hi all.
wenonah went and did it…a canoe/kayak kind off canoe.
canoe wit a rudder…
some kind off competitior to the natives kayaks.
it those look great.
great ideal…fisherman will love it i think.
i would love to try it.
here the link to it…look for the wenonah fusion
http://canoekayak.com/canoe/wenonah-offers-11-new-boats-for-the-2009-season/
joco
I saw that, priced in line with the
Native. I’m not sure you can stand in it like in the Ultimate, but I bet it paddles better. Get the spray skirts if you paddle where its windy, the freeboard is a bit low on the boat, especially at the bow and stern.
What makes it a hybrid?
It looks completely canoe-ish to me. It just looks like not a particularly good canoe design with the lack of rise at bow and stern. Would like to see it in action and experience what the freeboard is like in a class 2 wavetrain. Just long enough for the waves to do their job but not so long that I’m going to have far to swim if the bow doesn’t do it’s job.
- Big D
Call a pig a cow theory of marketing
When I paddled the Native Ultimate, it responded more like a canoe than a kayak. At first Native called it a kayak, now its a hybrid. Hybrid is the “new, improved” of marketing glitz, building on the blitz of advertising for hybrid cars.
Not for rapids
What are kayak’s biggest problems? Unless you want to spend $2000, they are heavy and there is no way to carry the boat for any distance. Most kayakers would be better off with a solo canoe in my opinion, but kayak is glamorous. Kayaks are easy to paddle with a double bladed paddle. Kayaks are comfortable with a seat back. Rudders make it easy to paddle in the wind. Well the Fusion is all that in a canoe. It is big and stable for the recreational paddler and with a double bladed paddle and optional rudder, easy to paddle. I think this boat will do well for Wenonah even if it is cosmetically challenged, noy the fastest in the fleet, or the driest in a swift moving river.
Wenonah has no traction in the fishing
market. They’ve a lot of work to market the boat to the intended audience. The largest market for ruddered paddle fishing craft is saltwater. This canoe isn’t going to do well there built in the layups offered. Neither are good in oyster reef laden waters. And, the Native Ultimate appeals to fly and sight fishermen because its stable enough to stand in to cast. The jury is out on the Fusion for that purpose.