-- Last Updated: Mar-05-13 4:28 PM EST --
The Legend's big brother, and it's a Seaward layup. Have paddled a Legend a little bit, but it was over 4 years ago at this point, I remember it being fairly similar to the Shadow.
I'm not sure I can really add anything you don't already suspect about the boat, ie low initial stability and strong secondary, but here goes...
Also haven't paddled mine since last summer, have been grabbing my Delphin more often than not for day and play paddling. The Seaward build is a rock solid layup, but very very heavy. I save the big Shadow for trips, where it will swallow up gear, big hatches with lots of storage space up close to the hatch openings, big old day hatch. It paddles a little more settled with some gear in it, and yet stays very maneuverable. The boat flys downwind, it's loose flat hull shape really lets it run and pick up any little semblance of a wave. It surfs pretty well for a boat that is almost 18 feet long, will respond well to edging, and has enough volume to avoid pearling the bow. Its really not a straight line boat, kinda likes to wander and play off any energy in the water, so not a strong tracking boat. I often find myself tacking much different lines than people in straighter tracking boats. I also don't like paddling straight and slogging point to point, much more of an arced trajectory type of paddler, hugging coastline to get a little respite from wind or finding that sweet spot where things bounce around just right, so this might be me. Running broadside to wind and waves you can almost catch a little ride off the chines digging into the waves. The boat requires almost constant input from your body to edge and adjust it. Sitting in any kind of bump you might find yourself hanging the boat to one side for stability and lightly sculling. Skeg doesn't deploy straight down as it might with other manufacturers. So although it helps the boat track a little straighter, its not the type of boat you can use the skeg to trim to run different directions to the wind. My skeg slider is a little sluggish and you have to be very deliberate with it, but have never had a problem with it. I removed the seat pan from my boat after it developed a crack in the side hanger, and have added a Necky gel seat and foam back rest, so I'm still dialing in the outfitting, but all in all the boat has room for my size 14 feet and carries my 6,3 240lbs self very well. I keep seeing the latest and greatest new boats coming out, and I'm occasionally tempted to update, but there is just some funky magic going on with the design of the Shadow that tells me I'm going to have it for a long time. The only thing that would tempt me to get something else is the weight of the layup, mine has to be close to 70 lbs, and is a beast to move around. Or maybe a design that is a little more reassuring and allows me to be a lazier paddler if I was doing some horrendous water day after day, but at that point I might just get a ruddered big boat and be done with it. Hope this helps...