Adventure 16

OK...are you ready for this?? I traded a large Ocean Kayak for this used Adv. 16. -- I wanted a canoe that would fit me and two kids comfortably, with gear. Sooo...on my first trip out, I loaded the canoe onto the top of my van...all ship-shape and ready to go; er, well, not quite...what happened next tore my heart out: I had not secured the bow painter I had attached to it, and the rope dangled onto the ground as I backed out of my parking space. The result was that the painter was captured under the rolling front wheel of the van, and this action literally rolled the painter under the wheel (it did not spindle the rope, the diameter of the tire itself, did the job, as it rolled over the rope) --which by this action, bent the canoe in half, at a near-90-degree angle, by the time I caught on and stopped the van. True; it happened. I got out and saw that the only thing I could do was roll forward again to release the painter under the wheel, and attempt to salvage what was left. I was, as you can imagine, totally bummed out. To say the least. As i rolled forward, the canoe returned to its normal shape. It did. Really. The only evidence of the mishap was some denting along the bend line. I took a heat gun and tried to smooth them out, achieving a good degree of success. The canoe was fine, and I continued on my trip. I think what saved the canoe was the high Georgia summer temperature that day, which made the plastic somewhat pliable...I dunno...but I was glad it was so hot. That was two years ago, and I will never part with this canoe. It has been most excellent in all venues, even 25mph winds on a large choppy lake.
Buy this canoe...you'll get years of good, hard use out of it. I hope you will be as happy as I am. :)

I can stand in it and fly fish with out any fear of tipping in. I paddle it solo by kneeling between the stern and middle seat and this balances well. very happy customer.

I bought this canoe to do some fishing in ponds and swamps. What was supposed to be a hobby has turned into an obsession. It can carry two adults, ice chest for fish, small lunch box, tackle box, homemade bait bucket with aerator, landing net, four fishing poles (I built pvc fishing pole holders) and a small anchor with ease.

I never feel unstable and have gotten out of some pretty tough situations with the wind and waves. Like I said we are beginners and I do not have anything to compare this canoe with but I do not look at other canoes or kayaks and wonder if it could be better.
Happy Happy Happy.

It lacks a strong sense of initial stability. While a section of the hull bottom is flattened and grooved the ends of the boat are veed. The result is a boat with great secondary stability but only so so initial stability. This is somewhat surprising for an entry level boat. My wife, who is a novice paddler, complains that the canoe feels tippy to her compared to some other canoes we have paddled. It is precisely this quality that makes the boat a joy to paddle. No, not because I like terrorizing my wife, but because the boat can be heeled and turned at will, which experienced paddlers will enjoy.

The plastic is quite durable but heavy. The molded in seats and cupholders make it difficult to kneel in the boat or paddle comfortably solo from the bow seat. The boat has no thwarts for portaging. This is best done with wheels or not at all. It will take two healthy adults to load the canoe onto the roof of a car. The seat backs are nice but I think the seats are too high to instill confidence for novice paddlers or for paddling in rough conditions such as whitecaps.

So what you get is a canoe designed for intermediate paddlers but that is marketed and made with materials that you would expect in an entry level boat. Overall its a good performer if you're looking to do tandem day trips. Overnights are possible but there are better suited canoes for that endeavor since the freeboard and handling is greatly reduced.

I've paddled this canoe on section one of the Northern Forest Canoe Trail in NY and on the New, Greenbrier, and Coal Rivers located in WV. In GA I've paddled it in the Okefenokee swamp. It has done admirably in all of these venues considering I picked it up on clearance (it had a ding in it) from Dicks Sporting Goods for $350.00 Expect to pay a bit more than that for a newer unblemished model.

It handles great solo with a 250 lb person in the center seat; very stable. With 2 on board (180lb front, 250lb rear) it started out tippy, but we soon found our center and have had no problems with it at all. With 3 on board (180lb front, 150lb center, 250lb rear) it was a wreck, literally. We didn't make it 30 seconds before we tipped it. I don't think it was necessarily the weight, but the high center of gravity; all 3 of us are 6'+ and those seats are pretty high (the center seat is lower). We finally got as much of our mass as low as possible, but it just wasn't a pleasant experience. Maybe we'll try it again with some heavy gear on board to see if that will lower the center of gravity.

