Old Town Discovery Scout
I've had my boat a little while now, so the spec may have shifted about a
bit.
Specs (lifted straight from the OT website, although to
suit my pedantry, they are corrected for English spelling).
LENGTH - 16' 0"
WIDTH - 35"
WIDTH at 4" Waterline - 33.5"
BOW HEIGHT - 23"
DEPTH -
15"
WEIGHT - 78 lbs.
CAPACITY - 1075 lbs.
COLOUR - Red
I
wanted a boat that would do a lot of things, she needed to track well, but still
have enough rocker to be playful, be flexible on load carrying, good for solo
use, roomy and comfortable, hard livin' - and most of all, a sweet boat to
paddle, and one that I had a feel of 'connection' to. (This isn't as dodgy as it
sounds, I wanted my boat and I to be friends, after all, I hope we'll be
together for a long time, plus I need to feel I can trust her).
Heavy.
That's one of the first things that strikes you. No question, this is a beefy
boat. I think this is probably the biggest criticism that is levied at this
boat. On the water, well, I dare say I'm a bit slower to get upto speed, but
that's about it. The only place I really notice it is in handling the boat on
land, but I often paddle with my pal (he has the red one in the photo's), so
it's no big deal as we help (or hinder) each other, that said the little Ekla
trolley's we have been invaluable. 
(NB: Not
my boat - I tie-in differently, plus I use keeper straps on my bags - it's the
same trolley, and it lives under the rear seat like this one).
Solid,
these are well built boats, the hull is a rotomoulded 3 layer composite that is
naturally insulating and is self-buoyant, and it's been very resilient to almost
everything (oops, barnacles aside). I do have some fairly deep scratches, but
the hull integrity is still fine.
Talking of the hull: Longitudinally
smooth, nothing approaching a keel but a with decent waterline, and still having
very useable rocker that responds really nicely to solo trimming (like surfing
beachbreaks or running rock gardens). This is always a trade-off of course, but
I think OT have got a really good useable balance here. Laterally - the prow is
quite sharp, but neither digs in, nor throws up too much spray, she'll 'boof' ok
a bit if you push it, but as it's not the ideal boat for that sort of malarkey
(being far too long), it's not something I do too much. The majority of the
profile is stable and very evenly predictable, with no real steps between
primary and secondary stability - she'll go right to the gunwales in a slow
steady feeling curve. Solo paddling can sometimes be quite hard work with the
boat 'flat', so I'll generally shorten the waterline and profile by leaning in
on my stroke side, and here too, she is stable and predictable, even in moderate
swell, and she's faster this way as less boat is in the water. The only flexing
I've noticed from the hull in in surfing reasonable waves, riding over big and
close running swell peaks, or seal-launching - but all of this is probably
testing the boat really quite far, so in 'normal' use I doubt it'd flex
noticeably at all. She can be a bit tippy if you launch into breaking waves,
especially if you leap on the very back at the last minute in a doomed attempt
to keep your feet dry - again, scarcely normal behaviour, so mentioned only in
passing. Normal (quayside, bank or pontoon) entry is the refined affair you'd
expect.
On flat water and no wind, I'll idle about on the back seat -
which pretty much completely ruins the handling, as there's lots of boat out in
front - some of which is in the air, but on calm water where it doesn't matter,
it's fine if the handling goes all shonky. Jumping back into the centre,
dropping my posture and windening my knees instantly restores the
handling.
Outfitting - Plastic gunwales & small decks, timber thwarts
(and a centre yoke), nylon webbing seats (which are comfy, dry in no time and
give you plenty to tie things onto).
Mine is modded of course - front,
rear and centre air bags, all lashed and with keeper straps (which probably need
regluing again - this is a monthly occurrence - so I've gone back to using cheap
glue as it lasts the same length of time as expensive stuff). 'P' clips riveted
under the gunwales to give the lash points for the bags, backed up by D-rings on
pads on the hull floor. She also has an additional thwart fitted using OT
materials to keep the look n' feel - this is used to base my sail on. There are
also assorted stainless fitting along the inside of the gunwales to hold sail
sheets and other rigging. The front deck is also modified with stainless plate
and a 4-way fixing pad eye as it takes the strain from the
shockcord.
(The
sail isn't stowed properly, and is filling with air here - it's normally out of
the way if not in use).
In use - maybe a bit slower at first, which can
sometimes feel like a bit of a slog. More liable to catch sidewinds than some
boats, but lots of shelter from spray and the cooling effects of the wind, which
is a real bonus at the end of the day.
Stable, adaptable, looks after
herself in lots of water, and most of all trustworthy.
Bad
points:
Weight and windage I guess, if I'm honest - I can see how newer
paddlers might struggle with this at first (this falls away into nothingness
tho, once the subtle joy of this boat sinks in) - I don't paddle tandem much (I
don't like the kinda dead feeling in the water), but I'd imagine that this would
deal with both issues - additional muscle to move the boat, and the additional
weight to sit the boat a bit deeper in the water, reducing the wind-profile (and
ok, increasing the displacement too). Can be a pain to load onto the car if you
are tired.
This boat will slice off a wing-mirror like a knife through
butter.
Err, takes up loads of room in the cellar / garden ?
Good
points:
Stable, predictable, readable, comfortable, roomy, carries at
least as much stuff as a removal van, surprisingly nimble (if you put the work
in), proven adaptability, can take a beating. Happy in big water, attracts seals
(ok, maybe that's not just this boat). Trustworthy. Price was ok too if I
recall - I did a fair bit of outfitting at the time I got her, and we bought two
together, so I dunno quite how that worked out now ...
Summary:
I'm
guessing it's clear I love my boat - I can't see me ever getting rid of her,
whatever else I paddle.
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