MATERIAL WORLD
The last of the Royalex canoes flew off shelves in 2014, boosting retailer sales. Several manufacturers are investing heavily in developing hull materials that claim to match Royalex in terms of durability, weight and price points.
One contender is Jacques Chasse, owner of Esquif Canoes, who built a 6,000-square-foot factory to manufacture T-Formex, reportedly a stronger, lighter and more abrasion-resistant plastic.
“Everyone is anxious to see the boat out of the mold, including me!” says Chasse, adding that he expects to have a model on water before winter.
Nova Craft will manufacture models in new material TuffStuff, a basalt and Innegra composite reportedly tough enough to rival Royalex, beginning early 2015. Other big brands, including Wenonah and Mad River, continue to work on their own material developments.
COMPOSITES HEAT UP
With focus on research and development to replace Royalex in product lines, most major brands aren’t releasing new designs for 2015, choosing instead to focus on material research.
“One of the benefits of the loss of Royalex has been renewed efforts and research in material technologies in composites,” says Buff Grubb, brand manager and boat designer at Mad River Canoes, “we’ve found alternative materials that have resulted in stronger and lighter hulls…
This article originally appeared in the 2015 Paddling Buyer’s Guide.
