Why not carry & car top like canoe?
Are your load bars too far apart for gunwale down car topping? I thought that was supposed to be the standard car top method for the Canaks, like any other canoe.
Also, doesn’t the standard Wenonah aluminum portage yoke that secures to the aluminum slider frame work on the Canaks? I thought that was also a selling point.
Maybe I misunderstood the advertising and reviews.
The only decked canoe that I was aware of that needed to be car topped like a kayak was the Clipper Sea 1.
Thanks for the feedback on the handling. One of my main concerns with the Mini Canak is whether it would turn as easily as I like my canoes to turn. I’d have to get some seat time to know that.
Yanoer the Canak has the same hull
shape inwater as the Prism.
I would guess you have tried the Prism. Mini ought to be like the non existent Mini Prism.
I’ve never been in a Prism.
Always assumed it would be too big for me.
Canak hull is based on the Prism, not identical to it. Prism is what it’s most similar to, from what I understand.
didnt say it was identical
– Last Updated: Jan-04-16 4:40 PM EST –
but with the same though a little downsized hull shape you can expect the same sort of hard tracking. See pblancs post from last year.
I don't think that I could load gear in it for a ten day Everglades trip due to hard sided water bottles being tall for the covers..
Soda bottles just would not do without sealed hatches. The animals would get in..
Wenonah canyak
I have never paddled one, and most likely never will.
My first opinion of the canyaks were; if you want a canoe, get one. If you want a kayak, get one. In the long run, you’d probably be happier. Don’t buy into a slick sales pitch.
I am of the opinion that the boats in question are overpriced, and seldom used by their buyers.
BOB
its more of a sea canoe
and if it were properly outfitted with a rudder could be a nice craft for exploring calmer bays and ocean with its reduced windage
I converted to sea canoe from kayak because the seating is higher in the sea canoe than in the kayak. But sea canoes are rare and pricey.
There are a bunch of types of canoes, but some seem fixed in their ideas of a canoe.
Pricey
for the Canak but adding a cover to a high end Placid as well as shipping drives up cost. You could probably retrofit a smart track rudder to the Canak as the accessible hull should be easy to work with. Piragis has several used Canaks on sale each season.
I’m betting…
I’m betting that there are a lot of very lightly used Canyaks for sale. For sale by buyers who bought into the hype & didn’t try one…before they bought one.
Have same opinion about Old Town Next.
BOB
I hope so.
I actually think I would like a bargain Canak.
Local paddle shop owner uses a 16’ Canak sometimes. I’ve paddled next to him a little and have a fair idea how it handles. It is fast, and it seems to track really well. It doesn’t suffer in the wind, that’s for sure.
It certainly has it’s place, although the price makes it unattractive to most. I’d snap one up at the right price for use on our larger lakes. Can’t justify the high price though, since open water isn’t where I spend most of my paddling time. If I had to give up the sailboat though…
Fast ?
Think it will outrun a Dagger Sojourn?
BOB
I think it would work
– Last Updated: Jan-06-16 5:41 PM EST –
For my long 10 day trips, I just take the hard sided water container and put it on it's side and it is below the rails on my Kestrel. The specs have the Canak 16 @ 12.5" at center. My 7 gallon blue container on side is only 10.5" This usually is placed closest to me. The 15 Mini Canak would probably work well for me.
I think it would work very well for the Everglades with a rudder and gel coat instead of skincoat on hull. The price is similar to a high end kayak. But way more comfort and less hassle to get things out of the hatches.
Almost never any for sale.
It seems that most hold onto them.
The outfitters seem to sell out of their used rentals very quickly at the end of the season.
I would think so, with equal paddlers.
Based on what yanoer?
Have you ever paddled a Sojourn, Prism or a Canyak?
BOB
I’ve paddled a Sojourn, owned an
Advantage, Whisper and Voyager, but never paddled a Prism because they’re so large and deep compared to my size and have only sat in a Canak. That Voyager was WAY too large for me with no load - even in only mild winds.
I would also expect the Canak to be too large for my motor, so I’d go for the Mini Canak.
Heck, my Ultra Light Bell Magic seems too big for my motor. I don’t seem to cruise any faster in it than my Curtis Lady Bug and the Lady Bug doesn’t tire me out as easily.
My Sawyer Summersong was faster for me than the Sojourn that I paddled the same day and I wouldn’t expect the Canak to be any slower than the Summersong.
The composite boats are stiffer than the Royalex Sojourn, even though it’s stiffer than many other Royalex canoes.
As always, your mileage may vary.
Outfitters
such as Piragis do sell off rental boats every season. I never see them on sale outside of that market. Beachcamper, you and others on this site are pretty familiar with Everglades camping/fishing needs. Call Wenonah and ask about possible rudder installation.
That phone call might be well worth it
for you and Wenonah.
The website says the hull is skin coat no options. If true, they are missing a market.
There really is a need for such a boat in the Everglades. You will have to do some outfitting to attach lines to allow you to stand in it and unload at chickees but that ought to not be a big deal…
The rudder is IMO a great help in tidal currents.
Ever since I’ve got my Monarch, I haven’t looked back. RapidFire is almost as good but because of no rudder is always slower in following seas as you have to devote paddle to control rather than power.
wenonah might not be interested
– Last Updated: Jan-07-16 11:38 AM EST –
in such a small market to retool their boats. Adding a rudder could be done as a custom order but the gel coat is absolutely necessary in the Everglades. Maybe a skin coat deck and gel coat hull? I know nothing about how UV affects skin coat.
One thing for sure, Dave Curtis builds a bombproof boat and it is still going strong after much abuse.
Wenonah
website notes that gel coat can be added to an ultralight. I believe it is a no cost option but it will add 6 lbs to the boat. Check under FAQ on their site. I suppose that the mini canak would then be up to 45lbs. Not an impossible weight if portaging is infrequent.
Canak
I don’t think the Canak is hype. I owned one for a couple of years(traded it to an older, larger friend who needed a stable, easy to enter exit/boat). I liked the hull better than the Prism. It tracks well and turns better than a Prism, stable and generally unaffected by the wind. The hatches/covers are easy to deal with. The only down side is portage options but you can get the Wenonah yoke. And it is faster than a Sojourn for me, 5’10" 200lbs.