I’m considering buying a Wave Sport Ace 4.7 and Pyranha Inazone 222 for my friend and I, as our recreational and ocean surf yaking, has lead us to rapids, and we are hooked. We have considerable wave riding, flat water and class I and II rapid experience, but we are new to more intense rapids and playboating. I am 5’10" and around 180lbs, and my friend is around the same weight and aroun 6’ tall, and I’m wondering if these boats will work for us. Again, we aren’t tackling the Snake River rapids just yet, but our obsession has lead us to wanting more intensity than the typical waves and recreational kayaking. Anyone have experience with these boats and think they’d work for our weight and experience level? Thanks in advance!
Too big for both
Have you tried to get into either of them? Even if you can fit in boats perform differently depending on how far the edges are from the water. Both boats will be edgy for your sizes.
Way Big
Like the Doc said…
Way agree re size
– Last Updated: Oct-07-11 9:26 AM EST –
I paddle an Inazone 220 and, with the slight increase in weight since I first got it, would probably need to have the extra gallon of volume in a 222 if I were to do more class 3 WW than the 80 feet of Zoar Gap. I have to be fairly careful to keep my balance in the middle of the boat to make sure the stern or the bow doesn't start burying too much. In fact I'd like to see a video of anyone either of your sizes even getting into the cockpit of the Inazone 222. I wear a size 6.5 shoe and can't safely fit anything heftier than neo socks in my 220.
I am 5' 3.5" and weigh 130-135 pounds.
I don't know about the Wavesport boat but I would take the above advice - those are very solid WW paddlers.
That said, where are you? I have occasionally tried to score a 222 but they are rarer than hen's teeth and don't stay around when they come up.
If the Inazone series is one to which you are attracted, Pyrahnna has come out with a slight update of these classics in I think three sizes, as of maybe 3 years ago now. I forget what they are called, but some of these may be around used. The other option is to look around for Jackson boats, the Fun series, since they have been picked up for teaching fleets and the cosmetically dinged up but still safe ones may be coming up used shortly.
That said, full out playboats are a different creature than either of the designs you mention, and the Fun is river runner/play. If you want to learn play boating, you should probably get in touch with a good WW center for some advice on the right boats.
What about these?
Thanks so much guys. What about a Liquid Logic Cross River 125 or Riot Grind kayak? Would that work better for my 5’10" 185 big footed body?
Riot Grind
I used one for a while. I am 5’ 10" and at the time I weighed close to your weight. It was an excellent river runner. But I would never use it as a play boat. It would surf OK but that was about it. The foot pegs are crap. You would need to replace them. It rolls relatively easily once you get decent foot support that doesn’t pop out of the track. I am a fan of Corran Addison designs and have several of his boats (including the classic Disco, hence my nickname). But the outfitting was not always first rate. If you want a river runner it would work well for up to class III+. If you want to play while going down the river I would rethink.
still too small
CR125 is still too small, look for a 250… plus there are better boats out there for less money… as far as the Grind?.. don’t buy it… it was not a great boat to begin with and would be a disaster entry level boat.
Size
I’m about your size… 5’11" 180… close enough… I had an Inazone 230 and that was a perfect play size for me. I could easily sink the stern, spin 360 on a green wave and back surf till the sun set. Problem I had with it was the splayed out knee position was murder on the hips. I also paddle the H2 255 (still have it). There is much more volume in the stern yet I can still spin it into a back surf. It’s a great all around river runner and light duty creeker. If you are transitioning from a rec/SOT or the like, then an Inazone 230 will provide you a quick , steep learning curve. The H2 will be much more forgiving. Both have catchy edges that have been way improved upon with the Burn and ‘new’ Zone-One. Which you will pay significantly more for…
What I like about the old Pyrhana boats is the hull speed. The CR series from LL (I had a CR250 for a brief time) are painfully slow in comparison.
Two things I can guarantee… no matter what boat you end in, it will be as much fun as you allow it…
#2: you will get exponentially more opinions from boaters than there are boats.
(If you’re in Jackson, the Lunch Counter waves are a blast!)