This review is after 6 months of ownership, five day trips and two pool rolling clinics.
Nice thing about a tandem; one person can paddle like a maniac and the other can coast, and the Lincoln will still go pretty fast. The Lincoln Two Lights cockpits distance is far enough apart yet still requires some synchronization and care by the back paddler to not hit paddles or crack the front paddler in the head when performing hard turns, but with just a little care, it is not an issue.
The Lincoln Two Lights is 16’-9” long. I tie down the kayak with the strap behind the cockpit cowling to prevent the kayak from creeping backwards while driving. I have never had the kayak move. The length is long enough, in addition to it’s 28 inch width, to support two people. We weigh about 175 and 155 lbs. The weight limit is listed at 325 lbs in the literature, however, the factory said that the kayak will handle fine up to 375.
I got the fiberglass kayak listed at 55lbs however, I did get the reinforced keel strip, which seemed like a good protective move, so the weight may be a bit more. I can grab the kayak with hands grasping each cockpit and curl the kayak then lift the entire kayak over my head. I walk to my car and rest my elbows on the roof between the doors, with the kayak still over-head, the lower the kayak into it’s cradles. It is nice not to have to ask or rely on my wife to load and unload the kayak. In my garage, I have a loop strap that I insert the front of the kayak into then walk my hands backwards to a second untied strap which I throw over the end of the garage door rail and then tie it on. Again freedom to do it by myself is handy. Don’t get me wrong: both of these kayak handling manuvers tests my strength and balance and is not easy.
On the water:
Primary stability is pretty good. When getting in it is a bit of a tight fit to get long legs and or butt into the seat, but we haven’t dumped it yet trying. Getting out is very difficult for my wife due to her weak triceps relative to her weight. I need to assist her in getting out.
Secondary stability is better yet. Once you get in, the stability is very good and you have to do something dramatic to flip it.
Riding height. Water does not run up to the front cockpit skirt even in 6-8” choppy waves. Not sure about big waves as we haven’t tackled those conditions yet but I believe it will do well. The bow is sharp and cuts through the waves well. On flat water the wake in the front and back are small. You don’t feel like you are pushing a lot of water. When you get a good speed up and then glide, you travel a long way and slow down imperceptably, not like the brakes are on.
Handling. With the rudder up, the kayak is fairly responsive to turning considering it’s length but it naturally runs straight without the rudder and doesn’t turn with each stroke. The rudder is a real treat when paddling across a lake with a side wind. Without the rudder you are stuck to paddling on one side most of the time, but a tweak to the rudder allows you to compensate and paddle evenly. They also allow you to turn very quickly to avoid objects with out back paddling or slowing.
Solo kayaking.
This kayak is great for solo kayaking. However, you need to put 3-5 gallons of water or gear in the front hold. This keeps the front from lifting out of the water and so keeps the kayak running straight. Without the water in front, wind will spin your boat around like a weather vane. Be sure and buy a front cockpit cover and a hand pump to pump water in and out.
Wet exits. When flipping the kayak you have to lean pretty far and then the kayak flips quickly. When upside-down, the kayak floats high and takes on very little water. The cockpit cowling is deep so you have to push your skirt away from you pretty hard to then pull to get the skirt off the cockpit. Usually adrenaline takes care of it without a thought for me, but on a few occasions it took a few tries. My wife has yet to practice the maneuver so we shall soon see how she does.
Wet re-entry.
After a wet exit I was always able to re-enter the kayak from water over my head. The kayak is easy to flip back rightside up from the water. Very little water, maybe 3 -5 gallons gets in the kayak. A hard kick while pulling the kayak to get your chest over the cockpit, then wiggling to a balancing point, then turning to line up with the kayak. Note that I am thin and i imagine this would be more difficult with increasing body size. Getting in the cockpit is difficult from there, and is a matter of balance and contortion. If the waves were choppy I would forget getting in and start paddling to shore from a prone, on-kayak position dragging my wife in the water to shore (since there is no way she could get on board).
Rolling. As an new kayaker, my rolling technique is very new (and so poor). Rolling this long boat is a little harder than rolling a short kayak. However, I was successful several times rolling the Two Lights as a solo kayak with a cockpit cover over the front cockpit. I was unsuccessful many times too, but got lots of wet exit practice. An expert instructor soloing from the back had no issues rolling the kayak back and forth. With the instructor in the front and me in the back, we attempted a tandem roll. In position, my blade was right at his head. The first attempt we almost made it up, but my improperly positioned weight plopped us right back under, try two was even worse, and on try three, he started first before I was ready and got absolutely nowhere. Being short on air and getting a little panicy we both wet exited and that was enough for that experiment. I’d say forget about a tandem roll until you are both expert single rollers, and then timing is everything.
Workmanship and beauty:
The Lincoln Two Lights is a beautiful kayak. We get a lot of looks and we feel a lot of pride in the beauty of the boat. As of this time all the construction is excellent and absolutely no issues. The colors came out beautiful but a little different than the samples we were shown: The heather was more purpley and less burgundy than we expected, but we are still happy with it.
Seats, foot rests, and rudder: Our fiberglass seats with adjustable backrests are very comfortable as long as you take the time to adjust the backrests and don’t sit on them. The foot rests are adjustable by loosening a easily reached thumbscrew then pulling a plastic rod attached to the foot peddle and then re-tightening. The rudder pedals are just above and attached to the foot pedals so are operated with the balls of your feet or toes. Some sort of knee protection to prevent abrasions on your knees from the inside fiberglass shell would be a good idea for long trips or glueing a pad there. Same with the heels of your feet. The rudder is aluminum and spring loaded. When going over a submerged log or rock, the rudder is pushed up and spring snaps back down after crossing the hazard. The rudder can be pulled completely out of the water or back in, with a cable accessible from the back cockpit. The system has worked flawlessly.
Recommendation:
I’m sure there are kayaks that are faster, but for the non-expedition, advanced recreational kayaker, it is very efficient and I would heartily recommend the Lincoln Two Lights kayak. For the new or intermediate kayaker, I believe this kayak has enough stability, yet has enough efficiency that you will be happy with the kayak performance as you gain experience. The friendly folks at Newbury Canoe and Kayak in Newbury, MA, were kind enough to let us borrow their Two Lights for a test drive up the Parker River. We were gone over two hours and we expected to rent the kayak but they were kind enough to let us test it free despite the fact that we did not buy anything at that time.
I love my new Lincoln Two Lights!
