What Brian had said was that he thought it was a down river kayak, not a down east kayak (there is no such thing). There were alot of designs for kayaks to be used on rivers where the current is providing most of the driving force rather than paddling, so you were basically steering rather than paddling, makes a difference in stability.

It most certainly isn't a white water kayak, there is much more to it than the length, it's actually fairly long for that use. There are a bunch more basic designs of kayaks than just four types, there are at least four basic river types alone.

Bill H.