Submitted: 10-15-2007 by EdZep 
A followup to the review I posted below, on 07-29-2003. (I guess inactive users were purged, since my username is missing, there, and have reestablished account.) I've had the Sonoma 13.5 for 4 years. It's held up well. The white bottom has taken some mild scratches, which surely would have been worse on a poly boat. There are some scum stains on the red top, from lack of good cleaning. It's a fun boat. I'm even bumping the rating from 8 to 9. I was surprised recently when I dug the GPS out, to find that it's not too hard to paddle at 5 mph, where I had previously considered it more of a 4 mph boat. My stroke must have improved with time. The 1/2 inch thigh brace padding had come loose, and I took the opportunity to glue some shaped minicell wedges between the plastic and original foam, to get more grip. When I got into moderately pesky quartering waves, I was able to hold a lean, and paddle with mostly normal strokes. The boat still cannot coast in a straight line. It might do better with a heavier paddler (I'm 140 lbs). It tracks fine under power, and and the quick turning makes it feel like a sports car. |