"Seaward’s Passat G3 reviewed in Adventure Kayak - Summer 2004" in Adventure Kayak (2008-11-13) » View as Text

"Sea Kayaker Readers Choice Awards 2009" in Sea Kayaker Magazine (2009-02-05) » View as Text

"Seaward's 5-Way Seat is AWESOME!" in Deb's Blog (2014-02-20) » View as Text

" " I spent a great deal of time researching the Internet for a K-2 Greenland style Kayak. I was looking for the K-2 to introduce my wife to the sport ..... a trip in the Passat along the east coast of the United States and she was hooked!" Tom Horley, PA USA " ~ Tom Horley, PA USA

"This is one absolutely beautifully handcrafted tandem kayak!!! For the last four years we have been learning the skills of kayaking with a tandem Wilderness Systems kayak, which was great for beginners learning how to kayak. Then we wanted to upgrade to a fiberglass with more storage and hatch space. We discovered the Passat G3 and realized this was our dream kayak!! It even has a center cockpit space for our dog to join us! This kayak has so many safety features and it is so stable and smooth out on the ocean. We are so happy with this kayak!" ~ Shamaya Barton

"We have looked at every boat on the market, and we are going to use this boat on our exped: http://in-ook-shook.webs.com/index.htmn" ~ Darran clegg

"We were shuttled by an amazing young man named Heron who is a Seaward Outfitter. During our trip we heard of an amazing rescue that he had performed last year of a couple who had been caught in storm-forced winds on a 7 mile crossing of Juan Perez Channel in their Passat G3. We asked and Heron told us the series of events. He ended by saying that after so many hours in the water, unable to pump out their capsized kayak, it was amazing that the hatches were still dry. His conclusion was that Seaward water-tight hatches were a significant contributing factor to the young couple's survival. " ~ Cam McCormick

"Completely brilliant! Dave and I were out in the new boat toady... they are awesome, really really great, MASTER PIECES WORKS OF ART! Very impressive, it handled like a dream,thank you very much... It was funny when we drove through London, we had hundreds of onlookers, fingers pointing, crowds stopping, and when we drove by Buckingham Palace we saw the Queen's curtain twitching!" ~ Charlie Hunter

"I just wanted to post you a note to say thanks for a beautiful job on my new Passat G-3 sea kayak.Last night I returned home from Vancouver Island, brought it into my garage and truly admired the craftmanship. Pass along my appreciation to your crew. We'll be taking her on a winter trip tothe Gulf Islands and I'll email some photos." ~ Ken and Laurel Kramer

"Seaward Passat G3 We used the Passat G3 on the 2011 Yukon 1000 kayak race. This is a 1000 mile kayak race from Whitehorse to the Dalton Bridge in Alaska. Adam and I lived in the boat for 6 and a bit days (paddling 18 hours a day and resting for 6) and the thing was amazing. The Passat G3 is responsive, fast (we won the race in 6 days 8 hours and 50 minutes), comfortable and is bomb proof. The race has everything from 50 kilometre lakes to fast moving technical water ( in the Yukon Flats) and the boat handled it with ease. I can't recommend this boat strongly enough to anyone keen on a high performance tandem sea kayak...... Simon Coward   Director - Lead Guide/Instructor Aquabatics and Adventure Trippin Travel www.paddlealberta.com www.adventuretrippin.com (ph) +1-403-288-9283 (Canada) (cell) +1-403-561-3492 (fax) + 1-403-288-1824 Kayak Retail | Instruction | International Adventure Travel" ~ Simon Coward

"" ~ Simon Coward and Adam Harmer

"The Passat G3's we hired were amazing, as beginners it was a bit daunting paddling the Broken Islands, but the G3 was amazingly stable and kept us safe. Cheers Steve " ~ Steve Connor

