Yes, these are great on Class 1 and even small class twos. A big plus is having hatches that are easy on/off and positively sealed. A lot of cheap boats have bogus hatches.In beach surf, youll probably want a sit on top.

Its got the hatch and bulkhead so it has built in Flotation. Which coast? This boat is fine in bays, lakes, protected water. If you go paddling off shore, or launching/landing from the surf zone... I'd go with a sit on top.

I'd look at getting a sit on top for class two. Water wieghts about 7lbs per gallon. The Acadia has no bulkhead or hatch, so youll want to have float bags in the boat for moving water, otherwise you could be swiming with a pretty heavy sea anchor! Or look at the boats that have a bulkhead dry compartment. These boats only fill the cockpit with water but the bulkhead compartment stays airtight and floats up high in the water.

depends on the river. 12 foot boats turn quicker than 14's. If the river has lots of turns and lots of boulders that require more turning, I go 12 footer. check the boats capacity. make sure if you go down to a 12 footer, it has enough capacity for you and your gear.

do you have a pc or mac? we registered our boats on their website. They have factory email they answer, I think its info@nativewatercraft.com

It is a hybrid tandem and solo, so its not the perfect solo paddling boat, but its pretty close. You can move one of the seats to the middle of the kayak (not all tandem/solo hybrids have this ability) Its stable but not as wide as other solo/tandem hybrids. Most of all though, I think its the weight (solo 55lbs and tandem 62lbs) that makes it a good solo boat. With one seat out, it weighs in at 55 lbs. That is lighter than most other company's 14 1/2 foot boats, so you use less effort to go furhter easier. no dead weight in this thing. Most people dont relize how strong this plastic is. These Marvels dont oil can like other kayaks. The plastic is strong, light, and a lot stiffer than other boats I've owned or tried.

Take a look at the Featherlight 9.5. If you can figure the extra 5 inches, its worth the weight savings. Its very light (under 40LBs) Its hard to get a good rec kayak under 9 feet. There is a new 9 foot kayak coming out, the Liquid Logic Remix XP. The smaller of the two is the 9 footer. it has a hatch and bulkhead dry area too. I havent tried it yet, but its the samme seat as thier Whitewater line.

This is a killer river boat! Most sit on tops are made for flat water only, surf only, or river only. The Manta Ray's deliver on the flats, but its like no other sit on top on moving water. The boat's bow easiley rides over waves and holes on the river or in the break zone. The Bow is a "sheding water" design, meaning it drains off water fast! The mulit chines make turning easy or on comand. It is not a sluggish boat at all like a lot of sit ons that are made strictly for flatwater. Basically, this is a well balanced, predictable handling boat for a variety of conditions. Add the rudder if you paddle more than 75% flat water.