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First off, the low water Cucumber face destroyer is common. I have been paddling for 12 years now and when I take beginner/intermediates down the Lower Yough, at levels below 2.5, I suggest they walk Cucumber unless they have really good boat control. I roll won't help you as you don't have time. The place that will most likely cause you to flip is in the start of the rapid and it is shallow for a while.
In regards to your Fun. A few things you need to think about and or be aware of. It seems as though you are new to paddling, so let me explain a few things. I am 165 pounds and paddle a playboat made for people upwards of 220 pounds and it still feels unstable when crossing strong eddy lines, ferrying, or in the middle of a big rapid, especially if I am not leaning forward and keeping an active stroke in the water. If I am messing around and trying to eddy hop and not being real agressive, my stern often catches and I am bracing or making corrective strokes. In regards to your bow burying when surfing, this again is common. I am just guessing, but I assume you might have been surfing a wave in the Cucumber run out. I was there last week and this wave consistently buried my bow too. In all boats and except on the biggest waves, you have to keep edging the boat from edge to edge. When you see your bow about to bury, lift a knee on one side, then repeat on the other side. This is good practice in boat control. Also, I have paddle a fun a few times and of the playboats out there, it is difficult to get the bow down (at least the one I paddled), so if you do decide to sell it and go to another playboat instead of a river runner, keep that in mind because the new boat may pearl on a wave more than the fun did. Also, if you go to a river runner, expect the learning curve for surfing to be high. Companies market river runners as surfers, but again, this is only the case on rivers such as the New River Dries. They are quite boring and non-responsive on smaller waves, but that is what most of us paddle on. Plus, these boats are typically longer than play boats, so you can't surf in nearly the spots you can in a playboat.
The Fun is a great boat and really stable as far as playboats go. If you want to play at all, I would recommend keeping your boat. I have made the mistake plenty of times of trying a boat once and writing it off. I now have had my last two boats (Play and Creek) for at least 4 years and I am really comfortable in them. I just bought a new river runner and love it, but still don't take it out much on the harder type runs because I am just not comfortable yet with this boats characterisitics. A boat should become a part of you and you eventually should not have to think about how a boat will react in a certain situation. Keep the boat, you will eventually learn the traits of the Fun and your paddling will progress. If you go to a river runner and that is your only boat, you will play less often and your skills won't develop as fast. Now, if you have the money for two boats and eventually want to get into creeking, then by all means, keep the fun and get a good river runner, then take the river runner out on harder rivers or just on days that you want to work on attainments, eddy turns, boofing, etc.
SJ |
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Don't Sell Yet New 
BoaterTalk 
