The east coast of Greenland is a source of bounty and burden, feast and famine. These waters have choked mariners for centuries, marked by the shipwrecks and grave sites that dot the shores of the Ammassalik Fjord. The worst can also strike kayakers when least expected, so you should always pack a kayak repair kit and learn how to use it to avoid joining the sad list of wrecks.
[ Plan your next sea kayaking & touring adventure with the Paddling Trip Guide ]
Lessons from a Greenland field repair
Stuck on a floe with nowhere to go
It was in the Ammassalik Fjord where I found myself floating on a 30-by 30-foot piece of sea ice with a group of guests a kilometer from shore. We were all standing on the floe because just minutes before a wide lede we’d been paddling along had narrowed due to shifting ice, catching and crushing one of our tandem sea kayaks with its paddlers inside. The ice receded as quickly as it approached, turning hazard into an island of safety.
The tandem pair were uninjured and in good spirits, but the 22-foot fiberglass kayak bore a smattering of nine full-thickness holes and cracks scattered from bow to stern. Most severe was a crack at the bulkhead extending a foot-and-a-half in length, and partially below the waterline. This kayak was fatally damaged, but our only way back to shore was to find a fix.
Improvising a way to patch the hull
Fothering is an almost lost nautical technique for quickly repairing a damaged ship. Sailors used fabric from sails to cover holes from the outside of hulls to stem leaks. Early mariners and Arctic explorers used this technique in times of desperation, to save ships from sinking after running aground or contacting with ice.
Using Vise-Grip pliers and a pair of gloves, we transformed an MSR Dragonfly stove into a torch. Drying and warming the damaged surfaces of the kayak was the first step to a successful repair job.
The kit includes anything that will help repair your kayak
The holes and cracks were far too large to solely rely on duct tape patches, so we dissected a dromedary water bag, harvesting the fabric for fothering patches. Any AquaSeal glue we could squeeze from the tube in the subzero temperatures was used to fill hollows between fabric and hull.
Then came the duct tape, Tenacious Tape and medical tape—any tape we could muster—to further seal fabric to hull. We used the stove to melt the edges wherever tape was applied, and pressed the adhesive into place with a heated pot lid.
In the end, every piece of repair equipment we had—every inch of tape, and every ounce of adhesive—played a part. After two hours of careful concentration, the freshly repaired kayak was ready to be put to the test. And it proved watertight.
Making a field fiberglass repair is difficult in ideal conditions, let alone stranded on an ice floe off the coast of Greenland. What surprised me most was how quickly the ice went from hazard to refuge in the unpredictable conditions of the Arctic. But even if you are paddling in the calmest of waters your kayak repair kit will provide safety and peace of mind, a refuge of its own.
This article was first published in Issue 54 of Paddling Magazine. Subscribe to Paddling Magazine’s print and digital editions, or browse the archives.
Bren Orton on Northern Canada’s 107-foot-tall Alexandra Falls in August 2018. | Feature Photo: Kalob Grady
On April 29, 2009, Tyler Bradt set a new world record when he successfully descended 186-foot-tall Palouse Falls in Washington State. In doing so, Bradt smashed his own previous world record, made two years earlier on 107-foot Alexandra Falls in Canada’s Northwest Territories. Bradt also provided a new high-water mark for others to measure themselves against. Among the small group of elite athletes who specialize in “dropping,”or kayaking over big waterfalls, no height seems out of reach.
Can kayakers conquer even bigger waterfalls?
In the decade since Bradt’s world-record run, a dozen or so waterfalls with heights more than 100 feet have been successfully run by a handful of athletes. Kayaking over such big waterfalls, freefall lasts 2.5 to 3.75 seconds, and impact speeds range from 35 to 60 miles per hour.
Leading up to his most recent world record attempt, Bradt was confident in his skill but concerned about his spraydeck staying on his kayak in the pressure at the bottom of the falls. Not only does an intact spraydeck create buoyancy, but a descent is only considered successful if the kayaker stays in his boat.
“We rely equally on athleticism and our equipment. The more extreme the sport, the more critical the role equipment plays,” Bradt says. “Any sport pushed beyond the limitations of gear can be incredibly dangerous.”
“All we are waiting for now is the next perfect drop to be found.”
A homemade solution to keep you in place
For his descent, Bradt invented what he calls a chastity belt. The system keeps his deck from imploding when the kayak hits the surface at the bottom of a big drop. “The chastity belt allowed me to run Palouse with a higher degree of safety and also ensured I remained in my boat at the bottom to set the world record,” he says. In Bradt’s case, the chastity belt was a big piece of the puzzle to try kayaking such a monstrous waterfall.
