More Fink reviews

[Alden]

hey everyone,
i paddled Don's Fink today on the Deerfield. My first impressions . . .

Here's the deal with the boat -- it's incredibly wide! But the bottom of the boat is not especially wide. The sides of the boat are very tapered. This means the primary stability is not so great (hence the tippiness people have described.)

In my experience, this means it would not be good for shallow, steep creeks -- where you are banging off stuff and not necessarily engaging secondary stability.

However -- those big tapered sides make almost a second hull (on each side)! When you lean the boat into a wave, you finally get to engage all 29 inches of the width. It feels amazingly stable leaning into bigger waves.

Also, the boat is so wide, it's like paddling a bulldozer. It busts through stuff.

It's 9 feet long or so and it holds a line very well. Better than my Necky Blunt. It's got a nice hull for those hard ferries.

I dont dig the outfitting with no thigh straps. I was falling out. Although it wasn't outfitted for me.

My opinion (based on a VERY short paddle in it!) is: I would not buy it for steep creeks, but it would be a great big water boat. That's just my first impression.

take care
Alden