Old town loon 111 a good first kayak for newbie??

My friend is offering to sell me this kayak since he doesn't use it. Says he has used 3x max. It is dark blue in color. Does the color tell you the model year? He says it is 2 or so years old. It appears to be in great shape. What is the fair market price for this sort of kayak used and is it appropriate for a newbie to the sport? I'm am 5 ft 7 inches tall and 170 lbs. 

Thanks for any input you guys can give.

What kind of water are you wanting to tackle.   I just recently got into Kayak fishing and knew I would want to be able to fish the sound and calmer offshore waters as well as local lakes.
This thread was of great help to me in deciding I needed to have a SOT kayak. 

http://www.northwestkayakanglers.com/index.php/topic,6624.0.html

Craig,

I was thinking of local lakes, calm rivers, maybe the ocean a little bit but I am not sure yet.  What kind of SOT did you end up going with and how do you like that?

I went about it backwards in that I had never sat in a Kayak before and common sense would have had me go out in a rental to see how I liked it.   Instead I bought one of each and went with some basic models.  That way if I found that I didn't adapt to and enjoy it, I would not regret making a major investment in something I would not use.



The SOT is a Perception Pescador I picked up at Sports Authority while the Sit-In is a Field & Stream Eagle Run from Dicks.

For calm water, I must say I like the Sit-In better as I can easily get to items I need by having them sitting just behind the seat or past my feet in front of me.   Everything stays dry and it is VERY stable.  I have taken it out on calm areas of the Sound a few times fishing with a friend which give me that sense of security should something go wrong.

I have been out on the Sit On Top several times including some pretty good swells off Westport.  Micahgee from the forum took me out to tutor me.  I would have never tried it without an experienced kayaker there to show me the ropes.   While the SOT seems a bit less stable than the Sit In,  the confidence of knowing an unanticipated swim would not be a major ordeal since getting back on is very easy.       Unless I were to go the route of a spray skirt with the Sit In and well practiced in the "Eskimo Roll"  I would not feel comfortable with it on bigger water, especially when launching and landing with any surf.  Then there would be the issue of fishing with a spray skirt that only protects you when on and secured.

So in a nutshell,  if I knew I would be sticking to lakes and very flat water,  I think I would be happy with just a Sit In.    A SOT just opens up options I knew I wanted to tackle.    For this reason I picked up another SOT this last weekend being a used OK Prowler as a winter "Fixer Upper" project.

With my minimal experience in different Kayaks,  I can't give much input if that Loon 111 would be the best choice for you.   With it's larger than average cockpit,  I think you would appreciate it's ease of getting in / out of and access to gear you take out with you.