hey there guys and girls just wondering if anyone can help just thinking about buying my first sea kayak and was thinking about a perception carolina 12.0 or 14.0
has any 1 had a go on them ? not at all experienced but want a kayak that will last me a few years ?

just keep fit with the occationl weekend trip any helps or tips would be greatly appreciated

thanks guys

by the way i am living im south australia cheers

My advice would be to look at some of the very nice kayaks that are built right where you are in the Land Down Under. When you're ready for your ultimate kayak, I can highly recommend taking a look at what these folks have to offer: nckayaks.com

Be very careful if you decide on a polyethylene boat. Be sure that it is not warped and that the keel is straight. That's not to say that poly boats can't be very good boats, but a lot of folks don't realize how damaging it can be to store them improperly in the sun.

If you're handy, I would consider a stitch and glue kit boat; take a look at what Pygmy has to offer.

Learn as much as you can about the different constuction materials, types of boats and what type of paddling you are most interested in. Demo as many boats as you can, but try to keep an open mind. What might feel tippy, or difficult at first will often be the boat you will eventually want. Go for quality--you won't be sorry.

Lastly, don't forget the paddle and how to use it and not damage your body. Learn proper paddling technique and don't settle for a beginner paddle. That doesn't mean you have to pay an arm and a leg for a good paddle, but you need to put at least as much effort into choosing the right paddle as you do picking the right boat.

Good luck and have fun.

hello mate ;-) It would help to know your height & weight first in sizing up a kayak for you (any kayak).


That said, I've paddled w. people in the Carolina 14. They are beginners & enjoy the boat's stability. They are rather wide & barge-like for touring boats, so don't expect them to be nimble or speedy. That is not to diss them, that much stability is a trade off for those things.

The next paragraph assumes you're doing paddling in the ocean, along the coastline, or larger inland lakes.

Their very big cockpits are a detriment if you are doing ocean paddling in any more than the mildest waves. You'll want to wear a skirt if you are doing ocean/coastal touring.
Again, a big skirt deck is needed to cover that cockpit so it presents a big surface area for waves to hit on & implode.

Finally, in a class taken a few years ago with a couple of Carolina 14 owners, it was the general consensus that these boats are a real pain to do any kind of assisted rescue (Like a T rescue) due to their width and wait. As for solo rescues like the cowboy or paddlefloat, they are harder to do because the aft deck in the Carolinas are so high, making them difficult to climb onto, and the seat back gets in the way re-entering the boat.

Can you get Wilderness Systems boats (co-company of Perception)? If so look at the Tsunami 140 series, rudder is optional. What about Dagger, another co-company? The Dagger Alchemy is a really nice all around design, comes standard w. skeg.

IMHO, a 12 - 14' boat is not a sea kayak. A sea kayak is a minimum 15-16' with 17'+ being even better. A 12-14' boat requires too much work to hold a course or cover any distance in anything over a 1-2' chop in sheltered water. A longer boat is safer, faster and easier to re-enter. It should have forward and rear bulkheads - well sealed - and reliable hatch covers. I live in New England and I see people setting out in short, tubby boats with big cockpits. I see many good used boats on Craigslist. My first boat was a Perception 15.5. It was a stable boat, but it was heavy and wide, had a huge cockpit and a comfortable backrest that prevented effective re-entry. Save your money and buy something seaworthy or stay in coves and rivers. At any rate, you will quickly outgrow your first boat. Just my opinion... Have fun and be safe!

Paul, that should get some arguments started. I don't disagree in general, but I'm sure there are exceptions.

Good point, Magooch!. An exception would be a boat paddled by an expert whose skill, experience, strength and judgement can overcome the limitations inherent in small boats. People surf and rock garden in little boats. However, as you look at paddling accidents and deaths, you see smaller, wider recreational boats lacking adequate flotation, bulkheads and basic safety equipment. Small boats often have wide comfortable seats and lack foot pegs, making the paddler tippy and unstable. Rec boats are fine to learn basic skills on sheltered water, but they are not sea kayaks. Many SK clubs will not permit boats under 15' on SK trips with good reason Small boat sales and rentals should state the conditions and limitations for use. A novice paddling a shorter boat in following wind and waves can be hair-raising at best. As stated in an earlier post, a little boat is very tricky to re-enter.

