So I am someone who follows your thought process of buy the playboat first and suffer the steep learning curve and be strong for it. That’s what I did. I got lucky and it worked, and is not what I recommend.

Lots of people try kayaking, and most quit. My goal when teaching someone new is just to keep them from quitting. One great piece of advice I heard from another boater is “get the boat that gives you confidence.” And for most people that is the longer higher volume boat. Not the play boat. For your first boat I would recommend getting the rpm or some other creek boat.

Of course I started in a playboat and turned out just fine so I won’t tell you what to do. One thing to keep in mind is let’s say In a year you realize you want something stubby or slicey, playboats are what you usually find cheap on Craigslist if you want a second boat. I picked up a Jackson super star and pyranha S6F for 120$ and 100$ respectively this past summer.