Submitted: 09-24-2004 by GlennJacobs
I bought this boat at the beginning of August having had a Santee XL, which I liked but which I had outgrown. I expected the Palmetto to be a boat I could grow into--faster, more playful, etc., but it turned out to be a disaster. While it is faster, its "playfulness" is uncontrollable! The boat has little or no primary or secondary stability: it capsizes at the drop of a hat. I took a kayaking course to acquire paddling and rescue skills & also to see if the problem with the Palmetto was my lack of skill or the boat. It turns out it was mostly the boat: it cannot be leaned and it is very shaky when upright. Having thought I would use it for fishing, my course instructor said I could use it only if I used my paddle float as an outrigger! This is not how one wants to fish in a recreational kayak, albeit one with some touring features. I wound up trading it back to the dealer for a sea kayak whose stability and performance are more reliable. Since the Palmetto is marketed to beginners and intermediate boaters, and while this boat is very attractive looking, it can be treacherous for the buyers of somewhat limited skills whom it it is advertised to. I e-mailed the company and received no answer, and when I tried calling them, the phone line was reported as no longer in service, so I got no satisfaction from the company. |