“The biggest issue we face in terms of gear is we are such a small segment of action sports, so anything you want to do, you have to do Tyler-style—100 percent homemade and home-tested,” says Rafa Ortiz, who notched the first descent of 129-foot Big Banana Falls in Mexico, currently the second tallest drop on record. Ortiz was also the second athlete to descend Palouse Falls.
“I think athletes are pushing the big drop game pretty strong and the gear and boat technology is where it needs to be,” says Send’s Adrian Mattern. “All we are waiting for now is the next perfect drop to be found.”
Picking the perfect waterfall
A perfect waterfall must have several features, including a lip allowing a kayaker to calmly come to the edge and stare down the landing, a flow rate adequately breaking the surface tension of the pool, an open pool at the base with no caves, and the ability to set safety behind the curtain.
“Progression is only as good as the athlete
pushing the sport,” says Dane Jackson
For Mattern and Send co-founder Bren Orton, 2018 was a colossal year. Both notched a descent on Mexico’s Big Banana Falls and Canada’s Alexandra Falls. “No single piece of equipment will facilitate progression in sending taller drops. Pushing height will come with the right person and the right waterfall,” says Orton. “As big waterfalls become more standard, we can only hope specific safety features will be built into kayaks to prevent injury or death. Much like racing restraints in a race car don’t help a driver go faster around the track, but by God do you want one if you crash.”
Gear advancements alone won’t take the sport to mega heights, but the minimal gains can go a long way. Similar to Bradt inventing a way to ensure his spraydeck would not implode on Palouse, a more compact life jacket without compromising flotation and sleeker helmet design could assist a kayaker in being able to tuck tighter and be as hydrodynamic as possible upon impact. Outfitting to reinforce the integrity of boat design is another often wish-listed feature for high flying boaters.
Bren Orton on Northern Canada’s 107-foot-tall Alexandra Falls in August 2018. | Photo: Kalob Grady
How big is too big to drop?
To break the current world record, kayakers will have to consider more than just personal skill and safety. “We don’t know what is possible because we have not seen the drop. There is a chance the next waterfall discovered is 191 feet tall, just breaking the record,” says Mattern. “In this case, we know a body can sustain a descent. However, the next waterfall could be 220 feet or higher, and we will be forced to look into whether a human can withstand the impact.”
Kayaking off a waterfall more than 220 feet high would entail at least four seconds of freefall and a big impact—more than 60 miles per hour.
“Progression is only as good as the athlete pushing the sport,” says Dane Jackson who has successfully descended four waterfalls in the triple-digit club. “It comes down to continuing to develop new techniques for adjusting angles and keeping the boat in control during freefall.”
This entails athletes spending time on smaller waterfalls, getting accustomed to freefall and dialing in the ability to make micro-adjustments. Mid-air mindfulness is key to controlling the angle of the kayak in search of the most hydrodynamic—and therefore least forceful—impact at the bottom of the falls.
Kayaking big waterfalls means scaling new heights
“As someone who has run the two highest waterfalls, I know we can go higher,” says Ortiz. “It’s not for me anymore, but I know there will be kids who want to go taller and who will find a way.”
This article was first published in Issue 56 of Paddling Magazine. Subscribe to Paddling Magazine’s print and digital editions, or browse the archives.
A name like Booster would be almost condescending if not for Riot’s sculpted detailing, superhero graphics and metallic finish that make sitting in the boat feel like you are in Batman’s secret new play machine. With the Riot Booster kayak, angular edges and crisp detailing are maintained while adding some innovations that push the limits of forward-thinking outfitting.
River Running Capacity:
80-130 / 130-180 / 170-220 lbs
MSRP:$1,495 CAD
[ Paddling Buyer’s Guide: See all kayak playboats ]
Strap in with the Riot Booster
The first thing you will notice about the Booster is Riot’s new Elastomer Outfitting, a totally new concept in kayak cockpit design. It looks like a rachet-buckle-crazed snowboarder outfitted the boat. There are five beefy rachet buckles: two on the backband, one between your legs for the adjustable bulkhead footrest, and one on each thigh strap, yes thigh straps. You just sit down on a sculpted foam seat and start cranking ratchets to dial in your fit without spending a day working with bulk foam and contact cement.
