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| Captiva 16' kayak with rudder |
The Captiva
is the big brother to the Carolina. Like
the Carolina, the Captiva is extremely stable which is good for beginners. This boat is designed to handle a bigger
paddler and more gear, so at 5’7”, I wasn’t expecting much when I paddled
it. I figured it would be a bit of a
barge, but I was pleasantly surprised. I
had a lot of extra room in the cockpit, but was still able to use the very
comfortable thigh braces which are built right into the design. The seat is simple but comfortable and
although the kayak is a bit on the wide side (25.25”) it handled very nimbly
for a 16’ boat. Perception carried over
the dual-channel hull design so the kayak tracks like it is on rails even
without the standard rudder. At 58 lbs.,
the Captiva is lighter than I expected too.
It cruises nicely and turns easily.
The only
thing I found wanting was a complete lack of deck lines (only bungees on deck),
but this is an easy fix. For about $25
you can install your own deck lines.
While I wouldn’t recommend it for an advanced paddler, I think the
Captiva is a good all-around kayak. It
is a better fit for someone over 6ft. This
boat is no longer in production, but you can find them on the used market
pretty cheap. The plastic that they used
to make these is the old-school, heavy-duty, bullet-proof plastic that
Perception was known for until they started thinning it out a few years ago, so
these boats will last a long time.
