I was given
the opportunity to 'test drive' the Broadland 15 following a chance conversation
with Liam at AS Watersports a few months ago. All they wanted in return was an
honest review and a few photos. Well, I knew the Spey was on the cards again but
not until September…
- Could I wait that long?
- Would it still be around?
- Was it worth sacrificing the comforts afforded from my Explorer 15 after years of tweaking?
I wasn't sure
at first, but the answer was most definitely yes to all of the above. I should
say I’m no expert, whatever that maybe, but I have been mucking about in canoes
and kayaks for approximately thirty years with the last eight or so solely in a
canoe.
This review
is a personal opinion based on my experiences, with a bit of input from my
tripping companions Clive, Graham, Matt S, Matt R, Paul, Nick, Pauline and
Dave; between us a mixture of 3, 4, and 5 star paddlers. A big thank you for
their practical and photographic input, especially Matt Rea for his expert
stalking along the way, you’ll find his photographic work if you follow the
link here: http://www.stinkingdaisy.co.uk/

The second test is my wobble test, no matter how secure or far back I
place my Royalex Explorer on the roof bars the front end will shake about and
'wobble' anything above 30mph. The Broadland felt and looked rigid, even on the
motorway at the supersonic speeds my Landrover does! Well ok it got tested to
about 55 or 60 mph and gave me no reason for concern.
Finally the third and fourth pre
paddling tests included a visual inspection and comparison with other boats and its
packability. Well it's a nice looking boat, this
one is blue; there’s a reason they choose blue for catering plasters! Amongst
the beautiful and slightly wild backdrop you get from the River Spey
surroundings, I did initially feel I stood out somewhat, not helped by the fact
that, unintentionally, everything I was wearing and carrying seemed also to be
blue!! It could have been worse of course, it could have been pink ;-) I
understand Silverbirch offer flexible colour options, (including pink) on this
occasion it was just what AS Watersports had available. I prefer to go for the
faster green boats!
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Getting cleaned in the washing machine! |
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Morning Yoga has never been so well balanced… |
I had no difficulty keeping up with the Explorers,
Esquif Avalon, and new Voyager Prospector canoes. I’m not so sure how I would fare on longer slower rivers such as the
Thames, the Broadland 16 a likely better option here?
This is a manoeuverable boat whilst still feeling very stable and
forgiving. It will turn on a sixpence when edged enough and I had no trouble picking and following a chosen line down bigger water,
indeed picking a line and being maneuverable was essential if I wanted to
stay dry due to what seemed like quite a low
freeboard! Pushing directly through a wave train guaranteed a wetting, even
quartering and maneuvering smaller waves didn't guarantee staying dry due to
the low cut; I wonder what adding just a inch all round would do? (disclaimer,
better paddlers might stay dry?)
In the rapids, (no more than grade two on this trip) the Broadland 15 wants to be playful, I was happily eddy hopping, crossing big waves and I even found a little bit of surf from one feature, not enough to really judge but what I caught was fun.

Additional Review By Team Members Graham Thomas & Nick Davies
My usual open canoe of choice is a Royalex Mad River Legend which is narrower than most and flat bottomed which makes it slower as a tourer but great in moving water. So the first noticeable point which I liked in the Silverbirch Broadland 15 Duralite was how narrow it is. This makes it great for easy cross deck work and weight transfer for maneuvers. Its prospector style hull shape makes it track really well and has good cruising speed. The hull feels really stiff and rigid with no flex which is a tribute to the Duralite material.

Graham Thomas
Level 4 WW Leader.
My thoughts
The boat tracked well, has a low gunnel, but ok for grade 2ish stuff a bit more rocker would help its manoeuvrability, (big word for me) but other-wise nice shape and paddle, oh and the seats are a bit tight if you want a kneeling thwart.
Nick Davies