| "My experience with my Sea Eagle 8 has been great. When I bought it, 6 years ago, I lived in a 4th floor apartment overlooking the Niagara River and Lake Erie, and I just wanted something to poke around in, without the hassle of storage, dockage, maintenance, etc. It carries a passenger well, although two weeks ago I went out alone in 4 foot rollers and 30 mph wind, and I was amazed at how well it handled. I'm a pretty good oarsman, no athlete (57 y.o.) and of course I got soaked, but it was great fun and the boat was remarkably stable and controllable.
The best part is, it stows in the back of my hatchback where it stays all summer, it takes about 15 minutes to inflate, if that, and I can put it in almost anywhere I can find a little wading room. I can even inflate it, say, 50 yards away from the water and carry it, inflated, (I wear it upside-down on my head, like a huge hat!) down to the water and throw it in. I got a puncture last year, from dragging it over stones, I think, and it sealed up just fine with a $5 patch kit. I'd say, if you're into impressing people, or some serious boating, it's not for you, but as a leisure craft with plenty of room for fishing gear, sandwiches and a girl friend (not two), it's great. I also often carry a bike on my car, lock the bike, say, 5 miles downriver, drive back upriver, park the car, unload the boat, and drift the 5 miles back down to the bike, haul the boat out, stash it somewhere ( use the bike lock to lock the deflated boat to a tree) and bike back to my car, then drive back down and pick up the boat. I've explored local streams almost as well as with a canoe (you need a bit more stream-width because of the oars) as it only needs about 6 inches of water to float, and you can even easily push-row, facing forward. I paid about $300, plus floorboards, plus motor and transom rig, but now I'd just buy the boat, oars and pump, and decide later if I wanted to get a motor. Fun boat!"
- Peter Hassett, Buffallo, NY
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