Submitted: 01-28-2000 by TWH
I have a family of 5 (3 girls ages 8 to 3). I bought the Discovery 169 to have some family fun on the nearby lake and to enjoy some calm river paddling/ camping. I made a good choice. The Discovery 169 will roll and lean as my 3 year-old lunges for a leaf, a duck feather or other treasure, but it remains stable and seems very hard to actually flip. At least we haven't flipped yet. I can handle the canoe well, unassisted from the stern seat, with 520 pounds of family on board. Moderate winds on the open lake didn't seem to bother me as much as I thought it would. And it even catches 5-pound fish. I can maneuver the 169 on top of my truck by myself (It is easier with just a little help). It seems pretty tough, although a sharp chunk of underwater concrete did put a pretty good scrape on the bow (I suppose any plastic-hull canoe would get hurt by that). All-in-all, the whole family loves the Discovery 169. It's exactly what I wanted, a durable, all-around work horse that handles reasonably well. And in dark green, it's probably the prettiest plastic canoe I've seen. |