My Dancer, which is the longest boat I regularly use, rolls fairly well, but I can't lock into it properly. I'm trying to add hip pads to it so I can lock in better, but so far it hasn't worked. I roll it fine, but if I hang out upside-down for a moment before rolling back up, I fall out of the seat. Then, when I try to roll back up, I twist out of my seat, the sprayskirt pops, and when I do get upright, I've taken on a ton of water. Of the boats I've rolled, it may be my least favorite besides the Braaap and Mullet. This is unfortunate, since the most common use for my roll will likely be while playing in Epic Kayak Ultimate games, for which I use almost exclusively a Dancer.
The Mullet is kind of like a larger version of the Braaap. They both have flat tails and are designed for whitewater fun. Everybody loves the Braaap, and I'm the only person who doesn't seem to find the Braaap the easiest boat to roll. For whatever reason (probably it's just not sized right, I guess), the seat gets in my way, and I can't lean back properly. I haven't tried either of these boats since I first started rolling, though. It may be easier now. I rolled the Mullet once after deciding I didn't enjoy the Braaap (not my idea; I was encouraged by my friends and figured I might as well). I succeeded, but my knee popped painfully, and I decided that was enough for me.
Today I rolled the Flying Squirrel 95, which is a very large creek boat. Since it's designed for larger people, and I weigh only 130 pounds, I sat so high out of the water that when I rolled upright, I had the thrilling feeling of being catapulted up into a sitting position! It's probably the most fun I've had rolling a boat! (Disclaimer: That's not me in the below picture. In fact, it's not even my picture. I Googled it, and this looks awesome!)
I also rolled a Remix 47, which is a child's boat (I borrowed it from my friend's daughter, who is about six years old). Contrary to the Squirrel, I'm far too large for this boat (being 5'10" in addition to 130 pounds), so it was extremely wobbly for me, and I only barely fit. (I certainly couldn't use the footpegs!) However, it rolled so readily that I had WAY more fun playing around in it than I expected I would!
I frequently use Pumpkin, my Remix XP 9, on multi-day kayak trips, due to the amount of gear it can hold, but prior to today, I had never even been in the XP 9's big brother, the XP 10. With 105 gallons of displacement versus my XP 9's 73, this boat was such a big boy that it didn't want to roll upside-down for me in the first place. In fact, I found rolling the XP 10 back up to be far easier than flipping it upside-down! (Picture note: The picture below is why we love this boat for multi-day trips. ALL of this gear fits comfortably into a Remix XP 10!)
While Mike really loves his Jefe Chico, Tony loves his Stomper, and Erik adores the Mullet, I can't say that I have yet chosen a favorite boat to roll. I suppose I enjoy my new Dagger ID 7.0, Jamal, although it's kind of a short, stubby little potato chip. I'm told it's resistant to rolling, though I don't have much trouble. Once I get it past a certain point, it really wants to right itself the rest of the way. It's also small, so not much mass to move. I plan to eventually use this boat to learn how to do cartwheels and other tricks.
There's so much to discuss regarding what I learned about rolling! I may have to put up a post about what I've learned some other day, after I have plenty of pictures to accompany it.
If you have a favorite boat for rolls and other tricks, let me know in the comments!
-O. Ocelot
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