We started this day on the pond in sea kayaks in beautiful warm sunny weather. During lunch rain began to fall and ended up driving in pouring rain to our put in at the Boquet river about eight miles north of Essex NY. Our craft of choice for the afternoon was to be open canoes. I angled for a Discovery 158 and was joined by a fellow classmate and friend Melissa Maynard who took the front seat. The name of the game for this outing was for each of us instructor trainees to teach one session (stroke, concept, technique etc.) of a progressive series of sessions as we journeyed down the river and back. I was on first and used a quick warm-up exercise to discuss our environmental impact as paddlers namely in beach erosion and such. After that we launched and Melissa the the others in our group did their thing. The rain had stopped soon after we arrived and stayed away most of the day until the last half hour or so of paddling. Melissa pointed out that despite the weather we were all so focused on the class and having fun that it didn't seem to matter. Toward the end of the trip we had a chance to work with Steve MacDonald (the course director) and Shawna Franklin (tutor) in tuning up many of our open boat techniques.
I am no stranger to the Discovery 158 it's the first boat I ever owned and is still in the family (so to speak) parked behind my brother's garage in Wisconsin. I paddled my Discovery hundreds of miles on downriver trips back home. You could probably credit the time I spent in that boat (and the fun I had) with me being involved with paddle sports today. I only wish that I had half the skills and understanding of boat handling that I have now when I was doing all those trips with nothing more than a crude J stroke and a rudder. While the The Old Town Discovery doesn't excel in any one aspect of open canoeing is an excellent all round boat that almost anybody can handle well in a variety of situations.
Discovery 158 Review
Manufacturer = Johnson Outdoors
Brand = Old Town
Model = Discovery 158
Type = Open Canoe
Material = Plastic
Length = 15'-8"
Width = 35.5"
Weight = 80 lbs.
Location = Boquet River to Lake Champlain and back (8 miles north of Essex NY)
Time = 1:30 PM
Distance = about 5 miles
Duration = 3:30 hours
Avg. Speed = N/A
Conditions = Rain
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the boat is still behind my garage next to your old perception sea kayak:)
ReplyDeletemy review of the boat: It does not handle very well when it is loaded with (2) 250# men, shotguns,and enough duck decoys to fool the most clever of ducks. It is however, a fun canoe to fish out of or enjoy a fun paddle when not loaded down with the extra hunting gear.
So your saying you over loaded the 158 with your out of shape fat asses ...? 250 lbs...? WTF you 8' tall ?
ReplyDelete800 lbs load is no trouble on rivers and lakes thought the bush and back again etc.
My Bros and I do it all year round...
Nothing wrong with the 158 at all... some users though is another story