The Happy Camper: Test-Paddling Nova Craft’s New Special Edition “Clear” TuffStuff
The owner of Nova Craft Canoe, Chris Rath, asked me to test their new Special Edition “Clear” TuffStuff canoe. It’s a cosmetic twist to their regular basalt and Innegra material. I jumped at the chance. However, rather than paddle the local pond near their shop in London, Ontario, I asked Chris to join me on a planned canoe trip I had with my regular canoe buddies, Andy Baxter and Tim Foley. Chris accepted the offer. He’d rather test the boat in a proper environment: windy lakes, hilly portages and muddy creeks. Besides, it seems the canoe construction business has been so busy lately that he hadn’t been on trip all season. It was time.
Kevin Callan
Chris chose to bring Nova Craft’s old, aged prospector 16 foot (my favourite design). I paddled with him, and Andy and Tim paddled Andy’s ancient ABS 17-foot prospector.
We chose Kawartha Highlands Provincial Park—a linear route from Long Lake to Cox Lake. After a few scratches and bumps along the way, we arrived at our base camp where we stayed for two nights, paddling, filming and admiring this new canoe concept.
Nova Craft has been experimenting with this “Clear” version of the TuffStuff fibre for over a year but finally thought it was time to make it available to customers. The “Special Edition” version has a clear exterior and interior gelcoat, exposing the black and white weave of the TuffStuff. It appears grey from a distance.
Kevin Callan
It’s not a new design or a new material. It’s just a fresh look. And it looks awesome! You can actually see the mirror image of the backdrop glimmer of the material, just like the reflection of a shoreline along a calm lake. Amazing!
Additional features include black tinted skid plates (included in the price), black aluminum gunnels, black webbed seats, deluxe ash yoke and thwart custom greyscale decals.
Check out my KCHappyCamper video review. And yes, I’ve already ordered my canoe for the 2023 season.