A canoe fit to fly with
Sea Eagle offers portable floating fun for GA pilots
Made of reinforced, waterproof material and for Class IV whitewater (if you are up to that), the Travel Canoe 16 (TC16) has mounts for up to three seats, and it is the largest nonmotorized vessel in the Sea Eagle line. Packages start at $1,849 and include seats, pumps, and a repair kit. A pair of adjustable paddles will set you back another $198.
If your wallet will bear that, and if your airplane can accommodate about 75 pounds of gear including a 65-pound canoe that folds to the size of a large suitcase (about 40 inches by 24 inches by 16 inches), the TC16 is a stable vessel that fits in just about any courtesy car you’re likely to find waiting at an airport.
The family business launched by Cecil Hoge has built inflatable boats since 1968. Now run by the founder’s sons, John Hoge and Cecil Hoge Jr., Sea Eagle has been working for about five years to get the attention of GA pilots, said John Hoge, a 25-year AOPA member.
The TC16 was inflated, with two seats installed, in about 10 minutes on the bank of the Battenkill River in southern Vermont. Drop stitch construction allows the three air chambers to hold their shape, thousands of threads run between the walls of each chamber, and the heavyweight waterproofed fabric appears ready for abuse. Molded plastic adds shape and sharpness to the bow and stern, and the bottom also has additional reinforcement. While it makes the folded package a little less compact, the tradeoff for that is a faster canoe on the water.
The removable stern skeg (a small fin that helps the canoe track a straight line) is really only necessary for flat water, and the boat tracks well without it, turning quickly and easily even when the current speeds up. I was able to paddle upstream (low flow) without much additional effort. If you ever forget your keys on the beach, you’ll appreciate this capability.
The TC16 is a lot of boat, although easier to carry around than many canoes of similar size. The key logistical challenge of paddling hard-shell boats on moving water is that you will typically want to have two vehicles with racks on each that can carry the boat—one to leave at the takeout, and the other to drive the boat to the launch site. Being able to deflate the canoe and stuff into a small car, with no roof rack required, solves half of that puzzle.
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