The older model Perception Carolina is not a good sea kayak mainly because of its relatively large cockpit and its flat bottom which does not handle well in waves. It is more of a day-tourer for protected waters.

As one who paddles a 12ft,6-in long by 21.5-in wide day-touring sea kayak with a small, tight-fitting cockpit (it has to be small as the boat is only 20-in wide at the cockpit) and two watertight bulkheads and a rounded hull shape that is great in waves, I have several questions that hopefully someone can answer.
1) What is it about shorter kayaks makes tham tricky to re-enter to perform self-resuces? Mine seems very easy as a platform for self-rescues, no more difficult than my 16.5-ft boat.
2) Are shorter boats really harder to handle in following wind and waves? Why? I have found that all the boats I have paddled are a pain to keep straight in following wind and waves, but my 12.5 seems no more difficult. Is there something about longer boats that makes them easier to handle in following wind and waves?

I agree that shorter boats, even narrow ones like mine, are inherently slower, and require more energy expenditiure to keep up with faster paddling groups.

1. In my opinion a shorter boat responds more easily to a turn. A longer boat requires a more aggressive stroke, a lean or (anathema...) the use of a rudder. A 7' play boat turns on a dime. The same boat would be exhausting to keep on a straight course thru wind and chop over open water. All else being equal a longer boat tracks better and turns less easily.
2. My boat, a Delta, is 18'6" with a 23.5" beam. It has nearly twice the volume and bouyancy as your boat. With a paddle float jammed, it's like climbing onto a dock. As I'm a big guy and not really agile. I would tend to flood your boat just getting in.
I guess the boat length issues depend a lot on the needs and skills of the paddler. When it comes to carrying and putting the boat on the car, your boat wins -hands down.

The only thing I can contribute to this discussion is that when all is said and done, the long boat is what I want to be in if I have a longer distance to travel--whether it's on flat water, or bumpy. Playing around in waves I'll take a little shorter boat with a little more rocker. Working the eddy line upsteam in smaller rivers I want an even shorter, quick turning boat.

Anyone who tries to have an all-in-one boat is going to have to make some compromises. My bottom line is if I can have only one boat, it would be the long boat. I would rather compromise my choices of where to paddle than the exhilaration of a high performance sea kayak. It might take a while to learn to maneuver a long solid tracking boat, but once you experience the effortless glide and seaworthyness inherent in a big boat, you're spoiled for good.

By the way, my big boat is an NC (Novus Composites) Expedition. I don't have superlatives that are grand enough to describe this awesome boat.

Interesting to see that the old bias against rudders continues on, despite the fact that many, maybe even most, of the big circumnavigations have been done in ruddered boats. From Paul Caffyn to Freya Hoffmeister, many serious long distance kayakers, often paddling in horrific sea conditions, choose ruddered boats for the big trips. I also note from personal observation that retractable skeg failures outnumber rudder failures by maybe 20 to one.

The fact is that rudder choice is often geared to the personal paddling styles of individual kayakers. In a previous post, I identified kayakers as being on a spectrum, with Explorers on one end and Players on the other. (I´ve since made it a triangular grid, with Racers/Fitness Enthusiasts as the third pole.) Explorers such as myself are interested in putting lots of water behind them, often under difficult sea conditions, and many of us choose ruddered boats (usually using the rudder as a variable-azimuth skeg). Players are often into Inuit boats and GPs, rolling and bracing, often playing in surf--they eschew rudders. Racers like to go fast and work out, and many have ruddered boats (surf skis and other go-fast kayaks).

It's a big, diverse world out there.

Yes, and may it always remain so!

I don't take the hook on the old rudder vs. skeg debates. Kayaks can be used for many different purposes.

A rudder is a distinct advantage for fishing & photography, where one steers w. the feet into final position while handling equipment. They are also a huge plus for turning very long (18 feet +), very narrow (18" & under) plumb-bowed boats like racing kayaks or surfskis where course corrections w. such craft are frequent & necessary.

A rudder is what the paddler makes it. For competent people it is a tool, and using it is another skill. In less competent people it is a crutch - a substitute for skill (boat control).

