Keowee 2

I've had my Keowee II for almost 20 years now. It's been great! The third snap in jump seat is perfect for a small child between the legs of the rear paddler.

The only drawback is that it's a bit on the heavy side which leads to some loading and carrying problems. Once it's in the water it's very stable and easy to maneuver.

I would have no hesitation recommending it to anyone looking for a tandem kayak.

Aquaterra Keowee 2 is a great kayak. I have had mine for 25 years. I bought it to carry my young son, his dog and me down rivers. He has grown up and gotten married and now I carry friends down rivets and into calm Gulf waters. It is very stable. I have taken it scalloping.

Big - heavy - tank. BUT, it is a great boat for what it is.

Two plastic molded seats with cup holders (that tells you the market right there), large cockpit with easy in-and-out that can easily accommodate two grown-up people or one grown up with two small children and/or pets (I'm not equating the two there), very, very stable. Take this boat and you will be the person designated to carry the extra coolers and gear. You can also easily lay back in it to sunbath or fish from it because there is plenty of room.

The seats are connected by two metal rails on the sides plus one rail that runs down the bottom so if you plan on laying down or seating a third person, take some foam or blankets to put on that rail otherwise it will be like, you know, sitting on a hard metal rail.

When it was just the wife and me she would sit up front and I would tell her to paddle as much or as little as she wished which was waaaay better than having her get tired in a second boat. Now that kids are involved I tell them the same thing and it is great to have them in the same boat with me without feeling like the boat needs the efforts of a second paddler to keep it going.

I think this is one of the best, most functional recreational tandems out there.

We have had two Keowee 2s now for five years. Very stable on Class I or II water but cross waves will splash into the Kayak so skirts are needed for Class II conditions. Kids like to perch on the front end and ride the waves. These track well on smooth water and pretty well in windy conditions. Seats need padding for any trip over two hours. Just wish we had put drains in them.

I've had my Keowee II for a few years now, and have used it hundreds of times. It's great for my purposes--flatwater cruisin' after work, and is good to paddle alone. It's balanced and tracks well, and is surprisingly fast for its size and heft. The cons: It's very heavy, there are three steel rods in it to accommodate the seats, so it's got to be 75 lbs, that's too much for little old me to handle alone. It's not all that stable despite its width and volume. Pros: It's comfortable for one or two paddlers, and with the right seat adjustment, is just as easy to paddle as a one-man model. It's a great boat for people with kids or well-behaved dogs.

I am a fairly new Kayak lover. I have come from moderate motor skiffs to the Jocassee, now the K2. I love her, she is warm, safe, and glides easily along the surface of the salt waters. I river fish frequently both day and night with my K2. Originally I have a multi person boat for family and friends. Great, great fun, getting on and off the boat while swimming was simple enough scraddling the front and back ends like riding a horse. I found anyone of all ages could have fun on this boat. I find cockpit too wide and long. Makes a great romance boat. Since I am now a good paddler and paddle mostly solo, I find the 61lbs too much effort for my travels and the boat is not snug enough. I would hesitate to go into the ocean with her. Overall I am really happy to have owned a K2 and encourage anyone with a family (or Large Dog) to own one :)

Keowee II was my first kayak and I purchased it to duck hunt from. It is a dream as far a stability goes but is rather heavy to handle especially alone. As my kayak skills improved, I upgraded to a fiberglass Chesapeke Pro by Wilderness Systems in a camo pattern. This is a serious boat for skilled kayak hunters.

My wife and I rented a Keowee II in the keys last year. We took a three hour group tour through and around the mangrove trees and flats. After the guide gave us a quick bit of instruction on how to paddle we all took off. He suddenly stood up in his own keoweeII and started to tell everyone in the group that our view might be improved from a standing position. I found his actions amazing because he was a beefy man about 6'4" and weighed about 275 lbs! I stood up and found the bought more stable than the floating dock we had just left behind. After that experience I went back to GA and sold all of my guns to raise the money for two boats with rudders. I strongly recommend that you get the rudder with the kayak. My 8 yr old, 5 yr old, wife, and large dog all love the fun we have using these kayaks to fish, paddle out to an island on a reservoir to picnic, watch the wild life or dump over in shallow water and just get silly. This boat is incredibly stable. I often fly fish out of mine from a standing position. My kids run back and forth in the cock pit with ease. I bet you could easily duck hunt out of it. But then again I sold the guns, remember? This is a fun boat. Not terribly fast or sexy. But for exploring and sneaking up on things this is the family/fishing boat to get. The thought of taking it out into the ocean makes me need a little tequila, though. Not my idea of a very safe thing to do. Although anything is possible. The factory rep told me that this boat is designed so that if you tip it over you better be able to either wade or swim to shore. We spent several sunny weekends intentionally dumping it over (hard to do) and trying a variety of ways to get back in the boat and make it function again. We really couldn't get it to function again. And this was under warm water conditions with no current. About all we ever could do was put the kids back into the boat and push it toward shore. Would I buy the same boat again!? Yes! Its a great family boat/fishing boat for your average thirty-something weekend warrior who wants a bit of an easy get away.

I bought my Keowee 2 at least 5 or 6 years ago to serve as a solo expedition craft for class 2 & 3 rivers. I've only gotten to use it for that a few times (I'm really a canoeist)and it did very well. I've had it in the Atlantic off NC barrier islands (once beyond the breakers it did well, but I swam several times coming back to shore)but it's not really made for that.I've had several novice friends use it on rivers, and they usually liked it well enough. It's spent many hours on Lake Fontana serving as a swimming platform for my kids. It's not fancy, fast or nimble, but it's a pretty good boat.

This boat is ok for beginners but not pros.

What a GREAT boat! I'm new to kayaking but have been paddling canoes for 40 years. The Keowee 2 is exactly what I wanted in a kayak. VERY stable, cruises nicely, converts to and paddles as a solo with EASE, the perfect boat for exploring ponds, lakes and gentle rivers on beautiful sunset evenings! Its also very nice looking, and the 61 lbs. weight makes it doable to handle as a solo. Piece of cake for two! My only compalint is that the plastic bottom doesn't seem to be stiff enough, and my car rack (Yakima Hully rollers) routinely dents the bottom, though it restores to its original shape within a day. Perception should also pay more attention to their published specs. No drain plug or "molded flotation" for '99. These minor beefs aside, the Keowee 2 is definitely a PLEASURE and a keeper for two!

UPDATE 9/6/99: My son and I took our Keowee2 toi Newfoundland for camping and paddling for two weeks, and she performed BEAUTIFULLY! We did all sorts of paddling on gentle rivers, lakes and fjords and she didn't miss a beat. She tracked beautifully and proved top be relatively fast and graceful. We did some long paddles up glacial lakes into fjords and the miles went by without any complaints from either of us regarding the effort required. I do have one complaint: the unadjustable seat back is somewhat of a pain on long paddles since its difficult to vary seating position andcomfort, and I found the angle of the seat back much to laid-back so that on long paddles, I was constantly battling slipping forward off the seat. But this was only apparent on very long paddles. Otherwise, she was a BLAST and made this trip for us. She handled all sorts of water with ease! BTW, DON'T MISS WESTERN NEWFOUNDLAND (but don't let the secret out!!!!!)

Good size family boat, very stable and can carry a smmall child as well as two adults.