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I purchased my Castine 145 with rudder in June 2020 and have ow paddled it for nearly a year. I am 5'7" and 260lbs so not many entry level touring kayaks seemed to fit the bill for my wide bottom and I ordered this one on specs alone which is often a bad idea. My first travel was a month long trip in the Saguenay Fjord and along the Gaspésie peninsula where the I had the chance to put the kayak through its paces in waves, tides, and long days with up to 6 hours before taking a break. This is the most comfortable kayak I have paddled, and I have owned a dozen kayaks over the past 20 years from river runners to sit-on-top fishing machines. The 145 is wider than the other 2 Castines and I think it shows, a bit slower to accelerate and somewhat prone to weather cocking than other boats of its kind but I wouldn't trade it for any of them! It is bizarrely stable for a touring boat, it is easy to keep going at a very good speed in groups of paddlers with boats that should be much faster than this one, and the cockpit is the most generous and comfortable out there. The seat is amazing, the pan raises by pulling a strap from a handle which bring great relief to restless knees after several hours on the water. A small complaint would be the pan does come down on it own under the weight of my legs, but still a fabulous feature for long days of paddling. The rudder may not be as necessary on the smaller Castines as I believe they track better than this wider version, I am very happy I got mine with it, it is not needed at all under normal conditions but really allows you to focus on moving ahead with your strokes when paddling in side or back winds, without the rudder the stern of the boat gets really pushed and pulled all over the place, you drop the skeg and all of a sudden no more correction strokes and you are back in the game moving at a surprising pace with the rest of them. The large cockpit size also means this kayak is a breeze to get in and out of. My complaints are not catastrophic but worth mentioning since Old Town is a great company that could have done a bit better with some aspects of this kayak. The skid plate at the back did not match the shape/size of the keel and it was made of hollow plastic. It was constantly dragging weeds when I took the boat out after paddling in weedy shores and eventually caught a plank on a dock that bent it altogether. The shop I purchased it from provided me with a blank generic skid plate that I was able to grind and saw to do a better job. I was very disappointed to find out one of the screws used to install the original skid plate had been cross threaded in place stripping the brass insert molded in the keel. I ended up having to rethread the insert but the whole episode was A LOT of work that was caused by a poorly made and installed skid plate, and the lack of an available replacement from Old Town that would have done a better job. Maybe they have now made a new skid plate for those kayaks, I wish I had a better fitting one on my boat :-) The operation of the rudder is adequate, though my other touring boat has the pivoting pedals instead of the sliders and it is a much better system to ensure you always have a secure footing during paddle strokes, especially in hard conditions. This rudder also tends to drag itself back up without touching as much as weeds, just pressure from the water does push the rudder back up sooner than it should as you paddle. That being said the composite material has been a very pleasant surprise, it is lightweight and rock solid, I do believe the material in this case is superior to the usual aluminum blades which can bent is the event of mishandling of the boat or when you forget to pull it back up at the end of a long day as you get to shore. The hatch covers are among the best you can find for a rotomolded polyethylene kayak, reasonably easy to remove and put on while very efficient at keeping water out. The sliding compartment under the deck is okay, it is better than not having it but I much prefer the day hatch ahead of the cockpit my other kayak has since I can reach my snacks and camera (or phone if you want that) without having to release the skirt. That becomes a big deal when paddling in bumpy water. All in all, this is an incredibly well designed boat that to my knowledge has no match for a heavy weight paddler looking for a utility tripper that can keep up with the big boys on the water. I believe it will last me 20 years or better if I paddle long enough :-) While my 17 foot performance touring kayak glides much better than this one and makes me feel as one with water, my Castine will always be my go-to for the really cold days when the water freezes in the bays and I want to be 100% certain there is no way I will end up in the water if I do something stupid like hit a big rock or take a step in soft/slippery bottoms getting out. It is as comfortable and stable as a Suburban (or Range Rover if that's your thing) and I will always need that boat in my very small fleet. It also packs amazingly well for a 14.5 feet kayak. I completely recommend it.