third the w/w boat idea
However the Dagger Crossfire (my beloved cheapo beater-rolling practice boat) is actually 11 ft long so it won’t fit the 10 ft criteria-and good luck making it go straight it’s windy out( i made a strap-on skeg that solved the problem, now i love it in anything other than long crossings)
I would suggest trying the new Dagger Approach,i am guessing tracking may be some pain in the butt but its a 10 footer that will let you learn some skills and have a lot of fun.
Another one…Pyrahna Master TG-another entry level white water boat and it has a drop skeg for tracking.
Prijon athlete looks like a very fun boat and should have pretty good speed on flat and smooth water.
Most old school river runners will work, but i’d look for one with a higher volume bow than some of the really pointy ones out there.
Dagger Mamba?
A little more expensive than the others since it’s newer, but it’s been around long enough some used ones should be coming up. I don’t know the boat well myself but it seems to be well-liked - size and comments?
also
Among older boats, the Mamba's older relative, the Dagger GT and the Perception Sonic/Supersonic might do. Both should be fairly inexpensive. The newer boats will be slower than the older displacement-hull boats.
Remember that whitewater boats often come in several sizes, and that it's important to match the size to your weight.
Did the thread starter decide our advice
wasn’t needed. Again, talking amongst ourselves.
re: talking amongst yourselves
Maybe that’s because she clearly stated she wanted a rec boat and then suddenly she’s being guided toward whitewater boats because everyone assumes she’ll eventually want to run whitewater - after all why wouldn’t she? We all know rec boating is “boring”.
Sorry, this is a sore spot. I’ve witnessed too many rec boaters (or newbies who don’t know what they want) being steered toward whitewater, sometimes even after they have expressly stated a different preference. I’m getting really annoyed at the superior attitudes of some (not all) ww boaters. In our local group, the members couldn’t be much more disparaging or dismissive of non-whitewater boaters. Forgive my rant, but I’m just sick of it.
SP
Venus
I bought one and it didn’t work out very well for us because of the capacity. I just doesn’t handle well for anyone over 150#
But it is a great little boat for Kathy’s daughter who is under 130#, and Kathy’s granddaughter really rips with it, but she is under 100#
Hullavator Warning
It may seem obvious, but when you put your boat in the cradle of this thing, be sure to strap the boat in BEFORE pushing it up on top of the vehicle.
True, and funny, story: A woman in our group does just what I said not to do above. After she realizes what she did, she asks someone (really) "Do you think I hafta strap it down or will the boat stay there back to the campsite?(55 mph curvy road for 10 miles to get there). The resounding answer is “strap it on”. So, when she takes the swing-rack back down, the unsecured boat comes hurtling off the car, the cockpit engulfs her head, the coaming catches her on the chin, and the weight of the boat pulls her into a backflip right off her feet. The only reason the dozen or so onlookers didn’t bust our guts laughing is it looked like it hurt. I mean, even one sandal came flying off. A sure winner on American Home Videos. Fortunately she was alright and we had great campfire fodder that night.
-Chuck
Agree. She doesn’t show where she
lives. In many places, a WW kayak is usesless as teats on a boar hog. Doesn’t work for me, no WW within 200 miles. No surf for surf playboats, within 75, but nice lakes and slow rivers nearby.
Dagger Approach, maybe …
Faster and more capable than my old 9’ Kiwi Lobo. Good hatch, too.
Missed the point
"I am trying to get into sea kayaking"..."A lot of rec Kayaks are extremely wide, and I was hoping to find one where the transition to the sea kayak will be minimal." (original post)
Folks are not suggesting a whitewater boat because they think the poster wants to run whitewater. She clearly stated that she's interested in sea kayaking. Given the 10' restriction, an old-school whitewater boat would be far better for developing skills than a typical beamy, flat-bottomed, large-cockpit 10' rec boat. A sea kayak feels more like a Pirouette than a Pungo 100.
There's a lot of crossover between sea kayaking and whitewater -- waves, currents, eddies, surf, leaning & edging, rolling & bracing, etc.
And endurance
She said she wanted to build her endurance and leatn strokes. Something like a river runner, a creek boat or an older style slalom boat will do all of that much bettre than a rec boat, and isn’t particularly slower paddled correctly.
Now those sound
like good reasons to consider a ww boat even if she’s not planning on paddling ww. Thanks for the explanation, it makes more sense now.
SP
To be literal
She didn’t say that she wanted to learn strokes. She did say that she wanted to get a boat that would allow her to build endurance, and would be a minimal transition to sea kayaking. I took the latter to mean learn strokes, since that’s a rather critical part of sea kayaking.
But again, for the purposes above an river runner or similar would be great, cheap, and even to carry (unless it’s a Prijon with their heavy plastic 
ease of loading your kayak
Check out the Thule Hullivator, car top kayak loading system. I’m 5’5" with the Honda Element and the Hullivator is sooo great, it is gas pistoned and comes down to your waist level for the easiest loading ever. A 10’ boat is not a sea kayak so save your money for the boat you want and invest in a care free loading system.
Another option
Others have mentioned folders and old school WW. A third option would be a take a part boat. They ain’t cheap though. Try the Easyrider web site:
http://www.easyriderkayaks.com/eskimo15_t-a-p.htm
Of course, it then has the issues of having to be put together and taken apart every paddle.
Don
Response to Hullivator Warning
In response to riverstrider’s message - Hullivator Warning, when you purchase the Hullivator it comes with the Thule tie downs and bow & stern ties. Ouch to the poor lady but that was just a no brainer. LOL
Response to response
Yeah, I know. She had the straps and everything, she just forgot to apply them before lifting the boat up. I doubt she’ll ever forget to do that again.
THANK YOU ONE AND ALL!!!
I can not thank all of you enough. I printed out all your info. Then went on to research, research, and research. I ended up with a great list of possiblilities from everyone. From the list,I was able to find a used Dagger rpm. I could not be happier. It is very very challenging, even just paddling straight. It fits perfect in the Pilot, and I bungy cord it down, thanks for the warning. It is sooo easy to load and unload, I am able to go anytime I have a couple of hours. What a difference between rec and ww.
When I move onto a sea, I will definately get a haulivator. THanks again.
THANK YOU< ONE AND ALL!!!
THANK YOU ONE AND ALL!!!
Posted by: spunke1 on Oct-29-06 12:30 AM (EST)
I can not thank all of you enough. I printed out all your info. Then went on to research, research, and research. I ended up with a great list of possiblilities from everyone. From the list,I was able to find a used Dagger rpm. I could not be happier. It is very very challenging, even just paddling straight. It fits perfect in the Pilot, and I bungy cord it down, thanks for the warning. It is sooo easy to load and unload, I am able to go anytime I have a couple of hours. What a difference between rec and ww.
When I move onto a sea, I will definately get a haulivator. THanks again.