Ever buy a product that meets or exceeds every already high expectation? To me, Navarro's Otter rates tops because is achieves in spades what is important specifically to our wishes: 1-Looks 2-Performance on a slow moving river 3-Ease of maintenance.
Details? The "looks" part was a no-brainer; there wasn't even a runner up when we bought ours quite a while ago. Performance on our piedmont Virginia James River is good all around--speed, stability, capacity and tracking (if rocks are an issue for you, the glass model would quickly show scratches, tho).
The big surprise was maintenance. After multi-year, outdoor storage, covered with an old tarp, all it takes to renew it's head-turning appearance is a quick hosing off. Why the oiled wood parts never have discolored or rotted is beyond me and a wonderfully welcome surprise. Same with the woven seats. We have spent exactly no more time than a quick rinse every few years and absolutely zero dollars to own a like-new craft for almost 20 years so far. And, I expect to pass my Otter down to my grandchildren... but not before we're finished with it.
Bottom Line: expectations exceeded!
