Sundowner 17

I’ve also paddled it solo with good success. It heals to the gunwales for easier paddling. It has nice final stability, though like most fast boats it’s primary stability isn't it's best feature. But even unloaded, the final stability kicks in hard and resists tipping. This is a great tandem canoe that is well suited for a simple day trip or a long camping expedition, and will carry a lot of gear.

Use it to go fast, go far, and go with a lot of stuff in any kind of water.

We then decided to mimic a load and put 2 large Chevy 3/4 Ton tires with rims in. One on either side of the center thwart. Made all the difference in the world. The tires added right around 80-100 pounds of weight. Still not as stable as my old Alumacraft Explorer, but a night and day difference from loaded to unloaded.

Took it to the Boundary Waters with no problems what so ever. Even had my sons friend in the canoe and the primary bowman. Did not come close to tipping once. Handled the big waves with ease. Extremely fast in the water, tracked better than average. Even though this canoe was marketed at a racer, (don't know about that one), I personally think it is much better suited for a good pack boat.

Have since taken it out without a load, just people for fishing, and what it really comes down to is getting used to it.

I picked up a once-used burgundy royalex 17' Sundowner with ash gunnels and caned seats from e-bay for about half the cost of a new one. It is gorgeous. I was fortunate to be able to rely on advice of a colleague who IS a good paddler; his royalex Sundowner is the only tandem (two person!) boat he owns. Still, I have to admit I was a little concerned about dumping my wife on our first outing, and it wasn’t helped by the fact that I had to go to Wenonah’s racing webpage to find it.

The first trip last fall was with one of my 12 year old sons. Neither of them can sit still. The best description I can come up with is that the boat felt “wobbly” - it didn’t threaten to dump us, but did, hmmm, respond quickly to us moving around. I was not really comfortable. HOWEVER, after about the third trip out, I completely got used to that, found a good solid position to kneel (the deal also came with two Bell kneeling pads), and started developing a somewhat functional j-stroke. That’s when I began appreciating how easily we could paddle even upstream, with not too much effort.

After about 7 outings I am now very comfortable in it, and am extremely happy with it. I even tried some solo Canadian stuff that I saw on Youtube (sitting in the middle but on one side, so the canoe almost tips over) - it was pretty ugly. I couldn’t make it do anything I was trying to - but I didn’t dump. For normal solo paddling I am able to move it along decently.

Here is the kicker: We spent spring break in Florida and paddled the Myakka river (there are a number of reviews on this website). In short, the place is lousy with gators. It’s a little like bison in Yellowstone or boobs in a Las Vegas show - after the first 8 or 9, you get used to them; they become no big deal. On the second leg of the trip, my wife, my daughter, and her friend loaded up in the Sundowner and I took the aluminum rental with my two sons. My wife has about as much experience as me, and my daughter and her friend almost none. We came around a bend where I knew a big gator hung out, so we kept to the opposite bank. He was in the water, maybe 20 feet from us as we floated by. We didn’t, however, see the other gator that was on - yes - the bank we were hugging, until he started madly darting through the brush trying to get away. He was about 2 feet from the Sundowner as it went by. The girls started screaming, and both of them shifted quickly in the boat away from shore, but toward Mr. toothy. This would have been a really inconvenient place to tip over. My wife kept cool, and shifted herself toward the little gator, even sitting on the gunnel (edge) to counter-act the teenagers. This is called grace under pressure. The boat did not go over. Afterward, my wife said that she actually felt quite a bit more stable in the Sundowner than she had in the wide 16' Grumman.

So, for anyone who is concerned about initial, final, etc. stability of this boat, I will describe it as “enough when you need it”.

I regularly take out non-paddlers and have never had an accidental dump. It is my second Wenonah and I will soon have to buy a third. I love their boats because they are light and VERY easy to paddle fast.

I paddle it on rivers, mostly class 1, big lakes - sometimes in big waves, and in the Bays of the Gulf of Mexico. I have the tractor seats and they allow me to paddle the longest without back strain of any seat I've been in.

Overall we are disappointed in this canoe from a racing standpoint. Wenonah claims it is the fastest Royalex hull made. I don't think they told the boys at Old Town they were having a contest. In Class II or under waters where there are lots of rocks or shallow water we use the Sundowner and have been passed by quite a few Old Town Penobscots. The Sundowner has a lot of flex to its hull. Good for hitting things, but bad for speed. Wenonah should take this canoe out of the specialty racing catalog and put it back in the regular catalog as a general river tripping canoe. The Sundowner is a well designed canoe, that handles well, and fun to paddle. But if you are looking for paddling ease, and won't encounter shallow rivers a fiberglass or Kevlar canoe will perform much better.

Unless you want a Royalex Wenonah I think there are better options. If you are just getting into rec class racing don't be misjudged by Wenonah's write up on this canoe. It is not nearly as fast as they say, and you will probably be disappointed as any good designed fiberglass will be faster than you. If you want a rec class canoe the "Jensen" is the way to go. That is an awesome canoe.