Rethinking the kayak cockpit
The thigh brace system is the largest departure from traditional outfitting. You still use the inside of the deck as the primary thigh braces, but the thigh straps stay in contact with your legs when you relax them. We couldn’t quite figure the system out, so we contacted Corran Addison for his design perspective.
“It’s like wearing a soft snowboard boot rather than a hard boot. The soft boot has hard contact points under the boot, and the high back behind the boot. But the boot itself flexes and follows your movements, while a hard boot simply restricts them.”
Does it work in kayaking? Well, we’re not sure the thigh straps contribute to more boat control but we didn’t notice any lack of control either. It just feels different. We did notice a comfortable, flexible feel while sitting in the eddy and despite all the ratchets and buckles you don’t need to be a whitewater Houdini to enter and exit the Riot Booster.
[ Plan your next kayak river running adventure with the Paddling Trip Guide ]
The rigid backband is mounted to a fixed plastic pillar keeping the backband in position. Add a vertical height adjustment and this is an ideal system that we’re sure will be ripped off.
The Booster makes smooth transitions
Riot is known for edgy, high performance hull designs that are more than a handful for your average paddler. But not the Riot Booster kayak. It is forgiving, super stable, and predictable due to a softer edge between the release chine and the sidewall of the boat. Riot has always had low, sharp seam lines—the Booster has a higher, softer seam line. At first it feels like Riot may have tuned the performance out of this boat to make it easy to paddle. Not true.
A playboat isn’t just about busting moves on a wave, it is about transitions—getting out onto the wave, recovering from a move not-yet-nailed, and getting down-river to the next spot. The Booster makes all the transitions that much easier, helping you save your energy for on-the-wave fun. The Riot Booster planes into a slightly nose-up position riding over seams and deflection waves. Hitting eddies is confidence inspiring, with no secondary edge grab common with many high performance boats.
The Booster has less of the super fast carve of many Riot kayaks, but is no slouch in a good play spot. If you want more play than river running, get in the smallest size you can. The Booster cartwheels at any angle, which allowed testers to ease from flat spins into more vertical moves. Once vertical the Booster is stable and easy to control because of a very even taper from the ends of the cockpit—no cockpit bubble, so no bounce. The large planing surface and rockered ends free of harsh edges makes spins super easy with the trademark Riot ability to carry a spin through the sideways position that carries other boats off the waves.
Overall, the Riot Booster kayak fits into a popular performance category somewhere between the Pyranha Inazones, and dedicated park-and-play boats. If you are looking for more play than your old river runner, but still want to run rivers with confidence there is now a Riot boat for you.
This article was first published in the Early Summer 2005 issue of Rapid Magazine. Subscribe to Paddling Magazine’s print and digital editions, or browse the archives.
We recently took the Impex Currituck (formerly the Formula Pursuit in Canada) on a two-week trip to the Southeast Coast of Newfoundland, where it was paddled by our photographer, who had limited sea kayaking experience.
Impex Currituck Specs
Length: 17’
Width: 21.5”
Cockpit: 16” × 30”
Volume: 80 U.S. gal
Weight: 55 lbs (fiberglass)
MSRP:$2,995 USD or $3,095 CAD
[ Plan your next Atlantic Canada sea kayaking adventure with the Paddling Trip Guide ]
The Currituck performs with ease
The Currituck is the third largest of Impex’s four “performance touring” kayaks which emphasize a balance of turning and speed for all-around use. Impex bills it as a “performance Greenland-style boat that is easy to paddle.”
We chose the Impex Currituck because with bow, day and stern hatches of 57, 34 and 72 litres respectively, the Currituck has excellent capacity—slightly more than the popular expedition kayak the NDK Explorer—yet is built for average-sized paddlers. It’s rated for paddler weights of 150 to 220 pounds, and the metal foot pegs are set for shorter than six feet tall. The “ideal” Impex Currituck paddler would be about 5’9” and 160 pounds.
[ Paddling Buyer’s Guide: See all sea kayaks for average-sized adults ]
At 17 feet the Currituck falls neatly between the lengths of popular, comparable boats like the Romany (16’) and Explorer (17’8”).
Among the swells
On day one, we paddled in five-metre swells in the wake of a tropical depression, thus confirming the boat’s user friendly performance in high seas. The Valley hatches proved to be completely watertight, keeping the camera gear dry.
Shortly after, we permanently kinked the skeg table and thus learned the Currituck performs reasonably well in crosswinds and following seas, weathercocking only slightly.
