Probably not, you'll need a bigger boat for that much gear.

The advantages of having the rudder are you can focus on paddling with your hands as your feet will control the rudder, it's also extremely helpful when the winds are heavy, and less hassle when you have more than 1 paddler. Trust me, it's an excellant option to have.

Its got the hatch and bulkhead so it has built in Flotation. Which coast? This boat is fine in bays, lakes, protected water. If you go paddling off shore, or launching/landing from the surf zone... I'd go with a sit on top.

our daughter started out on a 10 ft liquid logic. Very similar to the 10 ft Necky on this web site. It is made here in NC. Good seating and stability were the key tokeeping her interested

It is a hybrid tandem and solo, so its not the perfect solo paddling boat, but its pretty close. You can move one of the seats to the middle of the kayak (not all tandem/solo hybrids have this ability) Its stable but not as wide as other solo/tandem hybrids. Most of all though, I think its the weight (solo 55lbs and tandem 62lbs) that makes it a good solo boat. With one seat out, it weighs in at 55 lbs. That is lighter than most other company's 14 1/2 foot boats, so you use less effort to go furhter easier. no dead weight in this thing. Most people dont relize how strong this plastic is. These Marvels dont oil can like other kayaks. The plastic is strong, light, and a lot stiffer than other boats I've owned or tried.