I like the poly construction better than I thought I might. I've bounced and banged it over rocks and stumps without any negative effects. It also seems to hold up well to being drug through the grass and dirt to the river's edge.

Overall, I like the canoe and still give it a good 8 out of 10 since we never really planned on using it with 3 people in it.

If you want a canoe that may take a little skill development to get used to, this canoe is for you. If you are looking for a "canoe for dummies," you may want to keep looking.

Another problem with this canoe is the poor placement of the plastic supports for the seats/floor. These get in the way and limit the potential space on the canoe. You could not kneel in in this canoe because there is no way to get your feet under the seat. Spread out, kayak style, and there is no room for any gear.

We took the A16 out on its maiden voyage yesterday with just me and my wife...it was miserable. We were on the backwaters of the Wisconsin river...nice and calm with no current. After 5 minutes I told my wife to stop paddling and just sit still because I was constantly fighting to keep this thing upright. There were many times that I stopped paddling and just sat there as still as can be and for no reason at all the boat would come extremely close to tipping us out. Once when my wife bent down gently to adjust her sandal, it was enough to just about put us in the water. I spent the entire time we were out miserably countering the tipping of this boat. When we loaded it back on the car, we drove 2 hours back to where we bought it and we got our money back!

The word stable has no business being with this boat. There is no way I could put my son or my dog in the middle of this boat and feel safe that they would not tip me out.

The seats were extremely comfortable but that was all I liked about it. We went out and bought an Old Town Guide 147 for the rave reviews about its stability. I will report on that one when we get back tonight.

It is basically maintenance free, relatively inexpensive, and has some nice comfort features. I don't care about weight in my situation. Only issue was that we were paddling in some narrow bayous so we were not so good with the sharp turns (I'm sure at least to some degree our poor technique). I could easily recommend as a fun, versatile, and easy to own canoe.

We paddle mostly on a large nearby lake that allows unlimited horsepower, so we've been tossed around by some large wakes. Stays upright and dry, aside from spray of course. Runs over logs & rocks in the shallow alcoves... It's a comfortable seaworthy beater.

Many knock it for being heavy, but it's only ten pounds heavier than the highest rated all-purpose tandems. The problem is not its weight as much as it's awkward -- There is no yoke.

The carry handles are simply web-strap material through a rubber sleeve. They'll break. You can buy fifteen feet of this strap material for $5 at sporting shops & repair easy enough.

**Comfort - This thing is shockingly comfortable to sit in, even long distances - The center seat leaves much to be desired, but when paddling in tandem, the seats are excellent - Surprising as they're plastic and not padded.

**Price - At just over $400.00 you come away with a canoe with a capacity of 900 lbs, yet relatively nimble enough to be used in a variety of situations.

**Stability - Overall the stability of this boat is impressive, it's a wee bit tippy/wobbly like any canoe, but it feels solid when paddling, even in rougher waters.

**Construction - Excellent choice with the material, however the center seat is a bit awkward in its design and doesn’t easily lend itself to adding a typical canoe seat for back support - This is really not a big issue, but worth noting (also, it should be noted that due to the material the boat is made of it would take little effort to add eyelets to secure a seat like you would on a kayak) - One issue with the construction I have is with the carrying handle, after a month of solid use, the bow handle broke - This is more of an annoyance than a complaint, but it did help keep me from giving the 16 a "ten"

**Weight - Eat your Wheaties...You'll get a workout moving this beast about, but it's no worse than any other canoe on the market and actually lighter than SEVERAL tandem kayaks - This is the second area that kept me from giving the MR16 a "ten" - Perhaps I'm being too picky, but my thought it that the easier a boat is to top/portage the more it'll get used...

**Agility - Let's not lose sight of the fact that it's a canoe, being the most nimble creation on water it ain’t, but it's not bad either - In fact, it tracks very well, turns easily and can handle unexpected changes to water conditions easily.

All in all, if you're looking for a canoe that is going to be used for recreational purposes and easy on the wallet you ABSOLUTELY should consider the Mad River Adv 16.