The Old Town pack canoe is really good at only one thing: packing in to
beaver ponds & other remote quiet waters where a 4-weight fly rod is the
rule of the day. For anything else it's a disaster waiting to happen. As
for Old Town canoes in general, I'll put my XL-Tripper (20') up against
anything any time any where under light load or heavy and heavy weather
or light (except Class 4+ extended rapids). And my Discovery 169 - when
going solo - is about 80% as good as the XL-20. Admittedly, many of the
middle-of-the-road ahem-stream Old Town models there are as good or
better models forthe same money. As for Mad River, the low initial
stability & higher secondary stability takes some getting used to,
especially in the 3'-5' waves northern Maine lakes will spring on you
with less than ten minutes' warning.

Yours in the north Maine woods,
Pete Hilton (Reg. Me. Guide) aka The Ent

--
Freedom is participation in power.
Cicero