We got the Spirit II in Tuf-weave Flexcore. Because when you spin it around its a pretty decent solo canoe. Kayaking the Mouth of the Columbia River's Tidal Influences, When Cities Meet The Water: Americas Top Urban Paddling Destinations, Paddling At Night - Tips and Safety Recommendations. don't want to worry about my canoe. This canoe does everything and that's exactly what I need. I found the Spirit used so that makes is quite a bit cheaper. But it still oil cans! Speed is not its strong point. Copyright 2023 VerticalScope Inc. All rights reserved. This after 40 years of Old Town Oltonars, 16 and 18 foot, and a Pack 12 which was horribly tippy and tracked bad. Lately I have gotten an Epic surf ski (v10s) as well and love it very much. From the almighty hidden rock but it was nothing a little good old duct tape couldn't fix till home. But with larger paddlers any canoe loses some of its initial stability -- we are both heavier and sit higher, so generate a higher center of gravity than an average pair of paddlers. Some may ask what happened to the Spirit I. I would really like to own the fast Minnesota 2 but I think that when the kids grow up a bit I might just move to the Champlain or Itasca. I've had my Spirit II for 25 years and, as much as I love it for tandem canoeing, I love it even more as the platform for my Piantadosi Row Wing sliding seat rower. Most of mine were in that weight range. I guess you could consider this a long term review of the Spirit II from Wenonah. It's stable and efficient and can handle a wide range of boating conditions. The RX is holding up very well though. I would like to travel with this canoe for camping trips, and maybe eventually the boundary waters. The Penobscot 15' is an Old Town Royalex solo canoe that can hold up to 625 pounds with a weight of only 49 pounds. That was a mistake. It performs good/great in all types of paddling. There are lots of specialized canoes available that will do different tasks better than the Spirit II (straight line speed, load carrying, turnability) but none will do them all as well as this boat. Complete Canoe Outfitting Packages; . After trying a substandard stand-in for a canoe trip, I knew I couldnt last the season without a real canoe separating me from the water. We have many, many years of tandem canoe experience and were using a 25 year old fiberglass Mohawk that had provided years of loyal and honorable service. Though I placed a deposit on a Bell Northwind in Royalex, I . weight: 57 lbs. Price: $ 1,350.00. UL 42 lbs A Versatile tandem with excellent performance and easy handling on rivers and lakes. After spending hours of looking on craigslist, I found a Spirit II for sale. I feel comfortable spending the whole day paddling this canoe- good seat placement. This canoe has normal scratches on the bottom from a few BWCA trips. Bay area. Wenonah Spirit Iii: A Luxurious Canoeing Experience My wife and I only recently purchased the Spirit II, Tuf-weave with all-wood trim and web seats. I mentioned in my first review that it blew off a roof rack while traveling at speed and it was not pretty anymore but the scrapes and dings did not affect it paddling ease and stablility. Last summer we had to dry dock our 1964 Moore Venom Racer for repairs and a very special face lift. It's capable on rapids, and open water, too. We've owned our Royalex Spirit II for about one year now. Added comfort: Wenonah has as good a reputation as anyone. Text. My girlfriend and my sister took on a very stiff northwest wind on Bailey Bay of Basswood lake comming off the Burke Lake portage heading for Prairie Portage. The Penobscot features Old Town's unique adjustable center seat/carry system. You get what you pay for!! Anyway we took it on countless day trips last year and stable are an understatement even with the dogs both in the 60lbs. Will I regret the extra weight if I go Wenonah? We love it! The Wenonah Spirit II . UL 39 lbs A highly-maneuverable canoe that is a down-sized version of our Spirit II. And I owned both composite and royalex Wenonah Adirondacks and they behaved differently . We purchased a Mitchell paddle for my son. called and ordered the front rack for the truck -- it can't come too soon! Get access to more than 30 brands, premium video, exclusive content, events, mapping, and more. The construction is meticulous. 