Before starting in on my marathon sanding session, I took my lumpy/drippy-epoxied Outer Island to the Lake Michigan end of the Kalamazoo River ("I got a gal...in...Kal-a-ma-zoo-zoo-zoo-zoo-zoo-zoo...) Conditions were windy -- about 25mph -- with 1' chop in the wide river where it meets the lake. I didn't venture out into Lake Michigan due to what was probably 4'-5' waves out there, in a new boat without knee braces. I should also mention before any critique that the only kayak I've spent much time in is my first, a Pygmy Arctic Tern:

THE GOOD: Fast. Very fast. At 18'x21.5" and a round/vee bottom, I was able to maintain speeds against the slow current and into the wind that would have been no wind/current conditions for my Tern. The fit of the boat was great, too. In my Tern I feel like I'm 'in' the boat, like the boat is swallowing me in its huge cockpit -- in the O.I. I feel like I'm 'on' the boat, or more one with the boat. There didn't seem to be much of any weathercocking. The aft deck is low enough that I can lay all the way back on it without any problem. Given the cold water and the fact that I haven't Eskimo-rolled outside of symposia so far and don't have knee braces in yet, I didn't play around with this. Initial stability was better than expected for such a round bottom -- I felt comfortable right away, not like the 20" North Bay I once paddled at a symposium. Secondary seemed strong, but again I didn't play around with this much. The only time I felt a bit skiddish was when I was parallel to the 1' chop -- that had me nervous. I felt the same way the first time out on big water in my Tern, so I think this will just be a 'getting-used-to' thing. I built knob-tightened flush wood hatches, and they stayed completely dry.

THE BAD: O.K., nothing really bad about the O.I. I was surprised, though, that it didn't seem to track any better than my Tern (which is a good tracker.) It was odd, given that the O.I. has a sharp vee'd stern with little rocker and an extra foot on the Tern. I think the rounded bottom allows more side-ways movement than the hard-chined Tern. Previously I had thought that tracking was a function of length and rocker, but apparently flat sides help as well. Edging didn't seem to have much of an effect, given that there are no chines.

THE UGLY: Ain't nuthin' ugly about this boat!

Given that I have size-12 clompers, I took Jay's advice and added 1/2" to the deck above my legs. As I sat in the boat in my living room, I thought that I had plenty of clearance and that maybe I hadn't needed that modification. But out there paddling with just neoprene booties on my feet, I was glad that I did, because it felt more snug. I'm also glad I bolted the footpegs thru the hull and not to epoxied-in blocks like I had done on my Tern.

Dean