If someone likes a boat well enough & wants a rudder, I say go ahead. None of mine have them - matters not 1 iota. I have my preferences like anyone else but try to keep them unhinged from my ego.

in the case of this specific query, from a beginner who sounds like he'll be out on the ocean (open water, large bays, coastal) the Carolina would not be my pick whether it had a rudder or not... the boat is overly wide, heavy for length and has a enormous cockpit ill-suited for ocean paddling thru waves. A high seatback interferes w. rescue re-entry. It's a rec boat & pretty much designed, as mike posted, for calm sheltered paddling.

Could a skilled paddler take a Carolina out on the ocean? - of course. But they could take practically any kayak out.
Would the Carolina be their kayak of choice for ocean paddling? I think we could safely say not '-)

As to length of boat, the Mariner Coaster, Dagger Alchemy & Impex Mystic, for example, are all 14 feet and as capable in the ocean as any 16-17 footer. And there are a handful of excellent kayaks just over 15 feet: Necky Eliza, Eddyline Fathom LV, the smaller versions of the WS Zephyr, P&H Easky & P&H Scorpio, Current Designs Squamish and Willow, & others.

It's more about the many components of design - far beyond length.What is length anyway? Overall length nose to stern? Waterline length? A kayak w. a lot of stern overhang will have drastic difference between those two numbers.

As to performance, long is not always better. A lot of people have chosen or been steered towards boats whose length & resultant wetted surface is an unnecessary drain on what the paddler's motor can generate. He or she would be much more efficient & less fatigued with a shorter yet still narrow boat...and have a lot more fun developing confidence & skills.
It is after all about recreation unless we have endorsements to fulfill '-)

Thanks to the rise in playboats/dayboats there are now smaller, lower volume kayaks- and more of them available than ever.

Diversity is indeed good

I'd like to second the kudos to rudders. Many long boats (18-20') can be turned in a short radius by paddlers with a good lean. The last reference to rudders as variable skegs is right on target. A good boat has a somewhat neutral "helm", but wind and weather can force you to make nearly every paddle stroke a "corrective" stroke. Having your rudder down acts like a skeg and adding a little rudder angle can keep your boat handling neutral. Gotta love the rudder. If only it could retract to do a "cowboy" re-entry. Ouch!

I put Mike's question out to the crew here at Sea Kayaker. The following is our editor, Chris Cunningham's answer...

"1) In short boats with watertight compartments in each end, the volume of flotation in the ends is going to be less than that in a full-length touring kayak. They may also have a lower ratio of end-compartment buoyant volume to cockpit floodable volume. If you do a solo recovery after a wet exit, the small kayak may not support your weight when you lunge up on the aft deck. If the stern sinks enough, the kayak will be at an angle that makes it hard to stay aboard or that dips the coaming underwater, allowing the cockpit to flood. If there is enough buoyant volume in the stern compartment you should be able to climb back aboard if you keep close to the cockpit.

2)Keeping a straight course downwind and down wave can be difficult. Because waves causes the water to move in a circular motion, water at the crests is moving in the same direction that the wave is traveling while water in the trough is moving in the opposite direction. If your kayak is at an angle on the face of the wave, the crest and the trough will push the bow and stern in opposite directions and your kayak will tend to turn parallel the wave. The length of the wave relative to length of the kayak can exacerbate the effect. If the kayak is a bit longer than the wave, the bow may be buried in the trough and the stern lifted clear of the water. The stern is then more free to pivot around the bow. On that wave a shorter kayak on the same wave is not going to veer out of line as quickly. If the waves are twisting a shorter boat of course, a long kayak may bridge crests and troughs and hold a straighter line. Corrective strokes, in general, are going to be more effective in a shorter boat, but in rough water you can get a good response from a long kayak by timing corrective strokes to coincide with the hull being on the crest of a wave and having a temporarily shorter waterline length. "

As a touring sea kayaker I look for a boat that paddles easily and doesn't need a rudder. I then have a rudder added. To me rudder is a misnomer, most of the time I use it as a trim-tab to trim my boat such that I can paddle a straight course with minimal corrective strokes.

Most of the time my trim-tab/rudder is fully retracted and on many trips is not deployed at all.