The creekrunner the I paddle for ......lets see here.....heck it is just easier to say since '93 has taken on little water unless I am washing the fish slim out of it. Been in 30-36" rollers loaded+.... with a stopping head wind.It is actually the only time that I have ever had to pull over due to the aquatic terrain-Holy dudi these are big waves-the boy thought that is great"this is fun" I did not agree. And this is an old design, good design for everyone.... searches me. If you are concerned about gettin' wet look for boats with more bow flare; or you could always wait it out like we did-we found a ton of Otter sign and had a wonderful chit chat, and a good snack and still made it home. Your concerns in regard to landings I have not experienced, but I am a bigg little proponant in stepping on the keel line to get out of the boat, way more stable. If it is a manuverablity issue consider practicing your freestyle moves and get up on your knees and then heeling the boat over to make it more responsive and use "prys and draws" and "skulling"-Practice First!I guess in a nut shell- I have never paddled any boat that I did not like there are some that I just like better than others-whether it be due to looks/beauty, performance, etc, etc. Heck if I had to carry the old chesnut that I had as a guide canoe, lovingly called the BARGE, I would probable be 6"shorter than I am now(110-120 lbs wet), but on the water it was awesome-.....the difference between a caddy/lincoln vs geo.....and the wood OH MY GOD!My campers could almost lay down across the beam. Some like them big and beautiful....some dont.  Dont worry you'll figure it out-and remember it has to work for you not us.  Speed/ eff. is a function of the beam width at waterline to boat length-you can make a bigg Boat more efficient/faster by paddling efficiently-that could be another topic-heated too. Just try them out-rental and demo offer great possiblities to do this in real time. Hope that helps.