Liquid Logic Ronin 59
By Sam Stuart

• hull speed: 3.5
• bounce: 3
• looseness: 3.5
• river running: 4
• initiation: 3.5
• outfitting: 4

I paddled the larger of the two designs and at 165 lbs, 59 gallons seemed like a little too much boat for me to throw around easily. In order to compensate I moved the seat way forward but may have altered the center of gravity and symmetry of the boat, effecting the overall performance. A larger paddler (over 180lbs.) may find that the boat handles differently than what I describe below and to be better all around for their weight.

The down river performance of the boat was overall good. The boat held good lines but seemed a little slow when trying to accelerate. It has great stability when going down stream and but was a little tipsy on edge. The stern seemed to catch in swirling currents and eddie lines which was a nuisance but can probably be easily adjusted for by simply paddling the boat more consistently.

This boat did not perform well for me while play boating. A lot of the volume is toward the bow of the boat, which makes for big loops but hinders other aspects of play boating. The volume displacement made cartwheeling awkward. Transitioning from bow to stern was not smooth and forces constant correction during your throws instead of smooth transitions in other, more symmetric boats. The boat also has a tendency to surf directionally and while is looser than the Vision does not spin or side surf as easy as the Session or Space Cadet.

The uneven rocker from bow to stern adds to the overall asymmetry of the boat. The bow has a very aggressive rocker that slowed the boat some, making it difficult to catch slower surf waves. While the stern is much less sloped which gives the boat a longer planing surface it prevents an easy pop off the wave when getting air on steeper waves. With a larger stern, I thought that squirting the boat would be a blast but found that I had to force the boat onto it’s tail (probably due to moving the seat far forward.) The stern has also been flattened out which gives the boat better down river stability but catches water in steeper holes.

The outfitting on the boat is the same bomber rigging that liquid logic uses in all their boats. While the outfitting adds to the overall weight of the boat it ensures the longevity of the boat, a small price to pay for adding life to your investment and preventing any unwanted frustrations

While the Ronin 59 has a unique design that may appeal to larger paddlers (180 lbs or more) looking for a river runner that will go big in the hole the overall design limits it’s ability as a truly versatile playboat. I think that I will find the Ronin 49 to be more my style and am interested to see how the features of the smaller version perform for a lighter paddler. -Sam Stuart