An excellent choice for medium trips, the Aurora at 16' long combines surprising capacity with rewarding performance

A more-compact version
of our most-versatile canoe.

 

Aurora availability:		Weight*
Kevlar®	Ultra-light	39 lb.
	Flex-core	51 lb.
Tuf-weave®	Flex-core	60 lb.
Royalex®		64 lb.
*Weights published are for canoes with all standard equipment.

The Aurora, at 16' long, puts the wide versatility and superb performance of our best-selling model, the 17' Spirit, into a more-compact package.

While it is a foot shorter, the Aurora is almost as deep in the center as the Spirit, and is 1" deeper in the ends. It has greater total buoyancy than you might expect, and it carries nearly the load that the Spirit will. Not meant for heavy expeditions, the Aurora does suit typical trips well. It is an easy-paddling hull that retains sufficient freeboard loaded.

Perhaps its best feature is the Aurora's good blend of initial and final stabilities. While steady enough for hunting or fishing, and to haul kids or a dog who may jump around, it is very seaworthy for a mid-sized canoe. Its carefully-contoured, shallow-arched bottom is the reason.

While the choice among 16' canoes is vast, others have a less-sensible bottom profile. Compared to typical, flat-bottomed hulls, the Aurora's shallow-arched design has a bit less steadiness on center but has greater ultimate safety, and better handling on bigger waves. It also paddles more easily and glides farther, due to its reduced wetted-surface area.

Another popular style, the V-bottom, also has more wetted surface than a shallow-arch, and it suffers rapid, abrasive wear on the 'V' area. (This also plagues flat-bottom hulls that have a keel.)

We have two other 16' hulls with shallow arched profiles -- the Adirondack and Rogue -- but they are designed for more-specialized uses. The Adirondack is a day-tripper with less volume but greater speed. The Rogue is a dry, maneuverable design ideal to run active rivers. One or the other will appeal to certain paddlers, but the Aurora splits the difference and can substitute suitably for either.

If your situation dictates a 16' model, and if you plan to enjoy varied types of paddling, no other design serves so well for so many uses. The Aurora delivers fine performance and capacity from a safe and agile, medium-sized design.