It will handle well in wind and waves, probably better than my nerves. And it portages well, too. [all-purpose canoe] This bomber, versatile boat will see you through multiday Boundary Waters adventures or day trips on the local pond. This includes an incredible 60 mile+ trip and portage in the back country waters of British Columbia. Buttermilk Falls presented a bit more challenge (many barely submerged rocks) but the Royalex slid off any gotchas. Wenonah Canoe is currently in the pre-production phase of their Spirit II in T-Formex, and has plans to produce seven models in Esquif’s long-awaited Royalex replacement in 2017. During testing on the Green River in Utah’s Canyonlands National Park, the tandem cruised well, carved turns—thanks to 1.5 inches of rocker—and deflected windchop even when loaded to within inches of its gunwales. This is the promised follow-up review of the Royalex Spirit II after a 220 mile, 7 1/2 day journey down the West Branch and Main Stem of the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania. 69 pounds. The Spirit II glided efficiently through the Main Branch Susquehanna's flatwater, and took the few ledges with aplomb. It’s solid as a rock. It's stable and efficient and can handle a wide range of boating conditions. Needless to say, at just under $3,000. I've matched it with a classic composite Old Town Canadien, and the Spirit II was faster and less twitchy, but turned just as well. The Spirit II has a lot of volume, so is a marginal solo boat even with one as large as me paddling it. At one point the waves were so high they would spill over the sides in the middle of the boat. First off, it is everything the Wenonah website says it is -- a very versatile, all around usable design. The tandem Wenonah Minnesota II in ultra-light Kevlar is easy to portage, camping gear-hauling canoe. With some research and guidance from the sales team I landed on the Wenonah Spirit II. stability, speed, and durability of this Royalex canoe. It was a Spirit II which was just under 50 # and a delight to canoe and transport on my little wagon. We now bought our 2nd We-no-nah canoe. You get what you pay for!! If you only have space or the budget for one canoe, then this is your boat. I don't like portages, and pack accordingly, not needing to worry about the amount of weight versus stability. Classic 16 foot canoes would be boats like the Wenonah Adirondack or Aurora, Old Town Penobscott 16, Mad River Explorer, or one of the Prospector type boats from a variety of companies. - $600 (near Salamanca) This Wenonah canoe is 16 ft 6" long, and is made of Tuf-Weave (a fiberglass/polyester/Kevlar mix). Credit the maneuverable hull shape and Goldilocks length—at 17 feet, it’s small enough for quick trips yet large and deep enough to carry a week’s gear. We purchased a Wenonah Spirit II Royalex, Alaskan ivory with performance package The canoe holds a tremendous amount of gear and is stable. WENONAH.COM. I love my spirit 2 royalex. Problem solved. Clearfield to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania this May. Bent paddles can be had for about $40 each when you can find them. I purchased the Spirit II in Royalex four years ago. Best aerobic workout ever. Though Royalex will scratch, it will slide over rocks Paddles a little better with some weight in it. With three Primary stability is acceptable, but secondary is amazing. For us it was between the Adirondack in Royalex or this boat. didn't want to go less than 17' and the Royalex version of the The first time we put the paddles in the water, I turned around, and she had as big of grin as I did! We have been able to continue our canoeing at ages 60 and 80, respectively with the right canoe. Purchased in 2009, Royalex, webbed seats. No need to say I could not find what I was looking for. The RX is holding up very well though. comes without a carry yoke which I didn't like and bought a clip on yoke. this boat has been to the BWCA 10 trips. The Spirit II is great for the Canadian style as well. Wenonah Spirit II 17’ – Good boat with a good reputation. Center seat would be great, but would be hard to take two kids. And at less than 70 pounds, it was easy to haul ashore at night and load cartop for the journey home. plenty of room for extra gear. Now for the down side. Good fishing platform as well. The Spirit II is a dependable, all-around canoe. Perfect for instilling confidence. Perfect for solo or double paddlers … When loaded light, it skips across the water, but loses some tracking. Wenonah's Spirit II, a sleek all-purpose canoe made for multi-day trips, is available in several configurations. It paddles well and moves easily, but not fast and effortlessly. My scale's broken, but I would guess it weighs about 60 pounds. Very solid with lots of room. The canoe was resting on the stem and one gunwale. said, “If you could have only one canoe added a FoxWorks Guide model -- 18 onces of pure efficiency!). I’ve read the P.Net reviews of each twice now, and the only thing I can conclude is that I am now thoroughly educated- but still terribly uncertain of which to buy (but I have decided on Royalex!). Handles well solo from bow seat. This boat is a good compromise. If the seats are mounted low enough Here's how I rate the Spirit II. The dealer suggested the Spirit II and we tried them both. I have a Kevlar hull with red gel coat and wood trim. This includes an incredible 60 mile+ trip and portage in the back country waters of British Columbia. 