Submitted: 04-17-2006 by Hogwild
I finally got my Spirit II in royalex out on the Buffalo river in NW Arkansas this weekend for a 10-mile float after some heavy rains. I've typically paddled a Dagger Delta kayak, an older fiberglass Mohawk, and plenty of aluminum livery boats. I was extremely impressed with the Spirit II's maneuverability and tracking (for a royalex boat), even agains strong headwinds at times. The boat is very responsive and both inital and final stability felt secure. I was also impressed with the ease with which the Spirit II rolled over rocks on which I typically would have at least paused. If there's a drawback, it appeared that the higher bow caught the wind sometimes and blew us sideways, but recovery was relatively simple with a hard sweep or pry. I feel as if I made the right decision when canoe shopping, as I wanted a boat for class I and II rivers here in Southern Missouri and Northern Arkansas. Great canoe! |