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Wow. Wow.

The QCC Q500X is my third boat. The first "Wow" is for the boat. The first day that I paddled the boat I was very concerned that I had made a bad decision in not testing the boat prior to purchase. For 11 1/2 months of the last year that I have owned the boat I now realize how wrong I was. This boat is strong, fast, responsive, durable, comfortable, and looks good to boot. It responds like a dream.

My only regret is that I purchased the boat with a drop-skeg. I now know that the problems that I have experienced are par for the course with the equipment. Even with this issue I have learned what to watch for (primarily loose gravel).

The second "Wow" is for the customer service. Phil and the group at QCC offer fantastic customer service - on the level with any scenarios that are presented to business students as a model of how to win customer loyalty.

If you are shopping for a top of the line boat that will last a lifetime from a company that will take care of you after the purchase you will do well to take a serious look at QCC!

While this boat is a step up from our Aquaterra Keowee, it does have some major drawbacks. First, the boat "weather vanes" to the wind. Second, since the boat is a high volume boat it does not handle the chop. Going into the wind is fine. But all other paths result in the boat sitting on top of the waves. Leaving the boat to pick its own direction. I cannot imagine what a day on one of the big lakes would be like. An ocean day trip would be even more frustrating.

I use the boat several times per week on a large reservoir. It is fine for relatively calm flat water. It also works well on calm rivers. The boat has adequate storage for day trips. It is also very stable (at a cost [see paragraph II]). The Blackwater is very forgiving. It does not take long to learn the characteristics of the boat which allows the paddler to be able to control the boat (in the right water) without the drop skeg in relatively short order.

Overall I give the boat a 6.5.