I have read all the reviews. Thanks for them. However I have had a few canoes over the decades. I have found my 17 foot penobscot very easy to tip over. The canoe is very responsive. However like other reveiwers have said it is very easy to both lean the same way and the canoe goes over in a flash. I have never had a canoe tip so easily. I will be getting a new canoe. Maybe I will find that my weight is now the issue.But I think it is the canoe. I will try several at a outdoor shop that lets you test and buy.

My wife and I have used this canoe for nearly twenty years. Lovley value. Fine in lake or on a fast river. Still looks great. The cane seats have held up but now need replacement. Ours has wood gunwhales, which I do not recommend except that they look really great after new varnish. But the fact that this boat does all things well means - it isn't a stable barge. So keep that in mind if you want a flatwater boat.

My husband and I have had this canoe for about a year now. We have paddled on small and large lakes, slow moving rivers, and fast class I and II rivers.

We decided to take a paddling lesson when we first purchased the canoe, so we could be as efficient as possible when paddling. We were practicing a basic stroke rather agressively (on the same side of the canoe) and it flipped over - lesson learned. We wouldn't say the canoe is tippy, but if two people lean over to one side, it will flip. Because of this, I would not recommend it if you are planning on canoeing with small children. There are other canoes on the market that are designed for greater stability.

The canoe does great on small lakes and slow moving rivers. The wind will turn it on a dime out in the open on a large lake. It handles class I and class II rapids fine as long as you can hit the rapid straight on. Because of the long length of this canoe, it is hard to make a sharp turn quickly on a fast moving river.

Overall, we love the canoe.

this was the best deal i ever got. i've taken my canoe out on two rivers so far with five adults both times, most of us being more familiar with kayaks than canoes-- we didn't tip once. maybe the kayaking experience helped in balance... still the canoe gets my cheers for stability, manuverability, and weight capacity!

Sought a good all around canoe for wildnerness tripping and use at the lake. Sales rep said that the Penobscot 17 was the answer. GOOD: Yes, it is very fast and light for a Royalex boat. BAD: It cannot be left at camp for the kids to use, as it is way too tippy! For loaded river tripping it is only for highly experienced white water paddlers to run class II-III waters. UGLY: Forget all the talk of secondary stability - it'll have you, your gear and boatmates in swimming before you can say lookout. This is not the type of boat I sought.

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I bought this canoe to carry my family of four - two adults, two preschoolers - and our gear. It more than met our expectations. Fast and stable with huge carrying capacity, yet maneurable enough for me to paddle solo when mon was occupied.

I bought this canoe to carry my family of four - two adults, two preschoolers - and our gear. It more than met our expectations. Fast and stable with huge carrying capacity, yet maneurable enough for me to paddle solo when mon was occupied.