Transparent canoe-kayak?

Question

Has anyone had any experience with this boat? It's from Hammacher-Schlemmer and looks really neat. I would be interested in it for floating on fairly tame rivers. If anyone has one or has been in one, how does it handle?

Answer 1

Umm, a hardshell will weigh just as much as that. If you want an inflatable, get a Seveylor Tahiti, or one of the newer models.

Answer 2

First off, I have not paddled one.  However, the transparent business is goofy:  there is no difference between looking through a clear boat into the water, and looking into the water NEXT to a boat that isn't clear.   Look at the photos they show of them... you see exactly as much of the water next to the boat, as you do through it.   Also, unless your river is clear and pretty, there isn't much to see anyways.

And, looking at the construction and hull shape, it looks unsafe.  Small little air bags at each end to keep it above water?  I don't think so.  If on the off chance you hit a rock or submerged log (let's imagine your river you want to float is no where near as crystal clear & blue as the photos in the boat's ad), and you capsize... that boat is going to behave like a bathtub on the river.  Those float bags will do almost nothing to help you and the width of the hull will make it really hard to re-enter.  The only way to do it would be to swim the boat to shore, empty it, and climb back in.  

These were a common prize on game shows for a while.  I live close enough to LA and these boats come up on Craigslist and EBay all the time.  Pointless gimmick and a horrible hull shape.

Lastly, when you search the web, you can find user reviews on almost every canoe / kayak made.  I just searched, and found a whole slew of websites that basically say, "hey, look at this thing, it's cool!" but not a single testimonial from anyone who has one at all.