Any general idea of what an old, well used Dagger Animus might go for? I never/rarely used it for what it was intended (whitewater) and would like to get another more appropriate boat. It’s a good boat for large kayakers who are learning how to handle whitewater…very stable. Don’t want a ton of money for it but want roughly what it is worth.
less than $100 IMO (nm)
I’d ask for more than 100
Doesn’t mean you will get more, but in the New England area, I see most old-school whitewater boats priced in the $200 to $300 range. Often skirts and paddles are thrown in. The market for an Animas is probably pretty small, tho, so you probably won’t command a price at the upper end of the scale.
-rs
location
Price can vary by location, $100 - $300 is probably the price range depending on location, condition, and buyer.
what is it?
– Last Updated: Dec-29-10 2:00 PM EST –
Do you have a picture? I might be interested if I can fit in.
I’ll take it and pay top dollar if…
1) where are you located?
2) pictures of the top and bottom of the boat?
3) A day during the week we can get together?
4) Skirt, float bags or any other gear it comes with?
Sincerely, Dennis Cell 570 352 8806
I’m keeping one I paid $350 for, ten yrs
ago. They are very good boats for just plain river running and cruising. No particular vices, they behave well in holes and can be extracted easily. Some have issues with the flat rear deck, but I’ve never been bothered.
Surfing
Would these older WW boats be good for ocean surfing? Seems to me their length and design looks similar for some of today’s highly priced surf boats.
So-so. A Necky Rip, if you can find one
would be pretty good. The Animas does not have enough flatness underneath.
I have an '82 Noah Magma, Kevlar and CAP, with a flattish bottom, relatively sharp chines, and in-canted sides, that probably would make a decent surf boat. Its speed would make it easy to get out to the waves, and to catch them. But stern volume might cause it to be thrown off the wave. Haven’t ever bothered to try it in surf yet.
I concur
The Animas is a nice river runner, and comfortable with fairly good hull speed.
I think this type of boat is a very good choice for a beginning whitewater paddler as they are easier to roll (IMO) and the are fast enough to make decent river day tripping kayaks for non-whitewater folk.
Unfortunately, it seems not many share my opinions so it probably will have a limited market. If it is in very good condition, you might get $300 for it. I suspect $200-$250 might be more realistic, however.
I have used a similar whitewater boat
a Dagger AQ II for beach surfing over at the Jersey Shore.
Sure, they work. I found that a sit on top is better suited for that kind of thing. When you are surfing in beach break by the time you capsize it is usually so shallow that it is difficult to tuck and roll. The surf keeps taking you in upside down and you can get the stuffing knocked out of you before you can exit the boat.
But I don’t have much experience in ocean surfing.
surf
The old Necky boats are decent good inexpensive surf boats. The Wave Sport Kenetic is another decent one.
Who are the evaluators?
There are a number of old style WW boats out there that work pretty well for experienced paddlers but are not a good choice for persons beginning WW paddling. The reason for that is that they have quirks that are likely to catch up those starting out but are not a big issue for those who are experienced. The most notorious example of this is the Dagger RPM. It is unbalanced and has a back deck that is way too low. Peeling out of eddies is a challenge. The Animas shares some of those characteristics. But that does not mean it cannot be an OK boat for going down river if you know what you are doing. So, if you want a cheap boat that you, an experienced WW paddler, can have fun with, the Animas will probably work. The relevance of this is deciding what the market is and how big it is. There may be a few nostalgic boaters out there who pine for an Animas but they won’t pay much. Or there may be a group of uninformed newbies who are willing to pay up to $300. The former is tiny. The latter is probably small at best. My teaching group uses boats like the Animas for pool sessions but you would only get $100 from us.
Have you paddled an Animas?
The Animus has way more volume in the stern than the RPM. While the back deck does have a flat contour, I have never observed anyone in it being inadvertently squirted or back-endered in it.
For whatever it’s worth, the Animas
was top ranked in three whitewater kayak comparison tests. No quirks or treacherous characteristics were cited by the various teams of reviewers. I never saw the Animas rated negatively in tests at that time.
My only criticisms would be that the Animas is a bit too “round” for my taste. It needs more flatness underneath for ferrying and surfing, and it could use chines for carving. It is a good boat for very large paddlers, with lots of foot room in the bow. It is a river runner, not a playboat, and it lacks the rocker needed for creeking.
Yes
It was my first WW boat. I spent a reasonable amount of time going down a variety of rivers. When I got a more reasonable boat I sighed a big sigh of relief. I agree, and said, the RPM was worse. But it was an early model and suffered from lack of knowledge at the time.
Well it may not have been the best
design at the time, and there are certainly better now, but back in the 1990s I was pretty active with some sizable WW clubs in the SE. The Noah Aeroquatic had been a quite popular boat down there and then the AQ II after Dagger started producing it following the demise of Noah.
When Dagger ceased production of the AQ II back in the mid 1990s or so, a lot of beginning kayakers bought the Animas because it was what Dagger made at the time which was most akin to the AQ II. It seemed to serve them pretty well.
Good for larger person
– Last Updated: Dec-30-10 8:31 AM EST –
Our friend's current Animus started out as my husband's first used WW boat - we picked up an old Piedra for me and the Animus for him at about the same time. The Piedra is still with us because it is a great boat to have around for things like creeks with low current or mixed small rapids then flat spots, and can be abused.
The reason that the Animus moved into other hands is that my husband, at 6'1" and about 185 pounds, found that it had more volume than he needed for the class 2 with class 3 spot type WW we do. Its current owner is a really big guy and does very well with it. I don't recall that there have been any complaints about the stern being unduly catchy. But I am not sure how objective that often is. The older Inazone's were supposed to have that as a problem, and I am sinking my little Inazone enough that I'd really have to think about a bigger volume boat if I wanted to get into higher class water - it's a 220. One end or the other is easily under water if I lean too far forward or back. But for what we do, I've never found it to be a problem. I've capsized plenty, but it's always been from giving it the wrong edge, not catching the stern.
Agree with comments above that a flatter bottom, newer style boat is has an easier learning curve than the boats of the era of the Animus for catching standing waves, that kind of thing. But the Animus will also fit a size person that can have the devil of a time finding a fit in the newer boats unless they go to something more like a creeker, and will still function just fine with the right effort.
So - depending on your intended use there are still good homes for this boat. Re surf, I'd agree with those above that you might want something a bit flatter.
Is this also called a “Proline”?
“Proline” was an added value option
on Perception kayaks, not Dagger. For extra money, your Perception kayak would have a poly stiffening layer in the front and rear minicell walls, and lock loops on the front and rear decks, etc, and FINALLY stupid “Proline” logos molded into the plastic.
Dagger had better sense.