I live in Maine which has lots of big whitewater and lots of smaller creeks. I am leaning towards a creeker / river runner as an all-around choice. How do these boats typically handle ocean surf? I have a great beach with cnsistent waves which is frequented by kayakers. Most of them seem to paddle playboats however. Thoughts on this? I like the idea of running creeks and straight surfing of ocean waves. The whole rodeo / plyboat thing doesn't necessarily appeal to me. Not yet anyways.

how big is "big whitewater"???

Its a hard one i suppose because your wanting to take part in a few disciplines. A river runner/mild creeker shouldnt be to much of a problem. I dont think id do any sort of serious creeks in an allrounder though, depends on how big they are.

In the UK there isnt anything like the amount of volume and big rivers there is in the states. I mean im no expert on creeking(or paddling in general) and i cant say ive done any really big rivers but ive done rivers that are so low it was basically a rock bashing trip and i was glad i wasnt in my own boat because i wouldnt want to do anything like that in a playboat or an allrounder to be honest.

I now have a playboat but i used to paddle an allrounder. Obviously the allrounder does what it says on the tin but what it dosent say is that you A)probably wont become a world freestyle champ! and Ull probably smash it to smithereens if you try a 200ft drop in it!

As far as surfing an allrounder goes, ive done it but its not easy if you want to do more than go in a straight line.

So:
big creeks = creeker
Bit of everything = allrounder
more surfing than anything else = get a surf yak.

Saying that i spoke to a guy the other week who does whitewater, playboating and surfs all in a fluid element.

still confused? I know iam???

matt

You mention the FLuid Element. One boat that is intriguing is the Fluid Spice. Seems like a good compromise for a little of everything. Bog whitewater I guess would be the Penobscot and Kennebec at 10,000 cfs and Class IV - V.

I paddle a Dagger Mamba. The boat is perfect for beginners. I am in fact a beginner and find it very easy to roll in. The boat can front surf, punch through wave trains and surf as seen in my profile. It really depends what you think you do the most.

well i got started in a LL lil joe which is classed as a riverrunner. i have run grade 5 in it plenty of time and although i know i would be better off in a full on creeker i still paddled it down them fine and had an awsum time. as i use it seshions when the surf is up it surfs great. nice edges and i can wavewheel, flatspin and blunt it. im not saying the lil joe is your boat but maybe a riverrunner with nice rails and a little bit of volume. can think of any off the top of my head.