Submitted: 12-05-2002 by BK
I read these reviews and bought my Penobscot 17. The review from the fellow calling it a barge stuck in my mind. The first time my daughter and I took the boat out, it was windy. The boat was very fast and did extremely well in the wind. However, turning it was a chore. I wondered how so many white-water races were won by Penobscots. I called the fellow who owned the store I bought the boat from as well as corresponded with Old Town. The man from the store offered to not only go out on the boat with me, but said that if I wasn't satisfied, he trade it back. The Old Town response was a lady that obviously new more about canoes that I did. Even though I've canoed the Natahala in NC (in old Grumman Aluminum canoes), and have leaned boats to turn before, it didn't occur to me. As pointed out by both responses, the next time I took the boat out, my wife and I practiced leaning the boat and doing sweeps with the paddle. The boat turned quite abruptly!! I'm very happy with the Penobscot 17. But as one person put it, it really is for intermediate users and up. It has good initial stability, and very good secondary stability. I'm looking forward to more river paddling. |