"Lost Creek Adventures decided to try out Seaward in its lineup this year, specifically the Cosma and Chinook thermoform single sea kayaks for rentals, and the Passage for our day tripping tandem. We also got the fiberglass G3 tandem sea kayaks for our longer overnight camping trips. We decided to try Seaward this year due to the obvious care and quality they put in to their boat designs and manufacturing. Unfortunately many manufacturers have started building over in China, and the quality shows. The Cosma is designed for smaller paddlers and women. The shallow V hull can feel a bit tippy at first, but once it's loaded and out in the waves it felt very comfortable and actually smoother than a flatter bottomed boat in the same conditions. The Chinook is a great boat for larger paddlers and has an overall stable feel. Both of these singles are made of thermoform plastic, which looks like fiberglass without the weight. This proved to be a nice surprise on our day trips, as we have to carry tandem boats down a stairs to the beach. The Passage worked great for ease of carrying, was very stable, and fit everyone. The G3 tandem was large enough to fit all camping gear including coolers and a double burner stove in the middle hatch. Worked great for us. I recommend getting the keel strip put on like we did. It really helps for wear on rough beaches as well as while transporting on trailers due to the stiffness it adds to the hull bottom. Thanks Seaward for great boats and customer service! " ~ Lost Creek Adventures

"Hi Steven, Several months ago I purchased a new Passat G3 from Kayak Connection in Santa Cruz, California and you immediately helped me out with a very minor issue of delaminating seat backs. I wanted to let you know that the new ones you sent me worked out perfectly. However, the reason I am writing this note to you is to let you know that, as an advanced sea kayaker and president of Western Sea Kayakers, I never imagined that I would enjoy a double kayak as much as the Passat G3. My reason for purchasing a double kayak is that, unlike me, my wife is not all that comfortable in water, at least for the present, and I wanted her to be able to enjoy our gorgeous aquatic environment with minimal fear. This kayak is perfect - incredibly fast with superb tracking, great stability both primary and secondary and amazing maneuverability for a 22 foot boat. In fact, even on the open ocean or bays we rarely use the rudder as lean turns are so easy. With this double, my wife has already progressed to the unimaginable point that she wants me to teach her how to roll, albeit in our swimming pool! Although expensive, this is one of those rare purchases over which I have no regrets. Thanks so much again for helping me out with the seat backs. " ~ Mike Edwards

"http://ravenecological.com/seaward-passat-g3-review/" ~ Debbie Wellwood

"Compliments to everyone at Seaward Kayaks! Just yesterday, March 11, 2015 I picked up my new Passat at the Day and Ross terminal near Windsor, Ontario. The guys at the terminal couldn't have been more helpful with the unwrapping and loading of my new kayak. They even seemed excited at the idea of my hauling a 22 ft. boat on top of a Mazda3 wagon. Jacquie Ree was my only contact at Seaward. From first contact and several phone calls to delivery, she was excellent with every phase of the purchase. She had suggestions about which model would fit my needs and together we worked out the best method of delivery. Driving from Cleveland to Windsor was the plan and it saved me some money, besides. Without going into specifics; Seaward knows the best ways to get a boat to you from Canada into the US. Just go with their plan! Take my word for it. The lime green and ivory kayak appears to be perfect. As soon as Lake Erie thaws we'll see how it moves along. A couple of friends have Seaward boats and their recommendations along with the 22' length X 26" width and the more than fair price fit my buying decision perfectly. Thanks again to Seaward for a seamless and enjoyable purchasing experience. " ~ Ed Leszed

"Hi Jacquie- Sorry we have taken so long to correspond but we have been quite preoccupied with paddling our new Passat G3. What a beautiful and awesome boat to paddle! We are extremely pleased with the design, craftsmanship and how it handles. Our trip to Drummondville to receive it went well. Fortunately the boat did not have further to go as its' shipping box was starting to come undone after receiving a blow to the stern/rudder end. The Kayak itself was unscathed and the rudder works just fine- your packing methods were very effective. A customs official gave us a hassle trying to re-enter the US, as he was convinced we were trying to swindle out of a duty fee. Fortunately Chip was able to convince him with the help of your Website that our deal was legit and they let us go, finally!! We have paddled so far in lakes, rivers and the ocean up in Maine and the Passat is outstanding. We can't wait to get back out on the water with it. Thank you and your staff for everything, and for such an awesome boat. Everyone who sees it on our truck has to comment on how beautiful it is, as well.  Take care- Catherine and Chip" ~ Chip Smith

"Rand & I have really enjoyed our Passat G purchased 6/1/2014. Last summer we took it to the Broken Group and Nuchatlitz. This summer we paddled it in Clayoquot Sound. We are already thinking about next year - perhaps Kyuquot Sound. It's sleekness, capacity, speed and weight have more than met our expectations." ~ Rand and Gretchen Pigott