The medium-hard chine and shallow-V hull provided a combination of primary stability for taking photos, and secondary stability for easy edging and predictability in rough water. Some find it slightly tippy unloaded (which facilitates edging), but stable when loaded. A few testers observed that the Impex Currituck’s secondary stability has some “falling points” through a roll, as opposed to smooth transitions, but most were impressed with its edging, rolling and sculling performance.
The two other boats on our trip were Valley Nordkapps, which are unfairly eight inches longer and renowned for speed. The Currituck was of average speed by comparison, but easier to manoeuvre with its shorter length and harder chines.
Impex kayaks, made in Ontario, Canada, were among the first in North America to have fiberglass bulkheads and seams and are one of the few that still have fiberglass seats. The seat is comfortably padded with an Immersion Research neoprene pad and a very cushy, adjustable, gel-core back band.
Among the Currituck’s many features are two sets of carrying handles, one for rescues and the other for boat carrying. Rounded, duckbill-shaped ends also make it easy to grab the hull to carry a fully loaded boat.
Get all-around performance with the Impex Currituck
Overall, the Impex Currituck delivers a textbook compromise between touring capacity and playfulness, between tracking and turning. Justifiably popular, this is an excellent, full-featured, all-around touring boat at a reasonable price, suited for midsized paddlers of all abilities.
This article was first published in the Spring 2008 issue of Adventure Kayak Magazine. Subscribe to Paddling Magazine’s print and digital editions, or browse the archives.
What’s the biggest complaint of aspiring kayakers on a tight budget? For many, the answer is ill fitting or poorly equipped boats that plateau skills development, or worse, quash the pleasure of paddling all together. Fortunately, the Perception Expression 14.5 fills the void for enthusiasts who want a kayak that feels both sporty and stable.
[ Paddling Buyer’s Guide: See all Perception kayaks ]
Grow your game with the Expression 14.5
More and more kayak manufacturers have recognized that not all paddlers will make the leap from box store rec boats to pricey touring designs. Enter the Expression 14.5 from Perception Kayaks, with the bells and whistles of boats with longer waterlines and larger price tags. The 14.5 model we tested is a perfect fit for smaller-framed folks and will stash easily in the garage or under the deck. A 15-foot version is also available for bigger and taller paddlers.
Perception Expression 14.5 Kayak
Perfect for casual or committed kayakers
The Perception Expression 14.5 takes its design cues from classic British-style touring designs—soft chines, a shallow V hull and moderate rocker give it a responsive feel without sacrificing stability. Whereas many Brit boats are a twitchy 20-to-22 inches wide, the Expression adds just enough width for rock solid initial stability. The 23-inch beam is reassuring for novice paddlers, but low volume in front of the cockpit makes this boat feel more like its skinny cousins when sprinting forward or tucking for a roll.
Equally impressive is the hull’s secondary stability, which allows intermediate paddlers to explore edging, bracing and carving turns with confidence. Acceleration and glide are adequate for keeping pace with most boats this length, and the Expression’s low front deck means you can practice perfect forward strokes without reaching around the boat.
Perception’s Zone DLX outfitting is comfortable and customizable for a variety of paddler preferences. Multi-position thigh braces work with the adjustable seat riser to cradle your legs and keep you locked in for bracing and rolling, or you can dial back the fit for all-day touring comfort.
Our one grievance in the cockpit is the high seatback. While it is supportive and La-Z-Boy laidback for casual rambles, it hinders spray skirt fit, rescues and re-entries. We recommend ordering the Expression with Perception’s optional low-profile backband if you’re keen to progress these kayak skills.
The rope-and-cleat skeg control is kink-proof and easy to use, and the skeg keeps you on track in tricky winds. Dual bulkheads, two rubber hatches and full reflective decklines equip the Expression for day or weekend tours on open water.
[ Plan your next kayak day touring adventure with the Paddling Trip Guide ]
The Perception Expression 14.5 will put a smile on your face
For budget-conscious novice and intermediate paddlers looking for a user-friendly kayak to grow their skills, the Expression 14.5 from Perception Kayaks is a well-priced day tourer. It puts the only expression on your face that matters: a smile.
This article first appeared in the Early Summer 2015 issue of Adventure Kayak magazine.
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When Rocky Balboa hit theatres in 2006 after 16 years sans Rocky, film aficionados scoffed that Stallone had tried and failed to recapture lost glory. Still, we bought tickets and watched anyway. Where the Rocky rebootfailed, kayak designers seem to have scored a knockout with reconceived designs like the Pyranha Z.One kayak, a resurrected version of their InaZone playboat.
