BWCA Who has paddled a Canak? Boundary Waters Gear Forum
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serenityseeker
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01/22/2011 03:40PM   (Thread Older Than 3 Years)
Very curious to hear what people think. I've paddled a Prism and liked it. I'm wondering how similar this is? It is a decked Prism.

I've paddled a Robroy and loved how it paddled. Is this similar? How easy or hard to get in and out of?

Anyone?

Thanks much.
 
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serenityseeker
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01/24/2011 09:15AM  
anyone? and I misspelled it. It is Canak. the decked canoe from wenonah.
 
01/24/2011 09:52AM  
I have only paddled the Bell Rob Roy 15. I got to demo it up in Ely, MN during the summer splash. I was a little nervous getting into it, but after being showed how to enter/exit it, it was easy. The stability was amazing, and how easy it was to paddle. I really wanted to get one in the almond gel coat, but ended up buying the Bell Wildfire solo.

If you haven't already paddled the Canak, I would do so first. See if you can paddle a Rob Roy for a comparison. Helps you with the pro's and con's of each. Bell Rob Roy 15
 
billconner
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01/24/2011 10:51AM  
I'm intrigued by these options. Looks like you could get normal #3 packs in and out. What do you have to do to portage - removable yoke?
 
01/24/2011 11:40AM  
I paddled a Canak last summer including about 40 miles around the Apostle Islands. I paddled a Prism a few years ago (just a tryout) haven't paddled a Rob Roy (yet).

I was glad to have a bit of practice on the Mississippi River with the Canak before taking it out on Superior. My first impression is that the seat was just bit high, but after awhile I decided that it shouldn't be much lower or it would compromise the angle that the paddle would go into the water. I paddled it with both canoe and kayak paddles on the Mississippi; both worked, I preferred the kayak paddle. Doing rescues and recoveries, I discovered that it was tricky getting back into an empty, not swamped boat, easy enough to get into a swamped boat. I also tried some kayak tricks such as a reenter and roll (worked when I was sitting on the floor in front of the seat). A boat-over-boat rescue was very easy because of the light weight of the boat going over a low rescue kayak (CD Squall). The fabric covers flexed enough to let water out but still stayed on. I’m glad the fabric covers float, but I decided to tether them to the boat with thin cord. The center spray skirt got in my way a little bit during the rescues, but it was large enough for me to get out of easily. If I had tried to tether the spray skirt it might have become a tangling hazard. I didn’t try to swamp and recover with gear in the boat (more on this later). I noticed the circles showing the possible hatches to access the bulkheads; using that space is appealing, but (thinking worst case scenario) I worried that if the hatches failed, the boat could sink. Overall, fun boat.

I have lot more miles under my belt in a canoe than a kayak, but more miles recently in a kayak. As a kayaker, I missed a skeg or rudder (for about two miles) then I didn’t think about it. As a kayaker, the seat felt high, but not high enough to be unstable; after two miles, I didn’t think about it. Adjustable seat height would be an interesting option. As a kayaker, I missed having a full spray skirt around my waist, but as a canoeist, I was grateful for the ventilation when the temperature was warm. I suggest a full spray skirt option for kayakers. As a kayaker, I missed thigh braces (another possible option?); as a canoeist, I appreciated the foot pegs. As a kayaker, I missed a seat back; after two miles, I didn’t think about it. The canoeist in me thought that the gel coat just adds weight and flash without function, the kayaker in me would rather look at gel coat than Kevlar all day long. The speed of the Canak is good. I was afraid that I would have trouble keeping up with the slimmer kayaks, but my GPS said that my peak speed was 6.6 mph (almost the same speed as my CD Extreme kayak); I could go about 5 mph working hard, 4 mph at cruising speed. It handled two-foot waves from the rear and side well, those same waves were breaking over the stern of a CD Squall kayak.

These interesting compromises have me thinking about what the first impressions of different paddlers will be. My guess is that canoeists will quickly notice the advantages of this hybrid, kayakers may notice the disadvantages (lack of thigh braces, etc.) and may not test paddle it far enough to see that those disadvantages are minimal.

The hatches, of course, make loading and unloading faster than for a kayak. Some people (not Boundary Waters paddlers) like to tie their cargo into a canoe. Some tie a tether line to the packs and the canoe, many don’t attach packs at all. On this trip, I put the line from my pack around the deck between the hatch and cockpit and back to the pack. Maybe I’ll try to swamp with loaded packs, tethered and untethered to see how rescues go and how much tangling of lines would take place.

Portaging would be done with a clamp-on yoke: http://www.wenonah.com/products/template/product_detail.php?IID=53&SID=39df29ca4f179603fd83238ae7210364

For solo canoeing in the BWCA, the Canak would be at the top of my list. I can see I'd still prefer a kayak on Lake Superior and a Kevlar tandem for normal BWCA tripping.

One last thought, I can understand the idea that a Canak is virtually the same as a Prism with a nylon spray cover (and cheaper if you can find a used Prism). The Canak seems a little bit more solid, I'd ahve to pale both for a bit more to make such a decision.
 
01/24/2011 12:23PM  
Video showing Canak

Good look at the Canak's interior, and portage setup.

butthead
 
01/24/2011 12:23PM  
It paddles like a prism that is less prone to catching wind. Seemed like seat height was the same. Yoke attaches to the sliding seat. Hatches are generous- very easy to get in and out of. In easy conditions you could leave the spray covers off the hatches.
 
serenityseeker
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01/26/2011 07:01PM  
Many thanks to everyone that responded. especially to clrose, butthead and banksiana. many thanks. anyone else want to add their 2 cents?
 
10/02/2018 11:34AM  
This spring I will have saved enough cash to buy my own boat - it will be a Canak! I have been solo tripping in the BWCA for three years and have experience solo paddling tandem aluminum, Prism, and Canak. I have paddled with one or two other people in aluminums and kevlars, which seems frustrating after paddling solo in a Canak.

My trips range from long weekends to seven days. Total weight in the boat, including me, for a week long trip is about 300 lb. The only real downside is loading and unloading packs. I found that I need to leave a little wiggle room in my large canoe packs so I can store them flat and secure in the boat. This also helps when using the hatch covers. Once I figured this out, loading/unloading wasn't much more of a p.i.a. than any other canoe.

Entering and exiting the boat is slightly more precarious than entering a canoe, but not an issue in my opinion. The time it takes to fiddle with hatch covers also isn't a big deal in my opinion. Portage yoke is the same as the Prism. With zero rocker in each, I am assuming stability is roughly equivalent, though Canak feels more stable in initial and secondary.

Using a double blade paddle, I fly in this thing. Canak beats Prism hands down in adverse conditions like wind. The first couple times I was on Sawbill, the lake won. This summer on a rainy, windy Sawbill morning, my rental Canak and I had the upper hand.
 
10/02/2018 03:44PM  
I owned one and used it in the BW.

The Good - It's great in the wind and waves and is certainly stable enough for fishing. It tracked well.

The Bad - Loading and unloading was a pain. You have to use a slim pack like the Kondos for it to fit belly down. The hull covers only got used on big lakes with wind because they too, were a pain. It's heavy compared to a similar kevlar canoe. The portage yoke that is needed raises the canoe up high and you scrape low branches much more than you normally would. Getting in and out is harder than a regular canoe. I sold mine.
 
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