Most whitewaters kayaker in the '60s, were a kayak makers. Those who wanted to participate had to purchase existing design, often imported from Europe in the form of a slalom kayak, and copy it in fiberglass. These kayaks were built tough and many a kayaker spent time repairing the cracks and dings that rocks added to the fiberglass shells.

Plastic whitewater kayaks began to show up in the '70s. Some early ones were apparently made of olefin plastics, though later models (and most modern ones) are made of polyethylene.

Initially long and relatively slender, like the slalom kayaks they derived from, plastic kayaks evolved to meet the demands of specific whitewater disciplines - creeking, playboats and so on. The creek boats became higher in volume and the playboats became shorter and added features such as planing hulls and blunt ends.