Went out to Vail and rented a Palmer POS - would have been better off trying to carve with a wet noodle. My friend Mark swears by his Premier, and having rode it just once, I could see where he was coming from. Fargo mobile diesel mechanic

None . .

The primary and secondary stability is solid and chines release enough to roll -I'd recommend the sweep roll though, not c2c. Carpet Beetle Control

none . .

Ergonomics are just fine. If you desire a little softer seat, it is easy to place a gel pad or as much foam as you want under the standard cushion. Walnut Creek Concrete Pros

none so far

The 16'6" Magellan was my first sea kayak after owning two rec boats. This kayak would make an excellent first boat. It is plenty fast and stable. Tracks straight and true. Glides over the water rather than plowing through it. I was able to lap the small lake by my house twice, when I normally could do it only once in my 11 foot rec boat.

The rudder is only needed in windy conditions, but is very convenient and easy to use. It is much more effective than a skeg. Ergonomics are just fine. If you desire a little softer seat, it is easy to place a gel pad or as much foam as you want under the standard cushion. Foot pegs/rudder pedals work fine and should be able to handle anybody from 5 to 6 feet tall. My boat has the soft neoprene inner hatch covers with hard outer covers. This is a very nice and dry set-up, once you get the hang of popping on the soft covers. They are superior over the cheaper Dagger rubber covers. Storage room in this boat is unbelievable. The hard plastic bulkheads take up much less room than the foam versions.

The Magellan is built to take a lot of abuse. That is why they were so popular with rental fleets. All in all, a great boat and highly recommended.

I paddled a lot of plastic kayaks before I finally bought one, and this was a definite contender. I finally went with a different boat - a P&H Capella. The Magellan is really nice. nice cockpit, good fittings, nice compromise in terms of tracking, stability, performance. However, in the end, I ended up choosing a different design - with a skeg instead of a rudder. There's a lot of debate (skegs vs. rudders) but I made my choice and I'm very happy with it! The Capella rules. Best plastic boat available.

Similar Products Used:

Sea Lion, Prijon Seayak, VCP Skerray RM, CD Storm, Wilderness Systems Sealution, etc.

Solid 3-7 day expedition boat, easy enough to turn w/o rudder, but still holds a line with confidence. Great touring kayak capable of moderatly rough seas. I had it out in 2-3 ft whitecaps. Although I wasn't going upwind, I had no problem going punching through the waves. The primary and secondary stability is solid and chines release enough to roll -I'd recommend the sweep roll though, not c2c.

Similar Products Used:

Several other play and touring boats.