1: Sea Eagle Travel Canoe TC16 (best overall) Length: 16 foot. We had at least 12 inches of freeboard and were drawing about 5 inches (not bad considering how much weight we had on board!). I have canoe for many years - from 6 week long trips to Class 4 whitewater. Before the Sawyer an aluminum canoe provided transport. In light of what I've read and experienced, though, I am sure it will succeed. Kevlar is the best! First, it doesn't feel like a Royalex boat. versatile and stable tandem canoe with excellent performance. We do lots of portage and lake tripping, the canoe is great fit for all our needs. Ive been very pleased with the The capacity was more then adequate, seaworthiness was amazing (even in rough chop produced by Memorial Day speedboat traffic on the 12 mile lake before Williamsport), and the tractor seats were remarkably comfortable. Happy canoeing. Aluminum and royalex canoes are nice to fish out of but are on the heavier side. One that would go and do the few things the Venom Racer wasnt capable of. Compared to my Jensen 18 this boat has more initial stability, a bit more readable secondary stability and quite frankly glides and paddles very nearly as efficiently -- that latter point was a huge surprise to me. Not as fast as my Itasca was but much more stable and forgiving. Luckily, I remember Ely, Minnesota, Paragis had a good supply and would transport them at a reasonable fee. 17 Wenonah 17' 0" Spirit II 17' 0" Champlain 18' 0" Seneca 19' 4" Compare All General Touring; Performance Touring. I learned canoeing in Grummans and have spent hours kneeling, so I know that The Kevlar version weighs a miniscule 42 pounds and costs $2,099; the base model, a . Wenonah is worth the $ for us. I use it mostly in lakes and 2-3 day river treks. Paddled from the kneeling thwart is the way to go in windy conditions. She is, perhaps, spoiled in that respect. It is probably a fine canoe, but I found the seats too high. We purchased a Wenonah Spirit II Royalex, Alaskan ivory with performance package After moving to Alaska three years ago. We lost two In our Ultra-light construction a structural-foam core and ribs are laminated into the hull and sides. When it's loaded with gear or kids, it's fine, but when unloaded it has no rocker at all. to drop it down on the priority list. The Wenonah 17 carried the brand into their modern lineup of over twenty tandem canoes. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. We carried the majority of gear for four people on our 5 day British Columbia trip. Heres how I rate the Spirit II. Hull Material Royalex Length 17' Weight 65 lbs Gunwale Width 35" Capacity Excellent Stability Excellent Manueverability Excellent Speed Average. I installed Bourquin Boat Yoke Pads on Wenonahs portage thwart and fell in love all over again. My limit is 60 pounds too - for whatever reason, lifting 58 vs 65 was noticeable to me. Thought I would check out a Bell Yellowstone Tandem. Its literally fused with the hull and therefore stronger than aluminum. In 1983 the Spirit II was born. I have one of the first dozen Royalex Spirit IIs, and it's proven to be a wonderful boat. The Spirit II is great for the Canadian style as well. This is the one that my kids and I used to crab in Winchester Bay and fish on the Chetco River and lower Columbia. It also became the center of a family of touring boats. Our spirit II in royalex performed great on an extended river trip. After growing up in MN. The first time we put the paddles in the water, I turned around, and she had as big of grin as I did! where I cut my teeth on canoes. I dont have a problem loading the spirit II by myself onto the truck. Perfect for instilling confidence. and be less prone to catastrophic (i.e. the boat felt really comfortable and easy going and whenever correction were needed my 6 year old boy in the front seat helped with a draw and a pry here and there. My Spirit II continues to fullfill any requirement made of it. old and weight 260#. It's just cosmetic. If you're not planning to portage or you're super strong then an aluminum or royalex canoe is just fine. This is one well made, well designed canoe! . The Spirit II comes standard with bucket seats. Otherwise, like most canoes, it is painful to carry on long carries. Its soft chine causes the Spirit to feel a bit more "tippy" than its predecessor (we feel it more when the dog switches sides), but ultimately it is extremely stable. Their initial stability is almost as good as a flat bottom, but they retain a good secondary stability. Have owned this canoe for two years and love it. Testers enjoyed the aesthetics and comfort of its web seats, ash yoke, and wood thwarts. Other than having a difficult time making forward progress the boat performed way better than I could have ever imagined. This one can be packed down and loaded . Seats, footbraces, and all hardware is then riveted into these plates. Very light yet strong, holds a ton of gear and a breeze to paddle. