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I bought the sport on the recommendation of the CLC customer service person. I wanted a kayak that I could take on week or longer trips in BC where I would be in the rear cockpit and my young (5 years old) son would be in front.

I loved building the boat and it went together according to instructions. It is a beautiful boat. However, it was the wrong boat for my intended use. It is way too twitchy to have an inexperienced paddler in front, especially one who may fall asleep after a couple of hours of paddling.

The boat has more initial stability when loaded for a trip. If you are out for a day trip you have to add ballast or the boat requires too much attention. It is not the kind of boat you can put your paddle down and take a picture. It is just too twitchy. If the paddlers are two experienced kayakers who just need a fairly fast boat this would rate higher, maybe a 7 or 8.

I hold back on a higher score because our other tandem, a Mirage 730 is faster and more stable. It leaves the sport in the dust even when it has weaker paddlers.

We bought this boat several years ago to use on one week plus trips off the west coast of Vancouver Island, BC. I've been in several other tandems and this boat out performs them all in every aspect.

I don't know how Mirage managed to build a boat so stable and yet so fast. It is a dream to paddle. I have another tandem that is advertised as a racing double and the Mirage is so much faster. We've had it it out in 2 meter seas, in confused chop and in high winds and it performed well in all conditions. The integrated rudder works well. The seats are comfortable and the workmanship is good. Mirage met our every requirement and even the long distance shipping and customs hurdles worked out OK.

Our boat is rigged to steer from either the front or back cockpit (Mirage said front steering is helpful in places like the Great Barrier Reef). We have the electric bilge pump that works well, especially after wet surf take offs. You just flip a switch and keep paddling. The foot rests and steering pedals are a little hard to adjust compared to most however they ultimately end up working just fine.

This is a big boat. It looks kind of funny on the car. We were camping near a lake last week and heard our campsite neighbor exclaim, " Holy cow, that is one huge #%&!! kayak." It is big but it is fast and smooth.