Creekers vs River Runners vs Playboats

From the description of the paddler given on your posts the likely compromise is to go for boat with a flat bottom, that is friendly to use, that can handle most situations but is still fun to cruise down a river on without handing out a spanking every time she crosses an eddy line.

My suggestion is to try out a wave sport X, or EZ the boat that has won about 4 world titles for playboats (that is the X), but are old now and hard to find, or a Pyranha inazone 230, or 220, or 240, or even an I3 or recoil, but don't go to waimarino as they don't even reply your emails and wouldn't know service if it hit them in the face. Depending on her size and what rivers you have around you. If she catches the bug and wants to go more into kayaking then get into a creeker at later stages once more skills have been developed, but a river running playboat is a great compromise.

A rad is designed more for play and aerial maneuvers and not many beginners/intermediate paddlers do these on purpose, after all rad stands for radial aerial design. It is short and once in a hole it can be hard to pull out again and being short it is easy to catch on eddy lines and hard to roll off it, so punishment handed out. in a perfect world we all have a 3 boat collection at least, one being a great playboat, something like a Rad, the second a river runner that can catch eddies and then get out onto a wave and still have fun, the third is a full on creeker, so start in the middle ground, The best all round boat made in NZ would be a Blitz, as the specials may be too small and edgy, depending on size again.

Hope this helps

Andy

Im pretty sure they would be open on the weekend

im paddling wairoa tomorrow with a rad 185 i got from work and i hope that will go alright.
i know i will feel better in a creeker but i dont want to sit back on grade 2's in a creek boat. i want to be pushed on grade 2's and be forced to work on railing and eddying and what not. im going to take the mystic from work next time i go paddling (we dont have a mini at the shop)
im really liking the rad but i dont want to make my decision off just that. i only have a rad 180 185 and 195 a flippy a mystic and a SCUD i can try out from work.
is that being a big enough boat slut? :P
i dont think ill bothing with the 180 or 195 though. and maybe not the flippy so that leaved the SCUD and mystic... hmmm maybe not.
i would still appreciate anyones input =)

Different boats are for different things, it's pointless comparing a playboat to a creekboat in terms of performance. The boats which give the best technique are usually longer with a round hull (rpm, kendo, turbo etc). There is a reason slalom paddlers have the best technique - they paddle boats similar to this shape which require good technique to make them work for you. They are also easier to roll which is a good thing for a beginner.
Playboats are harder to roll with flat hulls and no length - they are easy to turn and manouevre but are super slow and hard to style in - this is why if you get in a creeker from a playboat you will struggle to turn it.
There is no real one size fits all in terms of boat choice - of course a creekboat is rubbish in the surf and a playboat is not amazing on a creek run, this is why most people either have more than one boat or only really paddle one style.
BUT if you take budget into consideration and can only afford one boat then most people opt for a creekboat. They still require technique to paddle and will perform well when paddled well. True they are more forgiving but all this means is that you can practice in pushier/harder water. You can do grade four moves in a grade two rapid so saying you'll get bored is kind of naive. When you get better and actually start running drops etc then a creeker comes into its own in terms of rocker/volume to get you out of trouble.
The "which exact model of kayak" argument is stupid and a waste of time if you are just beginning. You'll get used to whatever you paddle despite the slight differences from brand to brand. It's more important to choose an appropriate style of boat than a specific model.

Blitz special hands down best boat. Faster than a rad down river and far more fun (you might even make the odd hard ferry that the folks in river boats can't make). You can do everything you want on a river, and you can actually learn how to play boat properly, rather than just chucking your nose in and hoping for the best (which most beginners do nowadays in the short little biff boats). Nice and narrow, so most paddlers feel confident in them. Easy to roll, and if she is not keen to run hairy scary stuff they are a great all river boat. Cheap as chips to, so if boating isn't really her thing in the long run, she can just give it to another needy eager boater, rather than have lost out loads of hard earned dollars on a a boat that depreciates the minute you put your pin into the eftpos machine.

She will get bored with a creek boat, maybe even with an all river boat. I know plenty of good boaters that used these as their sole kayak for everything, and they got much bigger beatings in creekboats. Kind of like rugby players and head gear!! Creek boats suck at the beach, so do most all river boats, but blitz's rip.

I think that she is a good paddler but is struggling with confidence in the water,
A good creeker will help her progress in confidence and if she is willing to put time into learning how to use her boat then she will do just fine.
(railing!,rolling,eddying in and out and reading the river etc)
I think if she is paddling a playboat then she will sit at a grade 2 maybe 3 level for a long time but she will get some good skills.
I think where she is at at the moment a creeker will be more forgiving and she'll maybe feel more confident in the water. Most important thing is time on the water.
=)