"Prescott College owns a beautiful fleet of Seaward kayaks. In about 2001, we received funding to start replacing the aging fleet of fiberglass and plastic boats. The warehouse manager at the time (Tom Donovan) and newly-arrived faculty David Craig wondered about what to replace them with. Dave’s many year’s of experience meant that while he was confident of what not to purchase, he was also aware that there were a plethora of quality kayak fabricators out there. So Dave took his Sea Kayaking and Marine Natural History class to the West Coast Sea Kayak Symposium where the class methodically tried out the boats from various manufacturers. Each boat was assessed for appropriateness to the program. After a couple of days the results were discussed and documented. Then, after much more discussion with Tom, the decision was made to go with Seaward. The boats fit a wide variety of body shapes thanks to a flexible, but not busy, cockpit setup. Manufacturing quality was top-of-the-line. And the folks at the company seemed eager to develop a lasting relationship with us. That original fleet was made up of Navigators (an awesome, though burdensome, touring kayak that was later replaced by the Tyee) and Southwinds. Since that fleet was purchased we have replaced most of it twice. Our current fleet is made up of 7 Tyees, 2 Passat 3s, a Chilco HV and a Quantum. We continue to be extremely happy with the quality of service and product that we receive from Seaward Kayaks. Since I recently took delivery of a new Chilco last week, I’ll take this opportunity to compare the old with the new. In 2006, when that year’s new Chilco came in, I decided to go over it “with a fine tooth comb” since a) I was still new to Seaward products and, b) its my job as I am responsible for purchase and maintenance of a fleet of these boats. After an hour or so of going over all the fittings, playing with the rudder and control lines and giving a careful “hands on” inspection of the glass work and gel coat, I was perplexed: surely there had to be some flaw, somewhere. I asked another experienced instructor to assist me and we spent another half hour trying to find anything we weren’t satisfied with. Despite our best efforts, we were left without a single manufacturing defect to complain about. I couldn’t believe it, frankly. I simply had never encountered a new boat where I couldn’t find something that had been missed by the manufacturer – a small imperfection in the glass layup, cables crimped imperfectly, a screw left loose. It was obvious, to Seaward’s credit, that they had covered all the phases of construction with the highest caliber workmanship. The materials were the best available, the fittings and cables were overbuilt and oversized (I still have not had to replace any part of the rudder mechanism after three years of hard institutional use.) Now to this year’s (2009) boat. When the fleet of new boats arrived, I was pleased to see that Seaward continues to package their boats for shipping in what I consider a proper manner. Lots of high quality foam sheet and a bomber outside “scuff layer” of thick corrugated box paper. To make it any beefier they’d have to put it in a wooden box. Once the boats were unpackaged and inspected for shipping damage, I again took the opportunity to set the Chilco aside for more careful inspection together with assistance from another experienced boater. Here’s what we found. Glasswork: Seaward’s reputation for high quality glass layup work was reinforced for me. No cutting corners, 100% weave impregnation, everything finished cleanly. Easily some of the best work I’ve seen from any manufacturer. Of the 6 boats we received, we found only one flaw (an edge of glass tape had lifted slightly on the forward bulkhead). Gelcoat: Flawless as in ’06. Fittings: Good, but I noticed that the absolute attention to detail that I found in ’06 was missing: A screw loose on one of the deck fittings, imperfect knots on perimeter lines (though still functionally fine), and most notably, Seaward has replaced the high-density plastic aft skid guard (previous screwed on which made for straight-forward replacement) with a glued-on piece of what looks like PVC. I cannot help but imagine that the glue will fail with repeated rough landings, but I’ve been wrong about plastics and adhesives before – perhaps I’ll be pleasantly surprised. Seaward has also replaced their excellent (though somewhat fussy) foot pegs with a standard Seadog footbrace system. I will admit to limited experience with this system – we’ve only had them in boats purchased a year ago. However, its worth mentioning that the old system was fabricated almost entirely of stainless steel and aluminum while Seadogs are mostly plastic. Plastics technology has continued to evolve, I know, but I am still wary of plastic fittings. That said, I trust that the folks at Seaward have really given Seadogs a good testing-out before committing to installing them in all their boats. The hatch covers are still beautifully made and finished. The design is remarkable in that it allows for continued seaworthiness even if the cover is damaged or lost. A great expedition design found on several manufacturers boats and executed to perfection in the Seaward line. A final note on fittings: Seaward has gone to using internal control cables on their rudder deploy/retract cables. The control is a slider just to the paddler’s side. While convenient and good-looking, I have often seen this system fail when used for skeg control in other manufacturer’s boats. I do not look forward to maintaining this difficult-to-access system after the boats come back from a couple of months on expedition. The old “lines-on-the-deck” system was a joy to inspect and never failed me. Seats: Seaward has moved from their proprietary “loose cushion” seat to a more conventional molded plastic seat. If you are not familiar with their old seat cushion system, it is worth reading the review in Sea Kayaker magazine from a few years ago. It doesn’t look like it will function well but it does, and after comparing it to the conventional systems seen in most high-end boats I found it superior, placing the paddler low in the boat yet on a super comfy molded cushion. Furthermore, at the end of a day of paddling with the usual getting in and out of the cockpit (with accompanying sand and gravel), the cushion is easily removed allowing complete access to the entire cockpit sole for thorough cleaning. When I balked at the new seat system, Seaward kindly offered to outfit this year’s fleet with the tried-and-trusted cushions. I’m a big fan and I’m sad to see that Seaward has elected to drop this system in favor of convention. Customer service: Apart from the fact that the company is not open on Fridays and that they are closed most of August (during which everyone seems to be off paddling – a good thing for a kayak manufacturer, I suppose, but I’m jealous…), I’ve enjoyed very good service from everyone at Seaward. The owners (who often answer the phone) and staff really appear to understand my needs as an institutional boater and warehouse manager. To summarize: The ’09 Chilco is a top of the line boat from a reputable manufacturer. It is not an inexpensive boat, but you do get what you pay for: a well-design, beautifully outfitted watercraft that you will be proud of for many years. While there are signs of a slight dip in quality compared to boats made a few years ago, Seaward kayaks continues to manufacture boats that are of the highest quality industry-wide. " ~ Martin of Prescot College