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. Wenonah 16.5 ft Canoe- Great Shape. sponges in the 50 MPH + winds that night (14 degrees, as well). The kids were 4 and 6 at the time. Well one more time (quikly)! We are the 2nd owner, built in 1997, the color is Aqua. The Spirit II tracks better on moderate waters. I am a harsh critic generally but I urge anyone thinking about a canoe to check out a kevlar Spirit II. The canoe handles well and is easy to turn, has decent glide. Very light yet strong, holds a ton of gear and a breeze to paddle. Ten years of dragging over cypress logs, across coral and down boat ramps topped of by lying in the killer sun in my back yard hasn't touched it. I've I have not had the problem you experienced with keeping the Spirit II on track, although that can just be from different individuals paddling it. Stay It's just cosmetic. Roomy enough for Boundary Waters style trips, it's even more stable when loaded. Not as fast as some longer boats nor as maneuverable as shorter ones, but if you're looking for a wilderness tripping boat that also is a good fishing boat the Spirit II will do the job. ), stable yet glides well. We-No-Nah Spirit II in flexcore layup (fiberglass reinforced hand laid). But when I considered all the possible uses for this canoe, over 90% The Spirit II is a wonderful all-round canoe that easily paddles rivers and streams with it’s 1.5” Rocker yet tracks nicely on an open lake with a breeze. The 17' Wenonah Spirit II strikes just the right balance between speed and stability, maneuverability and tracking, and capacity and ease of paddling. 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. My son and I each weigh about 200 lbs. We-No- Na company very nice to deal with. I give it a rating of 15 out of 10, and recommend it for experienced paddlers only. It does everything Wenonah says it does. Most of the compliments mentioned by other reviewers are valid, but there are some downsides too. After trying a substandard stand-in for a canoe trip, I knew I couldn’t last the season without a real canoe separating me from the water. It was just a few inches off the water, and we landed just fine. I think the weight is 67 lbs. FAX: 507-454-5448 ... tougher and more durable than Royalex. Been on the lakes in Austin, TX and other lakes in Texas. It has aluminum instead of vinyl gunnels and only one thwart to shave off some weight. Though I placed a deposit on a Bell Northwind in Royalex, I 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. 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. Today we This is one well made, well designed canoe! Twenty five years ago the local Wenonah dealer took a photo of three adults standing on the bottom of a 36# actual weight 16’6" Sundowner/Echo. We had at least 12 inches of freeboard and were drawing about 5 inches (not bad considering how much weight we had on board!). needless to say we had all our camping equipment in the boat with us which was another 100lbs or so. The canoe handled it great. Usual trade offs. Craigslist Search, Craigslist is no longer supported Quite stable and maneuverable when loaded. For a big all around boat it still is one of the best. Effortless to paddle, stable, relatively light-weight for a Royalex canoe and tracks well. In every condition experienced, the Spirit II did an exceptional job. The Spirit II is the culmination of a classic and widely loved canoe with a long-awaited material that underwent a tumultuous journey to production. the only time we wished we had a Kevlar canoe was the tough portage around the Williamsport dam. I feel almost "at one" in the stern of this canoe as in my kayak. 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. $ 0.00 Rentals and River Trips And the canoes we’re building with it are capable of withstanding whatever you ... life, the Spirit II would be one of the very Well, I decided to keep the Grumman but after paddling several canoes, I decided on the Spirit II in Royalex. We have rocky streams in pennsylvania and The Spirit II was beyond my expectations, once again. Paddle through any conditions with this durable canoe from Wenonah. we are 4, my 2 kids are 6 and 9 and weigh 65-75 lbs each my wife is a slender sub 100lbs. ... And I owned both composite and royalex Wenonah … A new paddler fearful of tippy boats? WENONAH CANOE - $1,800 (Norwalk) 2018 Wenonah 16' kevlar Adirondack Canoe. Spirit II options;-all may be dealer installed (except wood trim). Rarely used, kept in a covered, non-UV area. Each Tuesday, we’ll highlight a company in Canoe and Kayak’s 2010 Boat Book. We love it! 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. I wish it were faster, but do not hold it against the Spirit II. I rotate paddling techniques during a trip, to keep myself from straining muscles. 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. We finally decided on Royalex -- I just Great canoe for two people. Penobscot. The rail seat allowed the canoe to be trimmed easily. Spirit II is a tandem 17' Wenonah Canoe that is made in Minnesota. The Spirit II Ultra is unbelievably light weight, beautifully made, comfortable, big, stable, fast, efficient, tracks great and turns ok. Come up and try them out, or our kayaks and paddle boards, for $20/ 4 hours (Poplar Lake only). Total weight 550#. one of the (few) benefits of a Coleman RAM-x canoe is you can head downstream View the Spirit II in the Gear Guide. Gear Review: Wenonah Royalex Spirit II Canoe. The canoe steered well, and with moderate waves I didn't need spray decks - I'm going to purchase (or make) them anyway in the future, just for convenience. “A perfect all-arounder,” says one tester. In five days it seemed to have the full spectrum tossed at it from big swirling waves on Snowbank Lake with no oilcanning that I noticed. Brio paddle to the eye are not very comfortable though, plan on buying some Creek... Comfortable portaging it up to Class II, tuff, and took few... Long distance canoe between all good things also weigh in at 68 pounds, 140 # MPH + and... Sides in the boat with a lighter Kevlar canoe equally stable when loaded light, tuff and! 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