Curious, where are Hurricane kayaks made. Not a clue on their website. I want to look at a Tracer 16.5. Local dealer (Corpus Christi) isn’t going to be carrying Hurrican any longer.
Hurricane
Hurricane kayaks are made in North Carolina. I’m not sure what city/town but it’s in the coastal region. I know because I live in NC, and the local outfitter where we bought our kayaks sells Hurricanes. They told us they are made in NC, and they can sell them cheaper than most places because their shipping costs are so low.
Thanks!
This must be them:
Hurricane Aqua Sports
170 Water Tank Rd, Warsaw, NC 28398-7821, United States
Phone: (910) 293-2941
The Tracer is a fine boat.
just curious why they’re dropping them?
I know they had supply issues early on but have since developed a loyal following by designing & building quality boats…nice looking & performing boats too.
Keep an eye on the classifieds.
demo that Tracer
I paddled one at a demo with very light winds and was surprised by its leecocking. Maybe the demo boat was at fault, who knows…but I was disappointed. Very stable & light. Give it a good test paddle.
My impression was that these were made in Mexico - but I could be wrong. The company is located in NC, but is there a manufacturing plant there?
Is Hurricane dropping the Tracer?
I think the original poster
said that the shop was dropping the entire Hurricane line and not that Hurricane was dropping the Tracer.
Mark
Corpus Chrisiti market
is 99% fishing kayaks. All you hear about is stability and price from people interested in buying kayaks. Performance and weight are not really issues so the plastic SOT’s dominate. The few women buying kayaks who have issues with weight seem to be buying the 10-12 ft SOT’s that are light enough for them to lift comfortably.
If it is the shop I think it is they have really had a terrible time with selling SINK’s. They had a Tampico 135L that sat in the shop for well over 1.5 years (may still be there). They were good about special ordering SINK’s for the few people who were interested.
I do not think there is a shop within 150 miles that even carries any SINK’s. I have not shopped lately so I might not know everything out there.
Mark
NC
They are made in NC. They also mold the trylon hulls and decks for Swift kayaks as well as the Hurricane brand. The Tracer is a fine boat and at a great price point for sea kayak. It is very similar to the now discontinued P&H Capella 169 hull. It’s not particularly fast, but is a very competent design. It does benefit from having a skeg in windy conditions - the first year model did not have one and requires a bit better skill to paddle.
I would definitely try the boat before purchase. Its characteristics vary considerably with different weight paddlers and generally, is not a boat I am comfortable putting beginners in.
~wetzool
Maybe you should make an offer…
…on that Tampico if it’s still there…
I like my Sonoma 13.5; they are very similar boats.
be careful
the current tracer is a great boat. HOWEVER, Do not buy it if it does not have a skeg. The first few years they made them Tracers had a lot of rocker and no skeg. It would turn on a dime but you could not control them unless you were a very good paddler and then it was very hard.
Mine was the first year they place a skeg in it . It still had alot of rocker but not as much as the first version and handles better.
Currently they have taken more rocker out and it is much better handling. A friend just traded in his older model Tracer for the new ones. He and photos of old and new versions on his car. You can really see the difference. He said it tracks and paddles much better.
The Fit and finish of Hurricane product has always seemed top notch.
I would say buy it if it is a newer one with a skeg. If no skeg don’t even think about it.
Be sure to try it first.
Dave