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This is my first sea kayak and actually first kayak. I am an experienced whitewater and touring canoe paddler of 23 years but really wanted to give sea kayaking a try. I LOVE IT. I have nothing to compare this sea kayak to but my thoughts and experience have me hooked on this type of paddling.

The Sit-on-top feature is at first reassuring to those like myself who are uncomfortable climbing into a cockpit and wearing a skirt. I learned quickly though that your raised center of gravity compared to a sit-inside sea kayak results in much less initial stability. Placing about three one-gallon jugs of fresh water into the storage compartments dramatically reduces the tenderness and makes the boat feel much more stable.

This hull design has a unique feature where the waterline is only 24 inches wide but the "side-skirt" overhang makes the boat about 27.5" wide overall. In rough water this splashes the water away and makes for exceptional secondary stability. The further you lean, the more bouyant the hull becomes.

It is quite fast and mine came with the rudder and the most essential accessory of all... thigh straps. Without the thigh straps, paddling anything with waves and currents is pretty tricky so real braces and correction strokes are very difficult.

Paddling with wind and no rudder is difficult so having a rudder on this sea kayak is virtually essential. The boat will weathercock pretty badly. WITH the rudder, I actually use it in varying angles as I climb and descend waves to keep a proper heading. With the rudder stowed up in its cradle, this boat surfs very well. You catch the wave directly behind you and it maintains its heading right to the beach almost effortlessly.

Made of a mix of light fiberglass and kevlar, it weighs only 62lbs with rudder, thigh straps, seatpad, backrest and perimeter lines. This is my first sea kayak and probably my last. I really enjoy it

I bought a NEW 1985 model Old Town Columbia here in Columbia SC last year. Thats right... it was purchased new in 1985 and was promptly stored indoors for 26 years until it was put up for sale, never being paddled. I bought it with just a couple scratches on it from moving it around during storage. It is a fantastic canoe for fast cruising and paddles solo very well. I take it out on Lake Murray often and am planning on a long trip down the Congaree soon. It compares very well to Wenonah canoes and even though mine is fiberglass, it weighs only about 66lbs which makes it very manageable in and out of the water. I Love this canoe and will probably never part with it.

I traded for a very used Dagger Reflection 16 royalex canoe a couple years ago and I must say this canoe is absolutely the most versatile and best designed tandem boat I have owned... and I have owned many! The quite narrow entry bow has significant flare so it rides well over waves and swells... yes I have paddled the ocean with 8 foot swells with it! The middle tumblehome makes solo paddling a pure pleasure since I added a third seat. NOTE: This canoe is asymmetrical so you really don't want to sit in the stern seat backwards and paddle stern first... it is a beast that way!

I am selling my Penobscot 16 RX, My Old Town Scout, and possibly even my Wenonah Argosy because this canoe does about 90% as well in any category that these others perform at there best. I can paddle class III whitewater because of its good rocker and bow flare as long as it has GOOD flotation. It does well in flatwater and doesn't have excess freeboard to catch the wind. It may look ordinary but its subtle design features make it an excellent paddling canoe.

After making several river trips in my Argosy I have come to really love this boat and totally disagree with the previous review stating that this canoe is totally unsuited for anything other than freestyle! Check the other reviews and my following experience.

I have owned about 20 different canoes... mostly solo boats and this canoe is VERY VERSATILE. I just paddled the rocky twisty lower Green River river in NC where quick turns and precise lines are required since only one turbine was running at the upstream dam. This canoe can be easily and quickly maneuvered with its 2+ inches of bow rocker.

Then the next day I paddled a swift but smooth section of the Broad River near the SC border. It was uniformly about 2ft deep and clear so I paddled STANDING up in the canoe where I really enjoyed the high vantage point and seeing all the fish and underwater features. Try that in most narrow beam solo boats! That is excellent initial stability. The flat bottom allows for this capability that my other solo boats do not. I am now selling my Dagger Sojourn and possibly my whitewater boat because this wonderful canoe does it all.

I bought a Sojourn a couple years ago and I really love this canoe. I have owned many canoes and paddled all over America and this canoe paddles and handles like a high-end kevlar boat but has the durability of royalex. With a kayak paddle, I can fly UP rivers against strong currents like they were not existent. It has opened up a whole new method of running rivers where I don't have to concern myself with shuttles. I am going to install a Wenonah type footbrace like I have in my Argosy and then I can probably enter this boat in races!

I just purchased a 4 yr old green royalex Argosy and took it up and back down the French Broad river in Asheville. I like the boat and agree with most reviewers on their positive attributes but a couple of areas that troubled me are the pronounced oil-canning of the flat bottomed hull and the severely bad positioned thwart just behind the seat. The rather flimsy hull bounces up and down very noticeably just below the seat with almost every stroke of the paddle. I have a Dagger Sojourn that is similar in size but with a more rounded hull, it is MUCH stiffer and has NO trace of oil-canning. I can feel the drag this puts on the canoes speed and I am actually contemplating installing some type of aluminum support below the seat to firm up the bouncing hull. I have the footbrace which is GREAT for getting snugged in the canoe and make some efficient kayak paddle strokes... but the after thwart grinds in to my lower back. I think I will devise a small padded back support to rid this annoyance.

Overall, I really like the boat but I think a $1000 boat should not oil-can that bad and a little more R&D could have made it better.