1st you need to decide what type of water you want to paddle. Easy flat water creeks & rivers, most times they are class I-II consisting of easy shoals and light rapids. Class III steps it up a notch to taller drops with higher water volume in the drops. Class IV-V is for the hard core paddlers and is out of my repertoire. I have over 30 years paddling experience and enjoy mostly
paddling and exploring the class III and easier stuff.
If this type of paddling is your desire, I may be of some help. A good flat water sit on top is a Wilderness Systems Tarpon. they come in lengths from 10' to 16'. They are very stable, have nice storage capacity and carry a load if you want to use it for camping or fishing. Also have a pronounced keel so they track very well with good hull speed.
If you want to venture off into a little more of a whitewater capable sit on top check out the older Dagger Pegasus or the newer version, Torrent. These boats are very capable of class III water and are easy to paddle. Both are very well made and can take a beating. You can't go wrong in my opinion.
I have a WS Tarpon 120 for the flat stuff, 2 Dagger Pegasus' for the little more exciting runs. I also have an Old Town Discovery 158, for canoeing & camping as well as a Dagger Mamba Whitewater deck boat for the over my head stuff.
There is no perfect boat for everything. Each style of boat has unique characteristics. If you want flat water paddlin, the tarpon is great, if you want it a little rougher, the Pegasus or Torrent would be my pic. Hiwasse outfitters rents Torrents if you want to try one out.
Remember to pick a boat to fit your size & weight. Ill add a few links so you can get more info. If I can be of help let me know. Carl W
http://www.wildernesssyst...onal/recreational_tarpon/http://www.dagger.com/pro...eational_touring/torrent/
