There was a post on paddling.net that I responded to that I thought might be of interest on this blog. The poster asked for help deciding between a Romany Explorer, Nigel Foster Legend and a Tempest 170. He received a lot of very subjective opinions with very little substance so I offered my 2 cents as follows;
Hi Greg,
Normally, I don't get involved in this type of discussion, but it seems like your inquiry is genuine and the amount of subjectivity on this forum is really a disservice to you.
First of all, I have owned an Explorer and presently paddle a Tempest. I have spent a great deal of time in a Legend as well. All three are good boats, but have distinctly different charactaristics. When you consider "balance" you must consider both above the water and below the water. A boat that is balanced below the water will be less effected by water movement as in current and waves, Whereas a boat that is balanced above the waterline will be less effected by wind.
The way to discover this quality in a boat is to paddle the boat unloaded abeam to the wind. Stop the boat. A boat that is perfectly balanced above the waterline should turn into the wind when you lean forward and away from the wind when you lean back. To test the balance below the waterline paddle the boat in moving water, i.e. current, surf or wind waves. A boat balanced below thw waterline will behave the same way backwards as forwards.
People often mention rough water performance, but fail to distinguish between comfort and performance. You can feel comfortable in rough water while sacrificing the ability to manouver the boat and vice a versa.
So it is important that you seriously consider what conditions you are planning to paddle in before selecting the boat as all of the three are good boats.
My own observations for the three are as follows;
The Romany Explorer feels the most stable and because of the lowered back deck is by far the easiest to roll. This same quality of lowered back deck changes its above water line balance and as a result it has more tendency to turn into the weather in the wind.
The Lengend is a hard chine boat and as a result it carves turns beautifully and predictibly without the tendency to skid like softer chine boats. It is the faster of the three. The hatches are the easiest the use and completely waterproof. The "initial" stability is a result of the rounded keel and is much less pronounced when the boat is loaded. If this initial stability issue is the only barrier to purchasing the Legend then I would recommend considering the Riot Aura which is an almost identical hull and deck shape with a vee keel that almost entirely eliminates this initial stability issue.
The Tempest is the most balanced of the three both above the waterline and below. It performs the best of the three in surf, current and wind. It is slower than the Legend but faster than the Explorer. The seat is by far the most comfortable. The hatches are the least waterproof, however and you must keep cargo in dry bags.
Keep in mind that these are my opinions resulting from many years of paddling primarily on the US west coast.
Good luck in your decision and happy paddling.