most often
advice for rec boats is add your own flotation and figure out a way to self rescue…
I wouldn’t want to put myself in a situation where my only self rescue option is swimming a long distance to shore…
Personally, I can roll both ways, high and low brace, paddle float rescue, re enter and roll, assisted rescue, swim to shore, water proof VHF, cell phone…
not to mention dressing for the water temps… and knowing the weather patterns for that area…
speaking of adding floatation
Austin Kayaks sells a rear bulkhead kit for the Pamlico for $39 to convert that rear hatch into an actual dry compartment, which also makes the boat safer and easier to bail. You can also wedge a good sized float bag (or better yet, dry bag containing spare clothes, towel, fleece etc.) forward of the foot pegs.
Still doesn’t make it a big water boat – we’ve used one out in Chincoteague Bay, but that’s mostly waist-deep. Get a sea/touring kayak, you’ll be happy and you can still use the Pammie for playing in calm waters and fishing.
Type of boat for big water
Sea kayaks are designed for big water, rec boats are not. Lots of bozos on this site like to pretend like a cheap, little toy kayak is fine for very challenging water. Heed them at you peril.
Can you ride a tricycle through the Alps? Sure, but why would you want to? You will be miserable, your speed will be super slow, and the downhills might kill you. Get yourself a racing bike for the Alps, get a real sea kayak for oceans and the mega lakes and rivers.
simple question
have you done a self-rescue in your Pamlico 100?
That is something you should know if it’s possible or not before venturing into a variety of conditions.
thigh bracing the least of her worries
Have you seen the size of the cockpit? Does that thing even have floatation in the front end? It is VERY hard to refloat a boat that’s full of water, fast disappearing below the surface of the water. (Ask me how I know 
RRose83 – before you venture out into big water you need a boat with secure floatation at both ends and experience bailing out and getting back into the boat. Try it out in a pool first. In my experience, it’s far more difficult than it looks. But it’s your life we’re talking about here; you want to be safe.
Ditto on the “dress for the swim”. Those lakes are cold and hypothermia is the #1 killer.
Pungo in the midst
– Last Updated: Jun-03-09 12:15 PM EST –
Here's an interesting shot
http://www.connyak.org/cgi-bin/BBS.pl/noframes/read/55667
We paddled Sat at a place we call the zipper with the CT kayak club. It's a long bar that gets covered and can vary from pretty rough to what you see in the photo. The woman was along and I encouraged her to go out in the waves. it's about 3 ft deep and calm around 30 feet towards the camera. I'm on the right in the wood boat. It's a great safe place for paddlers to learn boat handling. 18 paddlers were there so it was good safe fun for her.
If you read " Plowhorse among thoroughbreds.." above, he was along on the paddle.
Rose, watch this video
http://www.vimeo.com/4534662
This is the reality when you and your pungo fill up with water and you have to swim for it. Everybody swims. Rather than rely upon a bunch of anonymous posters and taking a poll, watch a video prepared by professionals. There is nothing wrong with a post on a forum seeking information, I do it all the time. But we are talking about your life, “big water” and equipment not designed for the task.
Dogmaticus
Nice pic
That’s what it’s been looking like around here the last few days… nice way to get used to textured water or a new hull…
Bulkheads or flotation is key
– Last Updated: Jun-03-09 5:02 PM EST –
As some already stated, the length of the boat (along with other factors) will only determine how fast or maneuverable it is. Within limits, anything b/w 12 and 20 feet should do, as long as it has the ability to support a relatively easy self rescue and even better, allow a relatively easy roll so that you do not have to self rescue ;)
I've taken the 13.5 Perception Sonoma in some rather harsh conditions and it paddles just fine (except strong weathercocking, cured by a little add-on skeg I glued to it). And a narrow 13-14 footer can keep-up with 16-18 footers just fine, unless these other guys decide to race you (hint - you'll loose). However, it lacks a front bulkhead and the cockpit/rear bulkhead area is shaped such that is is impossible to empty the boat well even with two people like some better designed boats allow. So, lots of pumping if you swamp it... It has plenty of flotation in fact, but not enough in the front. Even though it probably holds less than half the water the 10 foot Pam will hold when swamped, I can't on my own lift and empty it while swimming in deep water if it fully swamps (but I have other options, so it is not a total disaster).
The Pamlico 100 will swamp pretty much fully if you swim in any sort of conditions; a kayak with a smaller cockpit may in some cases let you try a few times to re-enter before it takes on the same amount of water as the 100. Being 10' x30" will make it fairly slow for any extended distance paddling, and you will drag the group down if they are in faster boats. But it is OK I suppose if you are in areas where you can swim it to shore fast of it you have reliable help that will be effective in the conditions you paddle in...
I think sleeker 16-17 footers paddle better than chubby 10-12 footers in strong winds and waves and sometimes even in currents. There is something about the period of the waves (especially short wind waves) that causes shorter boats to jump up/down too much where longer boats ride smoother. On large waves it does not matter, except for spped.
Shorter boats are also easier to maneuver when things get dicey and it may actually a benefit over long boats...
So, to me there is no universal answer on the "size" question, but the seaworthiness (flotation, self rescue, rolling) is key...
I agree with Seadart and Kocho
that longer kayaks are not necessarily more ‘sea-worthy’. I regulary paddle two boats; one is 16’6" by 24 wide and one is 12’6" by 21.5" wide. The shorter boat is outfitted with extra minicell foam and a very solid neoprene spayskirt like a WW boat,and it is much more secure and controllable when the wind and waves kick up. The longer boat can be downright scary, if not actually dangerous in rough conditions, especially in strong wind where it sometimes actually get blown sideways across the water.
By contrast, I go looking for rough conditions in the shorter boat. The only advantage of the longer boat is that in calm water I can carry more gear and cruise slighty faster in it 4.3-4.4 mph vs. 4.1-4.2 mph in the shorter boat.