced group.
So is the Avatar what I’m looking for? I think that it might be, but I won’t really know that until I’m actually out on the water in it. But at least now I have a much better idea of what type of kayak I should be looking for. Before coming here, all I knew was that I wanted to upgrade to a longer kayak. I had mostly decided on buying the Carolina, but now I don’t really think that I would be happy for long with one. I just feel that I’m ready for more of a performance type of kayak. So thanks everyone for taking the time to answer all my questions. (I’m still going to have a really hard time deciding on what color to get.)
~ Arwen ~
comfort zone
you’ll learn as fast as you need to as long as you don’t push it too much. Regarding rolling it’s best to learn form others than to self-teach. There is nothing to be anxious about if you’ve done enough wet exits and spent some time being inverted before wet-exiting. Most folks try and force learning because rolling up takes seconds while wet-exiting takes minutes and implies failure.
Avatar Material - “hard” plastic or roto
Is the plastic on the Avatar “hard” or is it the typical rotomoulded plastic kayak material? Online I see pictures of the boat that look “shinny”, which makes me think it could be a hard material. If it’s a hard material this boat is without question a spectacular value.
What a discussion. You guys have me ready to plop down $1400 on a new boat.
By the way
Oops, I forgot to specify that I’m not talking about the airalite, I know that is ‘hard’. I found pictures of a $1350 model that looks shinny. It makes me wonder if the ‘plastic’ is really rotomolded.
http://www.backcountry.com/store/PER0004/large/c100000005/s100000000/Perception-Avatar-16.0-Kayak.html
Exolar
Yes, this has been a great discussion! The Avatar is a poly boat. Actually it’s made out of Exolar Hyper Density Resin. This is supped to be a stronger stiffer plastic and more impact resistant(it also has a bit more shine than regular poly, I think.) My Dagger Catalyst is made out of Exolar, and I been very happy with the way that it still looks brand new, after a year’s use. (I do always keep my kayak in the garage, when I’m not paddling.)
Here’s Perception’s Avatar 16.0 link: http://www.kayaker.com/new/products/boat.asp?type=touring&ID=72
~ Arwen ~