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Kayak and Canoe Design Bulletin Board
Re: Loon 138
Posted By: Tom Conkey In Response To: Loon 138 (Anthony Wood)
Date: Friday, 12 November 1999, at 9:49 p.m.
> I'm new to this sport and would like to know your opinions on the Old Town
> Loon 138. My intended use would be on lakes, flat water, and class I river
> trips of around 1 to 3 days duration (mostly on Missouri rivers). In
> addition, I need a reccomendation on a paddle that's good for a beginer -
> intermediate and not to costly. Thanks> Tony Wood Wright City, MO
My wife and I have loon 138's. We have taken them on absolutely glassy water, 1 1/2 foot chop on the Potomac River, Class 1 and 2 rapids on the Shenandoah River, Small streams where the water is no more than a few inches deep ... you name it. I've been around boats of various sorts all my life, and the Loon 138 is a great boat. It is stable, comfortable, and most importantly very sea worthy. It's not a super high performance boat, but for all around performance it's tough to beat. It tracks extremely well and the large cockpit opening is really comfortable for your average fun day on the water. Get a soft sided cooler and slide it under the bow to hold lunch. The seat is comfortable for a nice long paddle.
In really hot weather, you can pick your feet up out of the cockpit and hang them in the water. In cold weather, Old Town makes a decent spray skirt that will keep the water out and your legs dry.
You will read all about these 22" wide boats that don't weigh anything and cost a couple thousand dollars. Sure they are faster, but they are also more fragile. The folks who paddle them know how to roll a boat for a reason. The Loon 138 is a super boat.
Don't buy a cheap paddle. You will end up buying a better paddle very soon if the one you buy at first is too heavy. When you are paddling you are really holding the paddle straight out in front of you. Unless you lift cars for fun, just holding a heavy paddle up will tire you out before you're ready to come in. I have a $135 wood paddle by Sawyer. I love it. We started with $40 paddles by Perception and we had to buy better paddles before the season was half way through. I use the Perception when I am in rapids, but I can't paddle with it for more than a couple hours because it is just too heavy.
I don't work for Old Town. Honest! I do love the boat.
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