[ Paddling Buyer’s Guide: See all Pyranha kayaks ]
Pyranha returns to one of the best
According to Pyranha, when the InaZone was introduced in 1999 to a market predominated by Necky Jives, it quickly became the most popular planing hull boat in the world. Playful and user friendly, it was the kayaking everyman’s do-it-all boat.
In our 1999 freestyle kayak test, Paddling Magazine stated the InaZone was “well on its way to being the best all-round playboat.” Playboating (now Canoe& Kayak UK) magazine even awarded the boat their Kayak Design of the Decade award in 2004 before the InaZone was outmoded by rodeo fever and newer freestyle designs.
The Pyranha Z.One is fun for all levels of paddler
With the Z.One, Pyranha designer Graham Mackereth says he wanted to create a kayak that was more stable, manoeuvrable and comfortable than its predecessor. He set out to design a kayak that would help beginner and intermediate paddlers improve their paddling, but also feel familiar to fans of the InaZone. “We wanted the Z.One to be a really sporty classic kayak that could catch waves, surf, eddy hop and just make it fun to carve your way down a river,” he says.
Mackereth began by tweaking the InaZone’s hull shape—lengthening it and increasing bow rocker to give it greater speed and lift—then moving on to the deck where he raised the knees and rounded out the sidewalls.
Nimble but not unpredictable
Offered in three sizes that stretch from 8’1” to 8’7”, the Pyranha Z.One kayak’s length is compensated by a highly rockered stern that creates a surprisingly short and nimble waterline. Mackereth says softer edges and a loose hull make long surfs on even shallow, fast waves a breeze and the slicey, low volume tail is quick and stable to squirt.
Feature Photo: Virginia Marshall
Our testers noted that the Z.One’s narrow, fast hull accelerated like a rocket on peel-outs and made for quick and slick transitions when carving in and out of eddies or working a surf on a dynamic wave. The Pyranha Z.One’s fast hull also means that the kayak carries its speed and direction after just a few strokes, giving developing paddlers a predictable platform from which to focus on the river.
[ Plan your next kayak river running adventure with the Paddling Trip Guide ]
Work the surf with the Pyranha Z.One kayak
Mackereth says there’s one more important demographic he had in mind while designing the Pyranha Z.One, “Older paddlers who want a cool kayak that allows them to surf and play a bit without hurting their body or ego.” In appealing to these Rocky fans on the river, Mackereth has created a real contender for the modern river play belt.
This article was first published in the Early Summer 2009 issue of Rapid Magazine. Subscribe to Paddling Magazine’s print and digital editions, or browse the archives.
Launching your kayak from a rough shore or in rough weather conditions can be difficult and even dangerous if you don’t know what to do. But if you follow these steps, with a little practice you will learn how to launch a kayak safely anytime and anywhere.
[ See the largest selection of kayaks in the Paddling Buyer’s Guide ]
How to launch a kayak
1) Position your boat
First, put your kayak completely in the water. Then position your boat away from the rocky shore and pointed into the wind.
2) Get seated
Next, sit on the back deck of the boat, so you can slide down and be fully seated inside the boat.
Once seated, bring your legs inside the boat. Then paddle the boat to an area that you can safely attach your sprayskirt.
Video: How to launch a kayak in rough conditions
For a more in-depth demonstration, instructor Steve Ruskay joins us from Black Feather Adventures near Parry Sound, Ontario. From the waters of the Georgian Bay Biosphere Reserve he demonstrates how to launch a kayak from a rough shore or in rough conditions.
Since having kids, my wife and I have taken our family on a canoe trip every year. And so we find ourselves with all the cooler-toting anglers, moose hunters and other parents of young children in need of a Really Big Canoe. There are fewer canoes in the three-seater, R.B.C. category, so it’s no surprise that we stumbled upon what is likely the most popular of the bunch: the Souris River Quetico 18.5.
Souris River Quetico 18.5 Specs
Length: 18’6”
Width: 36.5”
Depth: 14”
Rocker: 2”
Weight: 49 lbs
Material: Kevlar
MSRP:Starting at $2,995
[ Paddling Buyer’s Guide: See all 18-foot or longer canoes ]
Souris River takes the all-around approach
While many classic, flatwater tripping canoes built in the Boundary Waters tradition are racing-inspired—long and narrow—Souris River founder Keith Robinson decided to take a different approach when he started canoe building in Atikokan, Ontario, a quarter-century ago.
