New(used) Boat Suggestions

[DaveP]

Greetings All,
I recently found this site in my attempts to get back into cboating (c1) after a much too long hiatus following graduation from college, getting married, job, etc. After looking around a bit I have some ideas for a new (to me) boat, but am pretty much in the dark as it has been about 6 years since I last seriously paddled. Here is a brief synopsis of my history/what I think I want to do:
Started with an OC1 in a whitewater class with the Canoe Cruisers in DC back around '92-93. Quickly moved to a really old C1 (have no idea what model it is- fiberglass, quite a large volume, pretty horrendous green color deck!) and paddled it for several years recreationally, mainly on the Potomac. At the time I tried a slalom boat a few times and really enjoyed it, but didn't have the money or time to pursue it any further.
Which brings us to today; the old boat is still around but needs quite a bit of work that will not happen in the near future. But I want to get on the water soon....
I am leaning more to the slalom side of things as I had so much fun in one before, am not a huge playboating guy, and possibly would like to get into the racing scene if/when time and skill permit. I am not a big guy by any means (5'10" around 145lbs) so that will probably whittle down some of the boat selection.
Anyway, sorry to bore you with the life story but hopefully that gives you an idea of where I am coming from. I am thinking used as I imagine new boats are probably a little beyond what I want to spend at the moment. On the same hand, you can't really pick the boat you want and then go try and find it used!
So, any and all suggestions would greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for the help. I hope to meet some of you out on the water sometime soon!

David Prince
Bowie, MD
dprince25 at hotmail.com

[OC]

There are so many boats to choose from it's hard to recommend. I also know from experience that you really have to paddle a boat before you know if you like it or not. Pool sessions and playspots are great places to try different models, especially when the boat is for sale.

The other problem is the outfitting. I bought my last boat mostly because it fit perfectly, saving hours of work and fitting. There are a lot of used boats posted on the web- just takes some time to find them....

OC.

[Space Canoe]

Dave;
welcome back to "those who seek the radiance" (Tee Hee!). If it were me, I would just duct tape the devil out of your old boat until it doesn't leak too badly, and get onto the water and get paddling! Then I would try out an old slalom design; there has to be a number of those in the Washington D.C. area and they are fairly inexpensive, because all of the hip-hop happening paddlers don't want to be caught dead in them. John Sweet and Nittany boats used to make some converted slalom hulls with a higher top deck that would be perfect for you . If the slalom boats feel too squirrelly at first, then try to find an old Dagger Cascade;
http://boatertalk.com/gear-detail.php?gid=789
they are almost as stable as an open canoe and will provide an easy transfer from beginning to intermediate status.
After this forum, Gear Swap
http://boatertalk.com/gear.php
is probably the best place to start looking.
Keep cruising this forum and keep posting with questions and you'll be on your way in no time!
Hope this helps;
Ric Taylor