CASANOVA FIELD TEST - August 2006

SANTEE 116 SPORT KAYAK

FIELD TEST: Can One Adventurer Portage A Santee 116 Sport Kayak, Atop A Compact 4 Door Car, Across The United States?  And, How Well Is The Santee 116 Sport kayak Suited For Such Adventures?

• FIELD TEST 1 Of The Hurricane SANTEE 116 Sport Kayak

• Purpose Of Field Test 1: This Test Was Conducted To Collect Data On The Capabilities, Conditions, And Practicality Of A Single Person With A Compact Car To Travel Cross Country With A Santee 116 Sport Kayak.    The Compact Car Was An Average 4 Door 2005 Model With A 4 Cylinder Engine.  The Kayak, The Hurricane Santee 116 Sport Kayak.  The Car Top Mount, A Seattle Sports Foam Kayak Mounting Kit.  The Drive: Started In Salt Lake Utah, August 2006, To Brookfield Wisconsin, Along The Interstate Highway System With A Stop In Wyoming At The Flaming Gorge National Recreational Area.

• After spending a week at the largest outdoor equipment trade show in the country, our equipment specialist examined all the kayak maker's models offered and selected Hurricane Kayaks as one of the best technologies, design, beauty and well built boats on the market today!  Their technology, designs and beauty out their entire line of kayaks in a new classification; high-end personal boats.  The Hurricane Santee 116 Sport Kayak was selected as the first field test boat.  The choice was based on our customer demand for our advise on what would be a great Kayak or Canoe best suited for portaging adventures in the great BWCAW; a fantastic wilderness area located in Northern Minnesota.  The Santee 116 Sport is one of two kayaks now being designed for such a specific application.

• The Field Testing Starts; on a Sunday afternoon, after the Huge 2006 Outdoor Retailer Trade Show Ends. The Boat Is Picked Up Off The Showroom Floor Display At The Hurricane Booth.  Location, Convention Center in Downtown Salt Lake City, Utah.   Destination: Casanova's Outdoor Adventure Store, In Brookfield Wisconsin!

• The Boat Handled Extremely Well, From Walking Through The Mess Created By Vendors taking Down Their Booths, To Taking The Kayak Off The Car Roof And Walking With It Down A Steep Incline To A Beautiful Wyoming Reservoir's shoreline.  The Boat Proved To Be Extremely Stable Driving Down The Instate With Traffic Speeds of 80MPH; Even Through The Area Of Wyoming, Where The State Has Posted High Wind Warnings Along The Interstate Highway.  The Boat Was Easy To Drive With On The Roof.   The Stream Line Hull Design Gets The Credit For The Smooth Ride.  The Road Trip Totaled Over 1,000 Miles.  The Seattle Sports Mounting System Worked Well; However, After This Field Test, We Would Not Recommend The Use Of Foam Block Tie-Down System For Any Boat Heavier Than This Super Lightweight Boat.  The Roof Did Dent In, However The Roof Proved To Be Undamaged At The End Of The Road Trip.  During The Pass Through The High-Winds Crossing In Wyoming, The Rear Foam Block Blew Out, but the boat remained stable and safe on the roof.   In my opinion, the boat remained stable do to several facts; the hull design, the super lightweight of the boat and the excellent strapping configuration of the Seattle Sports Car-Top Foam Kayak Carrying System.  The Hull Straps Wrap Over the hull and through the car's passenger compartment, thereby holding the boat securely to the car's roof.

• Boat, Car And Driver Made It Back Safely.  The Boat Was Loaded And Unloaded With Ease By Our Equipment Specialist Without Help From Anyone.  This Was A Solo Drive And Field Test.  Photographs And Feedback to follow.....

FIELD TEST: 2 - Maiden Voyage August 29th

• Inland Lake; West Of Milwaukee, Wisconsin

• Preliminary Report: Sweet!

• Launch site was a home on a hill overlooking a great Wisconsin lake northwest of Milwaukee. The Santee 116 Sport Kayak was a pleasure to load, unload and walk up and down the steep hill to the natural shoreline.  Loading and launching the kayak was very easy.  Getting in and out of the kayak while it sat at the edge of the natural shoreline in the water, was easy and without problem.  Paddling was comfortable and the hull took off on an easy glide with fast cruising capability over a mild water surface.  The hull was stable when wakes hit the boat from water-skiers passing by.  The bow cut through large wakes with ease, and only once did a very small splash of wake get over the large cockpit skirt lip into the boat.  The boat provided a feel of confidence as a safe craft.  There was some sideways rock in the hull in flat surface water conditions.  This took a short time to get use to.

• More to follow.............