Robinson is an ex-racer who knew all about sharp entry boats, says Souris River sales manager Wayne Docking, “but he didn’t want to build them.” Robinson aimed more for the optimum all-arounder, “the ultimate tripping canoe” comfortable, durable, and very novice and outfitter-friendly.
The Quetico 18.5 joins the family
The Quetico 18.5 is the longer, wider cousin of the best-selling Souris River Quetico 17 canoe. Docking describes the Quetico 18.5 as “middle of the road,” an “ideal compromise between stability and speed.”
“It’s a mum, dad and two kids kind of boat. It’s a family boat,” confirms Docking, describing my needs to a T. “The outfitters really like it for that reason plus they can put a couple 260-pound bass fishermen in it. If you’ve got big bodies, lots of packs and a few cases of beer, you put them in an 18.5. It’s very, very stable.”
Outfitters account for about half of Souris’ sales, and it’s common to find used Quetico 18.5 canoes when outfitters clear out their fleets, although Docking cautions that one year of outfitting use adds up to a lifetime’s worth of normal wear and tear.
“If you’ve got big bodies, lots of packs and a few cases of beer,
you put them in an 18.5. It’s very, very stable.”
From what I can tell Souris River canoes are up to the abuse, built of aircraft-quality epoxy resin, heavy gauge aluminum and four full layers of Kevlar on the entire hull. So far my canoe displays exceptional build quality and durability and is living up to Docking’s claims that Souris River builds the toughest Kevlar canoes on the market.
Light when empty, heavy when full
With its wide, nearly flat bottom and straight sides, our family found the Quetico 18.5 also lives up to its reputation for stability.
The Kevlar construction makes it incredibly lightweight, well-balanced and a pleasure to carry. It also means it’s designed to be paddled loaded. Empty, it’s a leaf in the wind. Loaded, speed and handling are on par with what we achieved in our similarly shaped 17-footer, despite the larger load.
[ Paddling Buyer’s Guide: See all Kevlar canoes ]
With just two inches of rocker—the same as the Quetico 17 despite the extra length and compared to four inches on the Souris River Prospector 17.5—the 18.5 tracks as straight as you’d like and expect for lakewater, family tripping.
The rounded entry bow and stern shape is comfortable with lots of room for legs, kids dogs or gear.
Feature Photo: Gary McGuffin
Any port in a storm
The Souris River Quetico 18.5 is designed to ride drily over waves rather than punch through them and take on water. Or so the theory goes. Just don’t expect a completely dry ride if you’re loaded up with 500-pounds of family plus two-weeks’ of food and equipment. On our last trip’s windiest paddling day, heading into one-foot of chop on a large lake, stability was rock solid but we were still taking on some water over the 20-inch-deep bow.
On that windy day we simply paddled close to shore, hoping the waves wouldn’t get larger. If they had, we wouldn’t have wanted to be on the water anyway. This confirms the Quetico 18.5 is up to just about anything its target users are.
[ Plan your next canoeing adventure with the Paddling Trip Guide ]
Souris River’s Quetico 18.5 is your floating family room
For running rivers or paddling on big lakes, nimbler handling, more rocker and deeper, drier sides might be on the wish list, but that would veer the 18.5 away from its intended purpose. It would certainly mean sacrificing some of the boat’s middle-of-the-road appeal.
With the Quetico 18.5, Souris River Canoes offers everything you need for a comfortable family canoe trip: initial stability, tracking, speed—and most importantly, lots of room.
This article was first published in Issue 51 of Paddling Magazine. Subscribe to Paddling Magazine’s print and digital editions, or browse the archives.
Who wouldn’t want to go river tripping with a canoe that gives you all the performance, but less weight than usual? That’s the promise of H2O Canoe Company’s voluminous 17-foot river tripper, the H2O Voyageur 17 canoe.
H2O Voyageur 17 Specs
Length: 16’11”
Width: 37”
Weight: 49 lbs
Material: Brute Force
MSRP:$3,495 CAD
[ Paddling Buyer’s Guide: See all canoes from the H2O Canoe Company ]
The H2O Voyageur 17 is light and tough
The H2O Voyageur 17 canoe caught my wandering eye early this spring as local runs began to flood. Rather than lug my trusty ol’ 80-pound Royalex behemoth to the river’s edge, I visited H2O founder Jeff Hill at his workshop in rural Tavistock, Ontario. I brought back with me the lightest heavy-duty river tripping canoe any of the Paddling Magazine editorial staff have ever paddled. Not to mention, we’ve never used the words lightest, canoe and heavy-duty in the same sentence before.
