This is a very responsive and dependable craft which I've had in class 2 + with no problems. Turns quickly, slides off of rocks easliy and is easy to carry. The newer version has the seats with hinged backrests which is makes it difficult to paddle when wearing a PFD, so i took the back rests off. Other than that, no complaints. A really great river canoe for the adventurer.

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15 foot Grumman aluminmum
Lincoln Pathfinder
Ocean kayak 9 feet solo

AWESOME Canoe!! Ive spent 14 days in it camping/fishing and brought out 14 days of food and gear with friend fully loaded where i couldn't see the him in front!!! Not for the faint hearted, would have waited to paddle to island if waves were over 1.5 feet. Great canoe durable and stable.

I did a bunch of research and picked the Old Town Guide 147 because of price/utility/performance/size. The only bad thing I found written about the Guide was that a small percentage of reviewers said it was tippy. It did seam tippy for the first two minutes. it is a little heavy for getting out of the river up a steep 15' bank but that is easily solved with a little rope. It's the best canoe I've been in. I will get some kayak style paddles. We didn't notice any twisting in the middle difficult handling or undesirable behavior of any kind with three people, 200 lbs, 120 lbs and 50 (very squirmy) lbs. It rides low and stable compared to other canoes I've been in. Hence the desire for kayak paddles.

Customer Service

Acadamy is great but, they are phasing out the Old Town canoe line. Luckily, they still had four 147 Guides at my store.

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I've previously used aluminum and other plastic type canoe rentals and a variety of kayaks. I am not a canoe expert.

Good solid boat, very tough,handles good,comfortable for all day trips

Good boat. Paddles easily. Initial stability is ok. Secondary stability is good. Took about 20 minutes of paddling to feel comfortable with this boat, but it is rock solid.

Customer Service

Great.