I'll probably get slammed for this, but I do NOT agree with putting your GF (or you) into a creeker to learn to control a boat in WW or roll. It's just too darned much volume for the class II occasional III feature that most people learn on, and the volume gets in the way.
So she may capsize a little sooner in a river runner than a creeker - it's WW and you are both going to be upside down and out of your boat more than once anyway. So it doesn't matter when it happens. And having a boat that will give you really good feedback about what is happening between you and the water is invaluable.
I have rolled a Jackson Hero - yes the one for my size at 5'3.5" and 135 pounds - and while these boats are fast on the water they are rather generous volume for river runners. I thought it was a little unwieldy feeling.
By the way, when we were first thinking about learning some WW I was considering an old school boat, and listen to the above. In fact there is one under the porch, a Dagger Piedra, she's a great little thing for backwater creeks and giving the illusion that I can hand roll. (I don't think it counts if you can only reliably do it in one boat.) The good folks at pnet convinced me of the error of my ways so I went out and got an older but more current style Inazone, a boat which is less tolerant of droppign the wrong edge than the old school boats.
They were right. I learned a lot more in that little Inazone than I ever would have in the protective but kinda sloppy Piedra. By the way, Pyrahna has re-released the Inazone series, now it's the I series.
river runner it is. From all the advice i received here and on north east i have decided river runner will probably be the best choice for both of us. Not the same exact boat obviously. Now the search comes to find used river runners that fit us and our price range. Thank you everyone for your help
Are you sure that's what you paddled? Jackson now makes a Little Hero that puts you (Celia) solidly within its recommended weight range.
The Side Kick I have now was originally described as the big kid/very small adult river runner, but now it's been called the Hero version for "miniature paddlers." LOL. It's a bit strange in that it's narrow for a WW boat but has lots of volume in the ends. So it's forgiving of mistakes yet feels tippier than any sea kayak I've owned...and very noticing of tiny weight shifts or body position changes. But that's probably partly because at between 105 and 110 lbs I'm near the top of its weight range. Easy to roll, maybe even easier than the Explorer LV.
When I tried the boat it was its first year, and I was in the right one. There were just two sizes. Jim was in the other and both of us felt the boat was a bit bulky, as did a couple of folks we knew who were at the same place and have tons more WW time in than I'll probably ever have.
So I was in the right size for the line at that time. But there wasn't a size in the line that was labeled miniature or sized for kids. There was a Hero and a Super Hero. Heck only knows where those two versions now lie relative to the four now given how fast WW boats change.
I'd be curious to know if the current Hero boats give you the level of sharpness, assuming the paddler possesses the skills, as some of the river runners with slicier ends.