Origins of the Voyageur 17 canoe
The shape of the H2O Voyageur canoe was sketched out more than two decades ago. Back in 1997, celebrated boat designer Skip Izon dreamed up a tripping canoe for London, Ontario-based rowing shell manufacturer Hudson Boatworks. Izon had the goal of creating a canoe that excelled in whitewater, while remaining efficient on the flats. In the 21 years since, his design has been known by many names and manufactured by four companies.
We first reviewed Izon’s design back in the spring 2003 issue of Rapid Magazine, when it was called the Nemesis and manufactured in Royalex by Raven Works. After Raven Works folded, the Nemisis mould went to Scott Canoe where it was used to produce a canoe named the Missinaibi—its namesake a northern Ontario river known for its excellent whitewater and lengthy flats. Then Scott Canoe’s parent company, Mid-Canada Fibreglass, closed its doors in 2013.
H2O acquired the original cedar strip prototype from Izon’s workshop—Izon was still paddling it all these years later. Using the original plug to create a mould in 2016 Hill started manufacturing another new canoe in an ultra-durable composite construction. Two decades after the original incarnation, Izon’s design lives again, this time modernized in material but traditional in name—the Voyageur.
New Brute Force Innegra layup
Thanks to H2O’s proprietary Brute Force layup, the Voyageur dropped 25 pounds compared to its previous Royalex incarnations—as a point of historical reference, that’s roughly one-third of a voyageur’s bundle.
In the Brute Force layup, polypropylene-based Innegra fibers are woven with basalt mineral to make an outer and inner skin. A center layer of Kevlar and Kevlar ribs laminated with an impact-flexible epoxy resin round out the composite sandwich. Certainly, the svelte 49 pounds is impressively light for such a large and tough whitewater canoe.
H2O debuted Brute Force in 2016, back when the canoeing market was still reeling from the loss of Royalex. It was a dark but exciting time in canoe history. Manufacturers were experimenting with all sorts of different composites to find a suitable replacement for plastic recreational canoes and river trippers. However, the release of a Royalex-alternative material later the same year swung much of the market interest back to plastics, says Hill. But not all.
“There was a period of time when everybody was looking for composite solutions. Now many of those same people just aren’t in the market anymore. There’s a familiarity factor with plastics, but also the price of plastic canoes is lower,” says Hill. “Our audience in 2018 is middle-aged and older people who are not interested in river tripping with an 80-pound canoe.” He can add to his list one 30-something editor.
Brute Force can handle just about anything the river throws at it, says Hill. Of course, just like any composite canoe, the H2O Voyageur 17 isn’t an ideal canoe to simply bash down your local run—the material will stand up best in competent hands with intermediate skills.
You will have to learn to turn and pick your lines,” says Hill. “The Voyageur is capable of handling any level of paddler, but it’ll demand you develop your skills too.”
Negotiate rapids with ease
On flooded spring rivers following a late ice out, we found this tandem tripper to be all Hill—and Izon before him—promised.
Thanks to aggressive four-inch rocker in the bow and two inches in the stern, the Voyageur is a quick-turning canoe for a 17-footer, carving in and out of eddies with ease. It’s a dry ride, with plunge-resistant overhangs and flare in the bow and stern.
“The Voyageur is capable of handling any level of paddler,
but it’ll demand you develop your skills too.”
Izon kept the waterline sharp for flatwater and flared above the waterline for crashing through big standing waves. The H2O Voyageur 17 is also a deep canoe, with 21 inches in the bow and 15 inches at center. An ultra-broad 37-inch beam makes the Voyageur feel oh-so stable at any time, and tumblehome in the paddling positions narrows up the width for easy strokes.
Feature Photo: Rapid Staff
The Voyageur 17 is flatwater-friendly
Few good rivers trips are all rapids.
The Voyageur was also designed with flatwater efficiency in mind. This shows in the sharp entry lines of the bow and stern. At the waterline, the H2O Voyageur 17 is more reminiscent of my touring canoe rather than my bulbous weekend playboat.
[ Plan your next canoe tripping adventure with the Paddling Trip Guide ]
“It’s a big, friendly boat. It’s easy to design a big canoe to carry a lot of stuff, and make it very maneuverable,” says original designer Izon, who restores canoes and rowing shells in his Grand Bend, Ontario workshop. “The challenge was to build some speed into it.” He used his expertise in designing rowing shells to shape the Voyageur’s bow for optimal glide.
