Dagger Green Boat Whitewater River Kayak

Had the Green Boat out the first time yesterday for about 5 hours. It is a wonderful and fun boat to paddle. While not whitewater, I did have 2 foot breaking waves, heavy currents and winds 15-20 mph on the Gulf. Young paddlers will not realize that the Green Boat behaves like an improved, refined design of the Long-Boats of the 1970's.

Designed to win last year’s Green River creek boat race (took four out of the top five spots), it became available to us mere mortals this past spring with refinements. If you like the idea of acquiring a NASCAR racer at a minivan price, you’ll love this. And, the possibilities extend beyond creeking. At 11'9" x 24", it harks back to old school, but has modern refinements that enable it to carve with ease. The speed comes from the long, narrow profile and is great to have when you need to go to the whip. If there’s a surf wave without access eddys, not to worry. You’ll be able to attain it from downstream when others can only watch. It will surf and carve (somewhat), but the slightly rounded bottom requires some adjustment. Some describe it as tippy, but I think they’re from a generation that was weaned on broad playboats. It’s lively, but that provides the easy lean to make it cut and run. Rolling is no problem. With rocker carefully dialed in at both ends, it will surprise you with its readiness to spin. The acceleration is quick with a bow-up attitude. This makes it a breeze to boof. It punches holes and eddy lines like a missile. The outfitting is comfortable and effective. Build quality is mass production. A map of the Green River is etched into the deck – nice touch. While its intent is creek racing, the size and speed open up other doors, like whitewater multi day tripping. Also, if your local river is pool-drop, with emphasis on the pools, this will get you from feature to feature with minimal time and effort. And, it’s just flat out fun!