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. The Spirit II has a lot of volume, so is a marginal solo boat even with one as large as me paddling it. Even there Royalex was an advantage as we roped the canoe up and slid it down the other side. Several times a year we try to introduce people to the sport. Stay tuned next week for more sacred . Estimated capacity: 580 lbs. No big deal, it works fine, but if youre tripping, invest in yoke pads. stability, speed, and durability of this Royalex canoe. The tracking is just the right balance, there when you need it and gone when you don't. My best friend had messed up her foot so we couldn't take our summer backpacking trips. The future of Wehonahs top-seller was now in the hands of Esquif Canoes, who announced in 2014 they were concocting T-Formex as a replacement material in their southern Quebec factory. straps across the roof it was solid all the way home (south of Pittsburgh). The cost had gone up from 10 years ago and transporting it from Northern Minnesota to Southern Kentucky seemed impossible. Solo Plus 16' 6" More Details. All include a closed-cell, rigid foam core providing structure and buoyancy. They are ideal for speed and distance paddling and for all people or conditions that demand the lightest gear. The Royalex makes the canoe pretty easy to handle - I can put it on the roof of my Vibe by myself, but at times I wish it was a bit stiffer. We tested the Kevlar Ultralight model, because why wouldnt we? We've used it for more than 30 years to construct extremely light and tough canoes. I've typically paddled a Dagger Delta kayak, an older fiberglass Mohawk, and plenty of aluminum livery boats. I spent 100s of hours in the boat taking very close care of it, always stored inside, and waxed it every other year. The canoe holds a tremendous amount of gear and is stable. I love my spirit 2 royalex. Flex Core 54 lbs Kev. The boat tracks well and is very stable. I pushed down on the bottom of the canoe and got that nice stiff flex I know from Royalex. I've just finished a 130 kilometer paddling trip three days ago, spent a week on flat water, around one of the biggest islands in Finland. 5 Pieces of Gear to Help You Sneak a Hike Into Your Non-Hiking Trip, This Lightweight Daypack Can Handle a Dunk in the Ocean, These 20 Pieces Of Gear Changed Backpacking Forever. Aurora Description. My wife and I have been married over 18 years, and I introduced her to serious paddling when we were still dating (if you want to see if a relationship will last, go paddling ;-). The rail seat allowed the canoe to be trimmed easily. They look nice with the yellowish Kevlar, and are available for another $100. The Spirit II makes us regret the decades and hundreds of miles we spent oil canning rivers and lakes in our Oltonar canoes. It just isn't the same canoe beyond the 6 inch waterline. I found the boat to be a true pleasure to paddle, has a nice glide, easy to turn, and very stable even with my weight, The boat is not too heavy. It wasn't a big deal on the trip I took it on because there were 4 of us and I could just carry the canoe and a lighter pack for each portage, but if it was just my wife and me it would have gotten kind of tough. The gel coat is easy to scratch on the bottom, but you just have to accept that with any gel coated boat. . comfort). You will have to WORK The Wilderness responds well when used with a kayak paddle (such as our 260cm double blade) for improved performance on calm water or better control in inclement weather. I bought a 1997 Spirit II last week. I've also switched on-and-off with a Penobscot, and find the Spirit II just seems to do what I want it to more effortlessly. added a FoxWorks Guide model -- 18 onces of pure efficiency!). I have had the boat out in a local bay, Tomales, and on one occasion it got very rough, 25 knots of sustained wind and a brutal 2-3 foot wind chop. I have three other tandem canoes also, all various brands. The Spirit II's initial stability with two large paddlers in it and no other gear is reliable, then you can feel secondary kick in and firm up a bit, but you can go past secondary very quickly and roll the boat. It was a Spirit II which was just under 50 # and a delight to canoe and transport on my little wagon. The 17' Spirit II Royalex layup is known for durability, stability, comfortable seats, and load capacity. . The hardest decision was between the Royalex Spirit II and the Kevlar (a mere I bought a used kevlar Spirit II about two years ago. Great for extended river or flat-water tripping. Its carefully contoured hull paddles easily and performs reliably in wind and waves. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. It gouges easily on rocks, but has never been holed. Tuf-weave canoes offer improved impact resistance and are a great compromise between light weight, performance, and price. Both are highly recommended. visitors a day during peak season. The canoe itself is 17' long and is a Wenonah Spirit II. Tuf-weave canoes offer improved impact resistance and are a great compromise between light weight, performance, and price. 