Greetings all.
I am the NuCanoe rep (officially: Blake Young, Director of Bus. Development) referred to in CHSbound’s post and I just happened to in a hotel in Charleston when I came upon your thread. Glad to see you all chatting about NuCanoe. It does seem that there are a few misconceptions out there so I’ll take a stab at clearing them up.
The majority of NuCanoe owners us a double-bladed kayak paddle, albeit a bit longer than your average kayak paddle (260-275cm). The upright seating changes the geometry from a SOT kayak and with the longer paddle, the NuCanoe paddles quite easily. Probably better than you’d think by looking at the specs as the beam at the water line is only 32-34”.
That said, it is not intended to be a kayak. A good analogy is a sports car vs. a pickup truck. If you test-drive a pickup truck and expecting it to be like a sports car, you’re not going to like it. But if you keep in mind its purpose, its benefits, and capabilities, you might find it works perfect for what you want to do. After all, its all about how it works for your specific needs.
The videos at http://www.youtube.com/nucanoe, and in particular http://www.youtube.com/user/nucanoe#p/a/u/1/_OHumGNJixc, show the NuCanoe in use in a variety of uses/water types. The videos feature people who own a NuCanoe…they are not models, pros, or paid staff.
The NuCanoe was indeed designed by Tim Niemier. His intent was to create a watercraft that would enable people to do many things on the water – fishing, hunting, paddling, diving, crabbing, recreating, etc. The rowing application was developed two years later.
Tim’s not been involved in the company since late 2006 and he’s had no interest in the business since early 2008. I have been around personally since June 2006 and am not aware of any “interesting” circumstances (actually, we’re probably quite “uninteresting”).
The boats are manufactured at a Rotomolding plant in Ohio that has been in business for 40+ years. The company is still based in Belling
:X