The choices are unlimited these days. I have mainly plastic boats as they are induestructable and hide the staches well. should you be paddling where there are lots of oysters along the beach this counts. Rudder or skeg will be a personal choice and thousands paddle without one or the other. My preferred ride at the moment is my Prijon Seayak which I have paddled for many years. I have 3 other sea kayaks and these were bought because they were avaiable at very reasonable prices and I ntry to paddle each one a few times a week. The most important thing is fit and comfort as if your spending hour hours in the paddle saddle this is where it will count the most. Try as many boats as you can and be prepared to spend a bit of time looking New or used can be a big investment either way so try to get the right one. I have four as I always plan on selling the ones I like the least but seems I can't part with any of them. Which is good for my friends. The other thing is your first boat may not be your last and certain things can be easily adapted to improve your ride. It is a life time thing and as in life boats and paddling styles wil change. I have also added Pacific Action sails to my boats as kayak sailing is fun. Get out there and poke around the right boat will find you. Cheers, Greg

Thaanks Greg appreciate the advice