Nova Craft Prospector 17

Features

• Aircraft grade Black anodized aluminium gunwales and aluminium reinforced ABS end deck plates.
• Ash framed seats with nylon lacing.
• Ash carry handles at bow and stern.
• Deluxe sculpted ash centre yoke (In our opinion the best standard fit canoe Yoke on the market), shaped to spread the weight across your shoulders evenly and even got a small notch for the small bone in your neck.
• Shallow arch shaped hull gives initial stability whilst a moderate rocker allows good manoeuvrability.

Custom Options

All Nova Craft Canoes can be ordered with the following factory fitted options:

• Wooden white ash gunnels with an oiled finish.
• Kneeling thwart.
• Colour matched skid plates.
• Special Order colours available upon request.
• Nova Crafts custom composite constructions such as Blue Steel, Aramid Lite or Fibreglass.
• Choice of Webbed, Bootlace or robust ABS Plastic seats.

Please contact us to discuss any of these options in further detail, including prices and estimated lead times.

Dimensions

• Length: 17' / 518cm
• Width: 36" / 91.4cm
• Center Depth: 15" / 38.1cm
• End Depth: 23" / 58.4cm
• Rocker: 2.5" / 6.4cm
• Tuffstuff Weight: 58lb / 26.3kg
• Tuffstuff Expedition Weight: 65lb / 29.5kg
• Manufacturers Weight Capacity: 1200lb / 545kg Optimum weight capacity may differ - please contact us if you are unsure about the suitability of the Nova Craft Prospector 17 for your weight

Other Construction Types

Available to special order - please Contact Us for pricing and supply times

• Aramid Lite: 48lb / 21.8kg
• Blue Steel: 52lb / 23.6kg

Construction

Fiberglass

An affordable composite material with a proven track record of durability. Nova Crafts fiberglass hulls are among the lightest and most rugged on the market today, using woven fiberglass cloth to make a truly superior hull. Canoes constructed from fibreglass are great for recreational use and are a good choice for those wanting a lightweight canoe but are on a budget.

TuffStuff

A cutting edge proprietary composite made of basalt and Innegra fibers. Basalt fibre is made of melted basalt rock and Innegra is a fibre consisting mostly of polypropylene. When they are woven together into a cloth and infused with our high impact vinylester resin system, the result is simply amazing! TuffStuff canoes are a great choice for paddlers looking for a light canoe for extended flatwater tripping with more than enough strength to handle regular paddling abuse.

TuffStuff Expedition (TSE)

A more robust, heavier duty version of our standard TuffStuff construction. These canoes are an excellent choice for an expedition grade canoe for extended wilderness trips and some whitewater use. Stiff for great performance, incredible impact resistance and lightweight all in one canoe.

Aramid Lite

The lightest canoes that Nova Craft make and are intended only for flatwater paddling. Built by infusing Twaron fabric Aramid cloth with high impact resistant vinylester resin to create a canoe that has great strength to weight characteristics. Aramid canoes are a top choice for those only paddling flatwaters who want the very lightest canoe for easy portaging and car topping.

Blue Steel

A hybrid material of aramid and carbon fibre with a clear gel coat finish to reveal the truly stunning blue/black composite cloth beneath. Blue Steel canoes are light like Aramid Lite boats but are significantly stronger. Not only is the look of carbon fiber cloth very appealing but the carbon fibers add stiffness to the hull to increase paddling efficiency. Adding an inner layer of Innegra and infusing these hulls with high impact resistant vinylester resin makes a very rugged canoe. Blue Steel canoes are most at home in flatwater scenarios but have been proven very reliable on long river expeditions as well.

All Constructions Have A Gelcoat Finish

All Nova Craft composite canoes feature a gelcoat finish. Gelcoat is a resin that provides a smooth hard finish to a canoe. It protects the underlying composite cloth and acts as an abrasion layer. This can either be coloured (e.g, Green, Oxblood, Sand, Olive) to 'paint' the canoe a specific colour, or in some cases clear gelcoat is used to reveal the composite cloth beneath. Gel coats are suspectible to scratching, chipping and cracking if they impact a hard surface (rocks, slipways, pebbles etc). Luckily, gel coat is easily repairable, and coloured-matched or clear gel coat repair kits are available to remedy any scratches, chips or gelcoat cracks you may pick up during the use of your composite canoe. Sometimes gelcoat damage can look drastic if you have taken a particularly hard impact, but often any damage is limited to the gel coat rather than the much tougher composite hull of the canoe itself. Take a look at the Nova Craft Guide to Gelcoat Repairs for more info.