17' Royalex Wenonah Spirit II canoe: A great stable canoe with plenty of room for the family. In 1983 the Spirit II was born. Though Royalex will scratch, it will slide over rocks From running class II+ rapids to cursing choppy waters on a big lake it dos great. The J-18 paddles better solo, but as a solo the J-18 is almost impossible to turn unless you heel it way over. The Spirit II has been around for over 30 years with no change to the actual shape of the boat. First off, it is everything the Wenonah website says it is -- a very versatile, all around usable design. I have owned a Spirit II for about 9 years now. They left out one thwart and aluminum gunnwales. It was a sad day when I sold it a few years ago, but I needed to make room for my Champlain with the growing family. Buy direct or locate a dealer. The local dealer has a Sundowner 17, Aurora, and a Spirit II all in roylax, all about the same price. I sold it after that trip and picked up a used kevlar version of the same model. In whitewater and rapids it just does exactly what you expect and what you want. width: 34 1/2" We've owned our Kevlar ultralight Spirit II with the clear skincoat (yellow kevlar color) since 1997. . Seats, footbraces, and all hardware is then riveted into these plates. If so, 69 lbs is almost too heavy to lift solo onto a roof rack or otherwise. My son and I each weigh about 200 lbs. Most Spirit IIs are built for lake country, and no one I know ever said, My canoes too light, can you add ten pounds or so?. This is accurate. Owned a kevlar ultra light with wooden gunnels for five years. Steering and paddling in the Spirit II are both pretty responsive. I would buy another if I lost this one. Has a paddle holder already mounted along with tie-down bungies Comes with an. We have been able to continue our canoeing at ages 60 and 80, respectively with the right canoe. Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. I finally got my Spirit II in royalex out on the Buffalo river in NW Arkansas this weekend for a 10-mile float after some heavy rains. If you cannot conceive of paddling solo the Spirit II is the standard, all-around cowboy craft for you. But when I considered all the possible uses for this canoe, over 90% Makes it nice to solo. The dealer told Renner he needed acanoe he could sell to anyone. Just look at what most of the outfitters in Ely use. Notify me when new ads are posted. After much research, I bought a Wenonah spirit 2 in tuff weave, kevlar ends and bucket seat. Today, we look at the 2010 designs of the iconic canoe company, Wenonah. In addition to the Spirit II they will build the Aurora, Adirondack, Prospector 16, Prospector 15, Wilderness and Blackwater. After all this drama it turns out that our T-Formex Spirit II looks andperforms just like a Royalex one. But, after they got in they went out and fully loaded tried to find something that would challenge them and didn't get a drop. Still, I have to say, it can back up all of its claims. Great canoe for two people. Big difference in paddlers sizes? But at the same time it tracks great and is very stable. So my two cent summary: if you're larger paddler(s) and want the best canoe to fish for a few hours from or one you can easily stand up in, get one with a flatter bottom (like the Kingfisher). On the Spirit II, I just shove off and jump in. Needlesstosay, the contrast between the two boats is severe. I am 6' 215lbs and have been kayaking for the last 9 years. It isnt the fastest canoe on the flat water but its stable. With a centre seat in the balance point for quick and efficient high-volume solo tripping, and with tandem canoe seats for trips . Wenonah Canoe is the worlds largest maker of canoes using Aramid. On one camping river trip, I had roughly 700 pounds in it between the 2 paddlers and gear. We set off onto the river in a slight rain. Paddled approximately two weeks per year on the Mississippi, St. Croix, and other MN/WI rivers and lakes. We took our new Royalex Spirit II on it's maiden voyage on the Hillsborough River last weekend. With 9ft oars it rocks in a straight line and, unlike dedicated skulls' can turn on a dime! Too much effort is spent correcting its course (in racing canoes, you want every stroke of the paddle to move you forward, not back onto course). The gelcoat took a beating witch I know it would and I managed a small hole in the gelcoat on the keel not the kevlar behind it. It has taken a few significant hits and though we have dents to show for them, the canoe was never compromised. I was also impressed with the ease with which the Spirit II rolled over rocks on which I typically would have at least paused. It's is tough, light (under 60lbs. Real Stable, wont capsize until the the gunnel is level with the water. 17 Wenonah 17' 0" Spirit II 17' 0" Champlain 18' 0" Seneca 19' 4" Compare All General Touring; . I will continue to use this canoe as long as I feel comfortable portaging it up to 1 mile. We problem solved and she decided to buy a canoe. For a 17' canoe in RX it is light, but this must be due to the royalex being so thin. Since then, I have also taken the Spirit II on two extended trips to the Boundary Waters, carrying myself, my wife and my daughter and all of our gear. Don't have an account yet? Discover and compare the year's best canoes from 30+ top brands like Old Town, Pelican and Wenonah. "Balanced" is the best word to describe the Spirit II. The Minnesota II you don't want to load much beyond 600 pounds. She would buy this boat brand new, and so would I. My son and I are each 190+ and we can fly across