Quote Originally Posted by John Rhoades View Post
There have been lots of comments on Scadden's boats - pro and con - on the Washington Fly fishing Forums: http://www.washingtonflyfishing.com/board/forum.php? You'll find many of them under the "Watercraft" section.

I don't own a Scadden boat (I might except for the fact that a significant number of Scadden boat owners report incidents of Scadden's less than stellar record of service - a fact that 2 of my close friends who own his boats can also attest to.)

Personally, I think that this boat may suffice on still waters, I would never want to trust it on much more than a Class I - Class 11 (at best) river. It is on the small side, the oar locks aren't particularly robust, and it's light weight is a result of using a lighter weight material in it's tubes (in addition to not having a frame.) I believe that Scadden may also use cheaper air valves on this boat that have given some people problems.
Have you seen the boat personally? The oar locks are the same as Watermaster ( and of course you won't find people dissin' WM's oar system right?) and you'll also find a few detractors that put out the crap on the Washington board and you'll notice what happened to them too. "You believe that Scadden may also use cheaper air valves". I don't know where you got your info on the valves either, but you're wrong there. Having 3 boats with these valves, I've never had a problem. As many boats as NFO sells, there are bound to be a few complaints. And with the internet forums, impatient people love to bit?h and post. NFO is a small company and during the show season, it may be hard to get ahold of Dave or Larry.
Everybody these days has to have everything instantly, more patience. Yes I know Dave very well. Been buying boats from him for close to 20 years now. There are no cheap parts or fabric used when building his boats, and the aluminum oars (looks like a number of boat manufacturers identical oars) side bags may be built in Asia to keep some of the costs down, the new frameless boat seats are made in Europe, and the boats are made here. And during show season, you want to get a hold of Dave, call in the mornings, Monday thru Wednesday. I never have a problem getting him on the phone, and if I can't I leave a message and he'll call back.
I had the Escape, but got rid of it for the Renegade. Being 6'3" I like the bigger boats, not the float tubes. When the Assault series came out, I sold the Renegade and got the Assault XX. Couldn't be happier. The Assaults take the WM one step further, by rockering the ends. BTW, guess who designed the WM?