Deciding on 2020 Nucanoe Frontier 12

[cascade0]

Hello,

Looking for experienced owners of the 2020 Frontier 12. Weighting some cons and pros but it looks like my new boat soon.

Concerned about reported issues with the earlier boats and would like to know if anyone experienced these with 2020 model.

1. Some owners reported after a few seasons that the metal hardware was not lasting in brackish/salty water. Does the 2020 model maintained the same hardware from previous models? Anyone having issues with rusting rivets or mounting bolts of the rails or handles already. As i understand these are not stainless steel so should not expect great performance but still anything that presents inferior quality would be big con.

2. Some reports of sagging or not so sturdy deck area after seasons in the sun and heat. The Nucanoe website still offers a free foamy insert as a remedy. Apparently this fix impedes scupper holes functionality.

3. Some extreme reviews of earlier units imply that the used polyethylene did not last well in salty water reporting hairline cracking and deformation only after one season.

Any other insights into 2020 differences or improvements to the previous year units would be helpful.

Thank you.

 

[rogerdodger]

you might try searching over at the NWKA forum, I think a couple folks over there have experience with them. I can't remember seeing anyone post much about them here at OFF. cheers

 

[cascade0]

Thanks.

 

[bass]

I have a 2012cone that I bought to use as a tandem with my son when he was young. I have also used it a lot trolling for trout at Hagg. I have not taken it in the salt. It is a bit of a tub. Great for flat water but I would not launch it in the surf.

I believe the sagging issue was mostly occurring in the hot summer in the Southeast, but I installed the foam block even though I was not having any issues. There are is probably an extra cup of water trapped in the hull because of the slight warp created by the foam block.

I think people use them in the salt in bays and stuff like that, I don't think they are optimized for the Pacific.

 

[cascade0]

Thank you. Yeah no open ocean, just bays, and estuaries, and some mountain lakes.
Does the insert look like some kind of engineered piece or just a scrap piece of foam that fits tight between top and the bottom hull?
I guess I could cut some of my own if I wanted more area to be stable.

 

[bass]

Thank you. Yeah no open ocean, just bays, and estuaries, and some mountain lakes.
Does the insert look like some kind of engineered piece or just a scrap piece of foam that fits tight between top and the bottom hull?
I guess I could cut some of my own if I wanted more area to be stable.

Back in 2013 it was just a block of foam. It could be different now. It wedged in pretty tightly. If they give it to you for free then that is probably easiest.