My First Boat

A boat. It is the essential tool that all paddler's must have. I mean how can you be a paddler if you don't have some kind of boat to paddle around?! This is the most crucial piece of equipment that a paddler owns. Which also means it is one of the biggest problems a new paddler has to deal with. You can only borrow and rent a kayak for so long before you begin to desperately want your own kayak.  This is what eventually happened to me. I mean borrowing so many different types of boats helped me figure out the make and model I was mainly interested in. However, I needed to start obtaining gear if I was going to begin progressing as a paddler.  And so my boat hunt began. I looked for months trying to find a good first boat. I wasn't going to spend a ton of money on it, because I knew this boat was going to be a beater boat. I mean I am very new to this sport and I am going to screw up a lot before I start to get it right, No sense in spend money on a boat that is most likely going to end up getting pitoned, bent, oil canned to hell, or cracked. That is just asking for heart break.
Eventually, I was led to a used 2012 Dagger Nomad 8.5 on a used gear page on Facebook. (Thanks again Jevon!)  I cannot truly express in words how joyous I was when I finalized the sale with the owner.  I finally felt like I was a kayaker. I finally owned my own boat. I no longer had to grovel to borrow someone's gear.  I now had more opportunities open up for me to go kayaking!
Thankfully Gnar-Lee was able to pick it up in Charlotte for me and weld the crack on the bottom too! (Thanks Lee and Thank you Jevon again!!) I must also admit that when she sent me pictures of my boat on top of her Honda, I did a glorious happy dance in the middle of the App State parking lot. (people starred and I didn't care!)
She was also able to bring it to me In Asheville so I could take it down the river for the first time. I took it down section 9 of the French Broad with a couple of friends. The boat handled great and I only swam once. Which is a huge improvement for me, I generally swim twice every time I paddle. Now I just can't wait to practice my roll in it and continue on my kayaking adventures.
Also, the Dagger Nomad is a great boat. If you are a beginner and want a proven and forgiving design, GET THIS BOAT.

Han-Gnar