"Perfect performance! My wife and I just finished our first kayak tour from Kingston to Ottawa along the Rideau Canal with a Passat G3. We nicknamed her the"Cruise Missile" because we like to "cruise" on the water and the boat is an absolute "missile" in terms of her speed.....That said, we were amazed at how stable, straight tracking and easy to turn the boat was - considering its long and narrow dimensions. In big chop on some of the lakes, the boat handled easily, and with a tailwind and small sail, we were clocked at 14 kilometers per hour. Great fun! The hatch design and load capacity is ideal for long trips. We had enough room in the center hatch to bring a 2-wheel cart so we could portage the boat to the steps of Parliament. How wonderfully Canadian it is to be able to paddle and portage without hassle to the center of our federal government! Thanks again Seaward for making such a perfect boat. We look forward to future adventures in this most capable and beautiful watercraft. " ~ Will Wistowsky

"I and my wife (in our mid 50's), some times with our dog, need a kayak that is fast, light, stable and more importantly portable, so the tandem can be transported on top of my minivan over long distances, stored in my 2 car garage and loaded & unloaded by myself. The problem is that no such a kayak on the market, well that is correct until I convinced Mr. Steven Ree, the president of Seaward Kayaks, to custom built one for me. After multiple phone call and email exchanges, Steven decided that a modified carbon fiber Passat G3 XLC will fit my requirements. The time was tight and technical challenge was high, and he had no time to make any mistake. In the end, he made a beautiful tandem kayak, did not have time to test in the water and it arrived 4 days before my departure. Except some minor leaking and some not so smooth cuts (very difficult with carbon fiber). it was a great success. the boat met and surpassed all my expectation. Big Thanks to Steven and his team!" ~ James Wang

" While paddling on Cliff Lake in Montana, two separate boaters yelled out- Nice Boat! Of course we had our Australian Shepherd in her own center cockpit, a big reason for a tandem. The stability, quality accessories like rudder pedals, seat and adjustment options, cowling covers and rigging features make this an incredible paddling experience. Additionally, the staff is readily available to provide assistance for parts and suggestions to repair any damage that occasionally occurs on trips. Once you get over the initial price, the craftsmanship, quality materials and overall finish is worth the initial cost." ~ Geoff

"We recently completed the Race to Alaska in our Seaward Passat G3 and wanted to send you a quick note to let you know how pleased we were with the boat. We were one of two kayaks to enter the race this year and completed the Victoria to Ketchikan leg in 19.5 days. We carried three weeks of provisions and paddled in all kinds of coastal conditions including some that definitely challenged our limits. We always felt very secure and the boat was a pleasure to paddle. Looking forward to future adventures with our Seaward! " ~ Ian Graeme