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First, let me thank all you experienced reviewers and paddlers in the past reviews. Although it can get overwhelming making the "right" choice when picking a canoe, I appreciate all your opinions and advice and finally bit the bullet on a Wilderness. At 65 years old I figured it was time to let go of my 85 pound 40 year old aluminum Michecraft (bless it's dented soul), and upgrade to some form of UL. Talking to ALOT of good folks and reps at the annual Canoecopia in Madison got me headed toward a Wenonah. Narrowing it down to the exact model was a challenge, but that's where the reviews really helped. Someone in a review mentioned how someday older guys like me would end up wondering why you didn't buy "smaller", so I reluctantly concluded that a Wilderness at 15'6" was a good compromise of speed, size, manuverability, etc.

I am way lucky to live within minutes of 3 rivers, Wisconsin, Kickapoo and Mississippi, so I do mostly back water and long river runs, with a few trips each season "up North" (BWCA, etc) I've had it out twice now, and am not disappointed! Just picking it up is a pure pleasure, the weight factor alone of an UL is going to give me a lot more years paddling as I do a lot of solo. Initially (for the first hour or so - as some people had noted, I was not happy with the "tippiness" feel, but seriously, it was all me, and that just disappeared as I settled in.

I don't get real technical about my paddling, but the biggest impression I have so far is that I'm in and have the kind of control I never had with a big monster canoe and that equals a lot more pleasurable paddling.

Conclusion of story (hindsight being 20:20).... Wish I'd bought this year's ago. Only initial deficit, is wishing seat was able to be adjusted "on the fly", but that's minor.