I’d be remiss not to mention the extravagant interior space the Voyageur provides. I think I could fit a quartered moose in here or 1,000 pounds of fur pelts and salted cod. For sure it fits four blue tripping barrels—if that’s more your style.
“We often refer to the Voyageur by the name Skip affectionately gave it early in the design stage—Big Mama,” says Hill.
The extra room at the center of the boat is appreciated because the sharp entry lines at bow and stern cut down on usable storage space in those areas. You won’t notice this if you’re packing flotation, as Hill recommends. Our loaner came standard with webbed seats, ash yoke and aluminum trim. For serious river tripping, we’d recommend whitewater outfitting, including knee pads, straps and air bags.
“We often refer to the Voyageur by the name Skip affectionately gave it early in the design stage—Big Mama.”
Try out the H2O Voyageur 17 canoe
“I’m just happy she’s found a home all these years later,” says Izon of the H2O Voyageur 17 canoe. In his garage, Izon has a new Voyageur hanging next to the original cedar strip prototype he loaned to Hill. It’s white, made of Kevlar and he calls it Big Mama, too.
“It’s my favorite canoe,” he says. “I have the first one and the latest one.”
This article was first published in Issue 54 of Paddling Magazine. Subscribe to Paddling Magazine’s print and digital editions, or browse the archives.
Video of H2O’s New Voyageur 17 and Brute Force Lay-Up:
Sometimes it seems like kayak designers share the same obsession as the magazine headlines at the grocery store checkout. Everything’s getting skinnier. At almost 24 inches wide, the Necky Looksha V is one boat that’s bucking the diet trend.
Necky Looksha V Specs
Length: 17’4”
Width: 23.75”
Depth: 13.5”
Weight: 65 lbs
Cockpit: 33” × 17.25”, 155 L
Bow Hatch: 16” × 9.5”, 63 L
Stern Hatch: 16” × 9.5”, 85 L
MSRP:$1,619 USD or $1,999 CAD
Necky’s Looksha V offers a roomy ride
There is an undeniable pride and grace to be felt slipping into a kayak that’s nary wider than your hips. But there may come a time when you paddle your 21-inch-wide kayak through a four-foot chop and notice your paddling partner blithely snapping photos and popping his skirt to pull out a snack while you’re white-knuckling your paddle and grinding the enamel off your teeth to endure the pain of cramping obliques. And it will be quite likely that your grinning buddy will be paddling the Looksha V, the latest in Necky’s popular Looksha series of multi-chined tourers.
[ Paddling Buyer’s Guide: See all touring & sea kayaks ]
Economies of scale
The heft of a 17-foot polyethylene hull (the only material currently offered) is undeniable, but so is the surprise of its speed and manoeuvrability. At tripping speed, the Necky Looksha V has no problem cruising alongside those calorie-counting kayaks with British accents.
Feature Photo: Liz Burnside
The wider girth has the advantage of providing a more rounded rocker on a tilt—the Looksha V spins quickly on its side—yet tracking is excellent, obviating the need to deploy the rudder except in some following seas and rear quartering winds. Initial stability is moderate to high and secondary stability is exceptional—you really have to throw your weight around to flip over.
The “Extrasport XtraComfort” foam rubber seat integrates a water bottle holder. Foot braces are shock-corded on the bow end and connect to the rudder cables with adjustable straps. A clever under-deck shelf keeps pumps and other essentials out of the way yet accessible.
Large, easy-to-pack oval hatches incorporate the tried and true combo of a neoprene seal and a rigid plastic cover to protect from sun and waves, all secured by the bra-like “Cross-Lock” four-strap system that does up with one quick clip.
Adjustment options in the cockpit of the Necky Looksha V will leave you agog: one strap on each side for seat bottom angle, backrest angle and foot pedals. Plus a six-point height adjustment on the backrest, sliding thigh braces, and comfy under-deck foam padding.
[ Plan your next sea kayaking & touring adventure with the Paddling Trip Guide ]
Take a closer look at the Looksha V
The Necky Looksha V promises to be a reliable workhorse for outfitters and mid- to large-sized paddlers looking for a durable, affordably priced ride with a rich array of features.
This article was first published in the Early Summer 2006 issue of Adventure Kayak Magazine. Subscribe to Paddling Magazine’s print and digital editions, or browse the archives.
This article first appeared in the Early Summer 2015 issue of Adventure Kayak magazine. 