the lake. It paddles well and tracks well too. Durable is an understatement. The Tuf-weave layup results in our most durable composite canoes. It has aluminum instead of vinyl gunnels and only one thwart to shave off some weight. Dick's Sporting Goods the next morning and bought four more straps. There is also a hitch-mount designed for a standard 2" receiver so that the . It has not been used much at all in the last 6 years. If there's a drawback, it appeared that the higher bow caught the wind sometimes and blew us sideways, but recovery was relatively simple with a hard sweep or pry. Initially introduced in fiberglass and Kevlar, by the 1990s the Spirit II was being produced in Royalex. The Sea Eagle TC16 Travel Canoe is an inflatable canoe that is designed to be easy to store at home and convenient to transport. Sign up. The gunwales are great: narrow yet very solid, as are the seat hangers, though I angled the seats just a little to improve kneeling comfort. The Wenonah Spirit II, a sleek all-purpose canoe, can be used on a daily basis. My second Wenonah canoe. 2 vote down. When loaded light, it skips across the water, but loses some tracking. I've gone as far as 850 pounds and the canoe was a little slower, but behaved the same. class two adults and kids a 2 and 4 year old I was only worried about tipping a few time but never did. I would highly recommend this canoe for family tripping, day outings, and general fun. The Wilderness is lighter than any kayak of . ), stable yet glides well. No wind and paddling, beating into a 3 foot swell, running in 12 foot ground swell in 20 knots of wind, this boat never made me feel like I was in trouble. No wonder Canoe & Kayak Magazine said, "if you could have only one canoe to serve all your needs for the rest of your life, the Spirit II would be one of the very few candidates." I can easily see why the Spirit II is Wenonah number one selling boat. . On our last camping trip to lake Sonoma CA, led the 4 of us paddled it (with an old Town detachable plastic mid-seat) to the boat only campgrounds 3 miles from the launch in an Hour, fending of some serious mid-afternoon winds. However, I will probably install some Kevlar stem guards since speed isnt an issue. It's perfect for the kind of adventures we take. Very comfortable to sit in all day and paddle. for a long time I searched for a light weight big kayak I could paddle with the whole family in. i love my spirit 2. it prob weighs about 70+ pounds with all the gear i bungee to it while portaging. - Longer trip? As for running waves. I was extremely impressed with the Spirit II's maneuverability and tracking (for a royalex boat), even agains strong headwinds at times. I have a Wenonah Spirit II (17') and the Aurora is essentially a shorter version (16') of the spirit II. We own 8 canoes (1 under construction), 4 kayaks (one under construction), and have paddled, build, repaired, altered, or modified almost every conceivable make or type of canoe on the market (barring dugouts). We also add extra fabric layers to strengthen specific targeted areas. 10/17/2010 01:49PM (Thread Older Than 3 Years). I had to pull through a couple of open waters with heavy wind one day, accompanied with waves and some rain. Adding gear to the bottom lowers center of gravity and of course the boat gets more secure on secondary. I mostly used royalex tandems, especially when I was younger (less than 50). Solo carrying the Spirit II on even a short 200-meter portage, I definitely felt every one of its 64 pounds. I found a used one and I'm considering buying it. :). The Wenonah Spirit II is a sleek all-purpose canoe that can travel for multiple days. Tuf-weave canoes offer improved impact resistance and are a great compromise between light weight, performance, and price. Why? If you want and easy paddling, tough boat that will carry you your spouse and a day of gear great get a kevlar Spirit II. The reason is simple: If it performs, dont mess with it. Aurora 16' Touring Model + Weight Tuf. We found it in the California Canoe and Kayak shop in Sacramento while returning from a canoe trip near Lake Tahoe. sponges in the 50 MPH + winds that night (14 degrees, as well). Weight 42-69 pounds (18.9-31.05 kg), depending on materials: If you like to hunt, fish, photograph wildlife, or just sneak around, this is the vessel. Even in heavy chop with swirling winds and waves rolling down the gunwales, we never lost control of the canoe. Center seat would be great, but would be hard to take two kids. Nova Craft makes one in poly that is a great deal if you can handle the weight, Royalex, or royalex/lite if you want a lighter one. Reviewed by second gear +2,396 . 'Wenonah Royalex Spirit II (Courtesy Photo)'. higher seats provide more flexibility (kneeling for stability, seated for Wenonah Spirit II Royalex Canoe - $1,100 (Eureka) Wenonah Spirit II Royalex CanoeCanoe purchased in 2002. It is a dream come true for those who canoe lakes and moderate rivers and who need light weight, 42#.