Looking for a kayak and I heard good things about the Manitou from Necky. I am a beginner, 5’7" female. Looking to take it out on lakes and possible calm rivers.
Any thoughts or comments would be appreciated…
Manitou
Nice boat, I’ve heard only good thing about it…
necky manitou
Nice boat, tracks well. Acceleration and turning a bit more sluggish than I would like. Well made, very comfortable seating. Could use a forward bulkhead. I have been told this is a model no longer available, so if you paddle it and love it, buy it.
Recently tried one out in the Keys. I am used to white water boats, so my opinion of the Manitou’s turning may be less than one who is used to daytouring boats.
The Old Town Castine may intrest you.
SALLY THOUGHT IT WAS A BIT SLUGGISH
when we went out on the WIllamette in Portland in May. She felt like she was working too hard to get it to go -the gude was in a Chatham 16, I think I was in the 17, and I wasn’t pushing hard at all.
But then again, it might very well work just fine for you as you’re just getting into things. Perhaps later you’ll graduate, akin to Sally and I.
We started out on OK Scupper SOTs, and moved up to SINKs for mixed group paddles, Sally is 5-7, about 145, and drives a Tracer now (16-6 X 22-3/4), moving up from the Scupper (14-1 X 26), and it affords her good speed for less effort, which is probably why she didn’t particularly appreciate the Manitou.
The bottom line is that there are a number of bottom lines here that run through a lot of these queries:
- Try before you buy; see if you fit, see how WELL you fit, and then, of course, see how well you can paddle it and hoiw well it paddles -and if you’re comfortable doing it. Beside a more often than not short duration/short distance demo run out back, get a little ‘butt time’ in the boat before you commit -think about a half-day rental if you can.
- Try before you buy; get a comparison with another boat or two or three. There might be another boat/model out there that would work great for you despite some possible fears you may have just looking at them.
- Try before you buy; equip yourself with your current or prospective PFD, and other typical clothing/gear, to see how well it, as well as you, fit.
- Try before you buy; check out an array pf paddles while you’re at it if you can -but try to use the same paddle on different makes/models of boat to get an improved take on performanc.
While Sally didn’t really like it, it just may turn out that the Manitou may indeed be the boat for you to
PADDLE ON!
-Frank in Miami
Tried one but wasn’t for me
I am also a beginner and spent quite a bit of time the last couple of months paddling different boats. One of the first ones I tried was the Manitou and I thought it was a pretty nice boat. For a brand new paddler it didn’t seem to tippy and felt fast enough with a reasonable glide. However I also tried a number of other boats and, from a hardshell perspective, thought I liked the Eddyline Skylark better than the Necky. Of course it is also a bit more expensive! After doing quite a few demos I ended up getting a Feathercraft which was not what I expected to buy at all. Bottom line is spend the time up front and really try out as many boats as you can, even if you don’t think the one you are trying is one of your likely finalists.
Have fun and best of luck with your choice.
Jim