TRENDS
CANOEING TRENDS 2015
NEW DESIGNS, MATERIAL INNOVATION AND CHANGING THE WAY WE THINK ABOUT CANOES
Material World: The last of the Royalex canoes flew off racks 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 in the Royalex race is Jacques Chassé, owner of Esquif
Canoes. He built a 6,000-square-foot factory to manufacture T-Formex, which he claims is a stronger, lighter and more abrasion-resistant plastic. T-Formex will come in big sheets and can be used in all the old Royalex canoe molds. “Everyone is anxious to see the boat out of the mold, including me!” says
Chassé, adding that he expects to have a model on water before winter. Beginning early 2015, Nova Craft will manufacture models in new material
TuffStuff, a basalt and Innegra composite reportedly tough enough to rival Royalex. Other big brands, including Wenonah and Mad River, are reportedly at 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
114 CANOEING || Annual 2015
materials that have resulted in stronger and lighter hulls.” In August, Mad River released select models in their new Fiberglass Expedition (FGX) layup, providing a durable composite at a light weight and moderate price. Shorter Boats: While the average canoe trip 25 years ago lasted weeks, trips nowadays are usually just three to four days. Shorter trips have led to the popularity of shorter boats, says Rutabaga’s Darren Bush. “Part of that is the trend of people paddling closer to home on shorter
trips. You can buy a 18.5-foot boat for the Boundary Waters, or you can buy a versatile 15-footer and paddle it 99 percent of the time.” Old Town Canoes and Kayaks was one of the few manufacturers to offer a
completely new design this year, jumping on the grab-and-go paddling trend with the 13-foot Next. Combining kayak comfort and canoe portability, the Next weighs 49
pounds. “It supports paddling opportunistically within a paddler’s schedule, rather than paddling being a destination-based event, as in the past,” says Old Town’s marketing director, Luke LaBree. “Personal time on the water is a big area of growth, we’ve seen this underscored by the boom in the SUP market.” Water Babies: Though participation rates in canoeing have remained static for several years, manufacturers and retailers are seeing an increase in young families getting on the water and purchasing canoes. “They’re looking for versatile boats with great stability, glide and efficiency,” says Bill Kueper, vice president at Wenonah Canoe. “Canoes open doors not just for paddling, but also for for camping and fishing.” “We’ve noticed more young people coming to the market, for a long time
it seemed like it was only the 55-plus crowd,” agrees Nova Craft owner Tim Miller. “Now younger people are getting back into tripping and once they have a family, a canoe is the better way to go.” Kaydi Pyette is the editor of Canoeroots and Family Camping magazine.
PHOTOS: ONTARIO TOURISM
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