Advantage

So…after paddling rec kayaks for years, I’m in the position to buy a Wenonah Advantage 16.6 kevlar solo canoe. My usual paddles are many day trips (rivers, lakes) numerous overnighters, and a couple of week long trips a year.

Do any of you have experience with paddling these boats with a load of camping gear? Being a more performance oriented canoe, I’m concerned that it may not work well loaded. This boat is in excellent shape and I can buy it for $600…hate to pass it up.

Performance canoe
I would jump on it! BUT I am under 180 pounds,and have gone 10 days canoe camping with a pack that weighed 33#.

If you bring a lot of gear camping I would advise against it. The Advantage is a de-tuned race boat and has many characteristics of it.

So look at your weight and then figure it out. The performance hulls are a pleasure to paddle until you overload them. A friend of mine and I tried a Classic XL in some interesting water several years ago. We both loved it, Canoe handled phenomenally well upstream and back . Several years and 60lbs heavier my friend is having problems in interesting water.



That being said; for $600. I would buy it if I weighed under 200 lbs, if just for a day tripper.

I had an Advantage…

– Last Updated: May-12-10 6:34 AM EST –

The Advantage was fast and fun when lightly loaded, but it did have it's quirks, especially in windy weather. Had a terrible tendency to weather cock into the wind. Crossing windy bays or lakes was difficult if not downright dangerous.

I sold the Advantage and bought a Prism, it is still fast and fun, but padddles well with a heavy load, easier to manuever in high winds and choppy open water crossings. Here's a link to a picture of the Prism, loaded with a 210 lb paddler (me) and about 200 pounds of gear, total weight over 400 lbs:

http://tjadventures.com/images/okefenokee2/photos2/81.jpg

I'd reccomend the Advantage for paddling in protected waters with light loads only.

buy it
Between my weight and my gear, I carry about 275lbs in my Advantage while tripping. The weight really lowers the center of gravity and makes the boat feel rock solid. It won’t be as sea worthy as a larger canoe, but it’s efficiency is hard to beat and the Advantage is a lot of fun to paddle empty.



I strongly recommend gluing foam to pad your knees and adding stirrups to the foot brace for added boat control.

Thanks
for the info. I’m 180 lbs. and also a backpacker, so the gear is fairly light.

so no time to lose :slight_smile:

My favorite boat
I love my Advantage. Everything said here is true:

  • Can be a real struggle in wind
  • Should probably be loaded fairly light
  • Fast, fun boat.



    I am 6’3", 180lbs. The boat actually handles better with a bit more weight. If i put my dog in the boat, or one of my kids (all under 50 lbs), the Advantage seems to track better, feels more stable, and is less trouble in the wind.



    If i were to use mine for camping, i’d invest in some sort of reliable decking to help deal with wind. Decking can make a huge difference in windy conditions. I seem to recall seeing a really slick decking kit for an Advantage somewhere online…but i can’t find it now.



    I was actually telling someone yesterday that i will probably never give up my Advantage. Its a great boat.

Buy It !!!
The Advantage is a great hull, & $600 is a great price for Kevalr in excellent shape. It will handle your wt & gear & allow for single tripping any carries

I owned & enjoyed a tuffweave Advantage but sold it after acquiring a carbon GR solo boat

I took a borrowed Kevlar Advantage on an 8 day trip down the lower Missinaibi R & was very pleased w/ it’s performance. It was much more versatile than expected & even handled class 2 raps (althogh lotsa backpaddling was required)

BUY IT

Whoo Hoooo
It’s on it’s way home! My son went and picked it up for me today. Can’t wait to get it on the water, so we have an overnighter planned for the weekend.

Thanks to all for your responses.

Enjoy
you won’t regret it

Thank heaven you bought it!
I would have had to beg you for the name, # of the seller and would have gotten chastized for buying yet another boat!! ENJOY!! Hope to see you on the river sometime. Laura