If you go Bell check out the difference between the merlin and the magic before you commit. The magic is what Bell calls a "performance" touring boat. A bit thinner and quicker and more nimble but I bet the trade off is less fishability. A tad less stable maybe? I could be wrong but I checked into both of them and while I never paddled either before I took the plunge the merlin on paper just looked like the more stable of the two as a fishing platform. Anyway like I said I could very well be mistaken as I have not paddled anything other than my merlin in the solo arena.