The Nordkapp is worth mentioning
I came from a smaller rec boat to the Nordkapp and have paddled upstream on the Missouri and Mississippi rivers extensively. It’s a narrow skeg boat that I’ve always felt safe in and handles wing dams and other rough stuff very well. But going to a longer boat you will have to put in the time to learn how to handle it in the big eddies otherwise it won’t do much good for you which I found out firsthand. It’s great boat for putting in miles and can do it all
Decked Canoe designer
Verlen designed some excellent decked canoes for lengthy trips and was an epic long distance paddler, but he didn’t “design the deck canoe”.
John MacGregger designed a decked canoe at least 100 years before Verlen Kruger designed his. MacGregger also went on a number of lengthy journeys in his decked canoes. Look up the book “A Thousand Miles In The Rob Roy Canoe.” My copy is the seventh edition and was published in 1871, a few years before Verlen rediscovered the decked canoe.
Dave
ret603 so true
Ret 603 , so true, amazing the mistake of a single word and how it changed…I ment to type “a " decked canoe and NOT " the” decked canoe…verlen built the loon, monarch, and sea wind. However some Indian tribes built a.decked boat too but let’s.not go there. Thanks
You may lose rudders to river trash
and find that you are then stuck without them.
Speaking as a mostly whitewater paddler who does some attainments against current, I will post a minority opinion that you may need less maximum speed, and more rocker and ferrying ability. I believe there are quality sea kayaks that can provide this, without a rudder.
When you get grabbed by whirling current near wing dams, a rudder will help you progress, as long as you are able to keep some speed relative to current. But if you are in a more rockered kayak, it will not be grabbed as hard by the current. Some flatness on the bottom of the kayak will sometimes help when you have to ferry against a strong current, say to get to an eddy and an attainment route on the opposite side of the river.
NC-17
Glad someone else uses this boat. I have one in my herd and it is a good boat. It tracks like a bandit, but needs a football field to turn unless you have a rudder. This boat tracks well in wind.
Watch this …
– Last Updated: Sep-16-11 10:07 AM EST –
...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSRc8AW7z_8&feature=channel_video_title
and the following Part II and III about eddy turns. That should help with your "whirlpool" issues -;)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=BxQX0BMljxM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=zoFOLcFigKM
(edit: this is for the OP)
Open kayak?
So you have a Day Tripper?
http://jacksonkayak.com/jk-kayaks/recreational-touring-kayaks/
I would tend to think that you should try a plastic 17 footer with a rudder.
http://www.kcpaddler.com/solo_long_range_touring?b=1
Day Tripper
Yes sir I have a Day Tripper