Sea Eagle TC16 Inflatable Kayaks and Canoe Reviews

I have considered myself a "canoe guy" since 1988, having owned and paddled many fine canoes. When I retired and became a full time RVer, my canoe lived on top of my camper van. It did a lot of suffering there: U.V. sun damage, reduced gas mileage, strain of loading/unloading. When I learned of the Sea Eagle TC16 it sounded to good to be true. Since getting it last February, I have put it to the test, paddling numerous rivers and lakes in eight different states. I have paddled it solo, tandem, and with a grandchild to make three. I have overnight camped out of it, both solo and with a partner for multi nights. It is quiet to paddle, no more banging of the gunnels with the paddles. We have been thrilled running level 3 rapids and surviving a surprise wind event while paddling the Flaming Gorge (Glad I had the skeg on.). We have purposely capsized it and practiced self rescue and it performed magnificently. We can have it unpacked and inflated in less then 15 minutes. We highly recommend it.

We took our boat out for its first time on the water early in October, on a 3-day trip down the Kootenay River in British Columbia. The boat performed admirably. It carried our load of camping gear and supplies, paddled well on the flats and in the rapids, and ran Class III drops with no fuss. It handled the river at least as well as our friends’ conventional canoes, and was generally drier at the foot of the rapids. I was skeptical of the inflatable seats at first, but they proved to be both quite comfortable and very functional on the flats and when maneuvering in rapids. I was also concerned that it would be awkward and time-consuming to try to fold back up, but it went quickly and exactly as the directions describe. It was a nice bonus driving home in the windy conditions on the Trans-Canada Highway without a canoe on the roof catching gusts. We found the TC16 performed every bit as claimed. It's a solid wilderness tripping boat.

The TC 16 is the best inflatable canoe I have seen. It packs into my 23 ft Wennebago motor home along with all the gear I need. I tested it at Flamingo in Everglades National Park after Hurricane Irma left debris and obstacles. I inflated with the manual pump, set it on a light collapsible dolly with an ice chest, 3 tackle bags, 4 rods, the pump, patch kit, 2 paddles and a foam paddling block, GPS/Hand Held Marine two way radio and big spray.

It's been a great canoe. We took it on a 12 day, 185 mile float down the Yellowstone River. It handled very well and didn't have any issues with it (very robust). The river was up higher than usual so there some nice class II and a few class III rapids to go through. The boat performed very well. The only complaint I have is the weight of the hull. Its listed as being 60 lbs on the website but mine weighs 74 lbs with the cover (without the seats or fin). 70 lbs is the limit for a normal check bag for airlines so it makes it quite expensive to travel with by air. Prior to the next trip I will see if there is any way of shedding some weight.