I just sold my MN IV and thankfully get to downsize to a three person canoe. While the IV was a battleship, it was incredibly stable, especially with younger kids getting used to paddling. Read through many of the older threads on the site here, and just curious if anyone can provide insight into the stability of a MN III versus a Northwind 18. My kids will be 15 and 13 on our next trip and have done 6 trips so I would consider them as somewhat experienced in a canoe. Any feedback is much appreciated.

The NW 18 will have that same initial 'twitchy' feel of the MN III that some don't care for, but its secondary stability is superb. A notch better than the MN III in the stability department, IMHO.

And I'd add that the Seneca also from Wenonah is the wider, more stable 3 person offering. We've rented one twice when we had odd number of trippers and with a week's worth of gear and three 150lb adults it did great. I'm sure a MNIII would win in a race, but I didn't feel we were painfully slow.

I've paddled a MNIII many times and a NW18 once. I can't say that I noticed a difference in initial stability between the 2. The MNIII is heavier and longer, it has a bit more room for gear, and the bow seat slides. I have had to ask the middle man in a MNIII to center his weight on a few occasions because he can cause the canoe to have a noticeable list to one side or the other.