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Wanted to post this while it was all still fresh in my mind. My wife and I are just coming out of Rec boats. I just purchased a 2006 Necky Elaho that had been well taken care of. At 22" across the beam it is definitely the narrowest kayak I have paddled. When we took our kayaking lessons last summer I was in a 14' Wilderness Systems Tsunami. Found it to be not much less stable than the Rec boats we had purchased. Picked up the Elaho one week ago and today was the first time on the water with it.

Wind was high and water was rough on the lake, not the kind of conditions I was hoping for to undertake my first outing with the Elaho and frankly I was a little apprehensive. My wife was in her Jackson Ibis and launched without issue.

Coming out of the 29 inch Ibis I found the Elaho a little tippy trying to get in and get it launched, but managed to get it done and keep the dry side up.

Turned it into the wind and discovered a whole new world of kayaking. After a few minutes of paddling I looked around to discover my wife, who has paddled that ibis in some pretty stormy conditions, to be struggling with the quartering wind. Never deployed the rudder until my wife reminded me to try it out. Didn't like the fact it made the boat hard to turn.

Like many folks on this site have stated before after a few minutes I didn't think about the stability issue any further. It was interesting to learn to trust the secondary stability and not over react. After a little while I was liking for rougher water. As I don't have anything to compare it to I still have to say I can't believe how much faster it is than our Rec boats.

After the paddle I discovered a leaky day hatch but discovered it was the bulkhead behind the cockpit. This was also my first experience with a spray skirt. This one must have been left over from the Carter administration. It was in decent shape but the seam at the waist leaked like a screen door and hi could feel it running down my sides. At least the water wasn't too cold.

This is a follow-up report on our Jackson Ibis kayaks purchased about a year ago. We still like them very much. What they do they do it very well. My wife and I use them for creek work and exploring shoreline mostly. They are a very dry ride and are good in choppy water. They are not much fun in a quartering tailwind and as reported in my first review they weathercock significantly.

I just bought a nice used Necky Elaho and while it is in a completely different league with regard to speed and handling in the wind, the Elaho can not hold a candle to the Ibis in creek work and beach combing along the shoreline. They are very stable and look good in the water if that's important to you. We've had them on Caddo lake and they are excellent for that environment. In fact we are scheduled to go back in June.

By the way if you have never kayaked Caddo Lake in north east Texas you absolutely must put that on your bucket list.

Several weeks ago my wife and I purchased a pair of Jackson Ibis Kayaks. One was a 2011 model and the other a 2012. They are slightly different. The 2012 has a sliding cup holder that fits under the seat rails and is conveniently located but not deep enough to securely hold a drink from tipping over except in the calmest water. The 2012 also has vertical hull stiffeners located midship. Quality appears good. The fore and aft as well as height adjustable "Elite" seat is functional and comfortable. And, being able to remove the seat and use it as a camp seat is an excellent added bonus.

The day hatch should be located in front or rather than behind the paddler. We have a friend who just bought a new Old Town Dirigo 120 and we both like the dashboard layout on that model.

My wife and I have some canoe experience but are novice kayak paddlers. The Ibis is easy to get in and out of and at 29" wide is very stable. Thus far all of our paddling has been lake and slow creek work. Our nearby lake is not well protected and is susceptible to prevalent south winds which will commonly reach a steady 20+ miles per hour. The Ibis is very stable in choppy water and in fact this past Sunday my wife and two friends were caught across the lake in a squall that kicked up some very rough water. While her friends Old Town Dirigo seem to glide better in calm water she beat them back to their side of the lake by 200 yards with no drama and took on very little water.

Only paddling issue is that the Ibis weathervanes noticeably. It also tracks better into a headwind than a tailwind. The drybag on the back deck is handy and we are anxious to try them out on some overnight excursions.

While not a long distance touring rig it is a great platform to explore from We are very happy with them and would buy another.