Nu Canoe is a brand that has earned worldwide recognition for its high-quality water crafts. Expertly constructed and made of premium materials, the brand’s products have been used (and vouched for) by casual and expert anglers alike. Gladly, Nu Canoe’s Frontier 12 is no different: Well-crafted and provided with superior stability and various additional features, the Frontier 12 is a unique boat that expands on the possibilities offered by previous models. In order to help you decide whether it is right for you, this review will go over its most important characteristics.
Pros
- Can be quickly and easily transformed for trolling or pedal drive.
- Very stable.
- Features a 360 Swivel seating that does not risk capsizing.
- Can be used solo or in tandem mode.
- Its frame can be folded down or removed if necessary.
- Fully accessorized.
Cons
- Does not include secondary seat for tandem use.
- Despite being lightweight, its design makes this boat somewhat slow.
- The drainage system in the cockpit of the boat is unimpressive.
Open Design
The Nu Canoe Frontier 12 is a stylish, cleverly-designed watercraft that can be modified to fit your particular needs. Featuring an open design, it allows a great range of rigging possibilities. In particular, its 70-inch track in-deck system allows various transformations, including a conversion from single paddler to tandem. The boat even allows a pedal drive mode.
Going a bit further, it can be mentioned that the Nu Canoe Frontier 12’s open design permits exchanging low seats to pedestal seats. At the same time, it allows you to choose between various modes for generating an impulse. Namely, the boat can be switched from paddle power mode to gas power mode, and it can even be set up for stand-and-paddle action. These transformations are quick and easy to perform even for a clumsy or inexperienced person.
Despite its customizable rigging and accessorizing capabilities, the Nu Canoe Frontier 12 maintains a minimalist ethos when it comes to its design. This minimalist style helps keep its weight down to a remarkably-low 77 pounds, making it a lot easier to transport to and from the body of water of your choice. What is more, when on the water, this lightweight watercraft features a maximum capacity of 650 pounds. That is enough capacity for carrying all your fishing equipment, personal supplies, caught fish and still have a great deal left for anything else you may want to take with you.
Stability and Maneuverability
The construction of the Nu Canoe Frontier 12 provides a remarkable level of stability. Apart from greatly enhancing the general safety of the boat, this stability allows efficient fishing and paddling whether it is from a sitting or a standing position. What is more, the boat’s stability does not represent a sacrifice in movement. Largely, this has to do with its moderate rocket. Designed to enhance maneuverability, this feature offsets and balances any issues that may arise from the watercraft’s stability-oriented design.
Apart from enhancing safety and security during fishing, the stability provided by the Nu Canoe Frontier 12 enables fishermen to perform according to their own style and abilities. Blurring the lines between kayak, skiff and canoe, this boat permits fishing in all positions, even going as far as accommodating the needs of professional anglers. To this end, features such as the boat’s 360 Swivel seating system expand the range of movement that a person can perform naturally and comfortably.
At this point, it needs to be mentioned that a particular aspect of the boat’s performance is somewhat affected by its focus on stability and its proportions. Unfortunately, the Nu Canoe Frontier 12 is not capable of achieving great speed. This disadvantage has prompted various reviewers and fishing enthusiasts to refer to it as the “Slow Frontier”. However, considering its dimensions (41 inches wide by 12 feet long), its ultra-stable design and its astounding carrying capacity, this is an understandable disadvantage.
Fully Accessorized
Like most Nu Canoe products, the Frontier 12 comes with a variety of useful accessories that have the capacity of improving its performance as well as yours. Some of the most practical are its various rod holders and cup holders. What’s more, the boat has an ample rear storage box with additional rod holders.
Without a doubt, one of the most useful and innovative accessories that this boat has is a handy modular tackle-storage area. Smartly designed, this features allows to easily mount a fish box in order to keep your catch securely stored away until you reach shore. By using a box that features neoprene non-slip panels, you can even prevent the fish box from sliding around.
The Frontier 12 also features a bass-boat-style on-deck rod storage. This useful feature has bow pockets that can help hold rod tips and hooks, resulting in extra efficiency when it comes to keeping the rods secured along the gunwales. These bow pockets are large enough to store two fully-rigged rod-and-reel combos comfortably and safely. As if all that was not enough, the Frontier 12 canoe also has a rail-mounting system for keeping accessories at hand.
Motor and Paddle Power
The Frontier 12 can be fitted with an outboard motor for helping power it during lengthy excursions. To this end, its flat transom offers a decent amount of space for clamping on the motor. While it may feel somewhat precarious when used in this mode, the Frontier 12 is capable of resisting the power and vibrations of the motor without suffering from negative effects.
Of course, this watercraft can also be powered through paddling. Due to its ergonomic design, the boat can be used for paddling in any position you can imagine. For starters, it allows paddling both standing up and sitting down. If you decide to sit down, the seat can be positioned according to your paddling style and personal preferences. Additionally, if you need extra space while sitting down for paddling, you can adjust the frame and the position of the rod holders.
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Conclusion
Taking everything into consideration, it can be said that the Nu Canoe Frontier 12 is a versatile, effective and practical kayak that provides all the options you could possibly want for embarking on a fishing trip. Did you enjoy reading about this product? Find all the information you need to make a purchase right here!