Boat Fitting

Ok. So got into a WW kayak for the first time last night.

Our outdoor program has the liquidlogic boats (Hoss, little joe, and trigger)

Initially hopped into the trigger, and i did fit in the boat. But it felt like it was almost too good a fit. was concerned if i needed to wet exit, i would have been hindered. It took a bit of contortion just to get my legs under the braces, but once i was in it was fine. Ended up doing the session in the lil. joe which was slightly bigger (duh) and felt more comfortable getting out if i had to.

So being used to sea kayaks and the ease of entry, which was the right fit to go for so i know for next time?

is it normally difficult to get into/out of a well fitted WW boat?

Make sure you are really loose, so when you miss a roll and swim you can always say "I fell out of my outfitting". :D

Exactly hehehehe. In all reality, it has quite a bit to do with weight, as well as overall length. Tall wise, I fit perfect into a hoss. Weight wise, not even close. I'm coming in at around 160-170, and a hoss is absolutely HUGE! I can pop my knees out of the braces, and just basically have too much free space. In the little joe, my feet go numb in about 5 minutes, but my weight is optimal for it. If your just dinking around, big isn't bad, maybe its better to be comfortable until you get the feel of it. But when you start to surf (and believe me you will want to if you have the option) a tighter boat makes it easier. oh and see if you can get your hands on a CR125 or 250. the 250 is huge on me, but a 125 is amazing! :D anyway, hope it all works for ya. experiment!

oh and don't worry about being tight and wet exiting. you could be absolutely crammed into a boat, and still be able to get out if you need to.

Well i am about 5"7ish 140 or so. So Weight wise i am at the bottom of the lil joe and at the top of the trigger. I was getting foot cramps in the lil joe, but that was probably just them protesting for jamming on pedals

Right now am just dinking around in the pool to work on my hard skills in a ww boat. But i will probably take one of those boats out for the time being.

I guess i need to get used to the tightness of the boat and tell myself it isn;t a sea kayak.

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Originally Posted by crackboy

I guess i need to get used to the tightness of the boat and tell myself it isn;t a sea kayak.

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Bingo. You want your boat to be responsive for rolls and play, and snug outfitting is key. You'll be amazed how easy it is to wet exit from a boat, even with tight outfitting. Just try it and see.

So pardon the newb question but since i am a newb.

Where is the ideal location to be in the weight range? What is the difference going to be?

Not a bad question at all. It's personal preference, performance, and safety. Being on the high end of a playboat might mean that you can throw it around a little better; i.e. initiate the bow and stern easier for flat water cartwheels, small wave features, etc. On the flipside, in pushier water you might find yourself unintentionally stern squirting through rapids or burying the bow during a critical move. For a river runner or creeker, your concerns are more on safety and control - you want your boat to float you relatively higher in the water, resurface off drops faster, etc.

As a beginner, you will probably want to lean towards the middle to lower end of the scale. I'd look at the Lil Joe out of the boats you listed. At any rate whenever possible demo the boats you are interested in before you buy, talk to people who paddle them, etc. The weight range for a given boat is an inexact science to be sure.

Ideally i would have something i could grow into skill wise without having to buy a new boat in a year. Was thinking a riverrunner that i could learn to play in something along the lines of a jackson 2fun or fun. Seems like i am in the same issue with the trigger/little joe, bieng on the high end of the smaller boat and the bottom end of the larger

Regarding the Trigger vs. Lil Joe weight range, I would go for the Lil' Joe personally. My reasoning being that the Lil Joe and Triggers aren't playboats, they're riverrunning boats. And for me, when I'm running rivers, I would much rather have a boat that floats me a little too well than a boat that doesn't float me enough. When I paddle boats that I am on the upper end of the weight range, they tend to be sluggish and unresponsive, the worst thing you can possibly imagine when you're trying to make important moves.

That being said, I would try both out and see which one feels more lively to you. Being a beginner, that may be a bit hard to do. The Lil' Joe is going to be a great boat to begin in, it's fast, super responsive, is easy to roll, has enough volume and a good design that when you start to progress, you'll be able to start running class IV and some class V in it. But if you're really wanting to get into playboating more than riverrunning, I would start looking for something more like the LiquidLogic CR125, the Jackson Fun series, or the Wavesport EZG series (though I would reccomend the first two over the Wavesport just due to their shitty plastic). Again, if you're really wanting to playboat, I would try and find a boat that you're on the upper middle to upper end of the weight range so that it is easier to maneuver, just don't expect it to be a great riverrunner.

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Originally Posted by crackboy

Was thinking a riverrunner that i could learn to play in something along the lines of a jackson 2fun or fun.

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I agree, for what you are saying the Fun or 2Fun should be the perfect boats. In fact, they are the only boats I would suggest a beginner get. They are great boats in terms of comfort and in terms of river running, while still being able to do every play move out there. The only things these boats shouldn’t be on are steep creeks. Just get it you will love it.