Product Reviews > Canoes > Nova Craft Canoe > Bob Special

Reviews for Bob Special Canoe by Nova Craft Canoe

Rated: 9.1/10 Based On: 10 Reviews

Length: 15' 0" - Width: 35.0" - Starting at: $1259.00
See More Details about this Canoe Nova Craft Canoe Logo

04-02-2007
Submitted by: Mark

Rating: 10 of 10

The idea of photographing among middle Potomac River islands and channels led me to my Royalex Lite Bob. Helpful sales staff had a genuine enthusiasm for the boat. Its impressive versatility is the thing. Here was my first canoe and only my second time ever in a canoe. Still, after 5 self-taught practice sessions on the slow moving and adjacent C&O Canal, I felt confident enough to try the river: at my chosen spot the max was Class I.

Over the summer the boat showed itself to be everything claimed by the sellers: good turning, good tracking and fairly fast, stable but lively, great solo, confidence inspiring and capacious. I emphasize that the Bob flatters. Consider my inexperience and self-taught course. Within a short time and starting from zero, I was able to paddle a straight line from one side and to turn with assurance. Before the end of the summer I was paddling in open water for 5 hours as well as cutting around in tiny snag choked channels with a determined current.

This canoe, as a tool, could at times excuse itself from my consciousness while I worked on photography. On the other hand, its easy handling and its go-anywhere capability enhanced my intimacy with that surprising 7 mile stretch of river, half land and half water, between Great Falls and Seneca Creek.

Submit your own review!

04-09-2005
Submitted by: ---

Rating: 10 of 10

I have the Royalex Lite version of the Bob Special and it is the best canoe I have owned, and I've owned quite a few. At 52 pounds it is light for a Royalex tandem canoe.

So far I have only used this boat as a solo but it excels in that role. It turns on a dime when paddled heeled over (I have added a kneeling thwart) and it is quite fast too. It is very stable and if you don't care to kneel it paddles extremely well from the bow seat facing backwards if you add ballast up front. I weigh 210 and I use a 20 liter dry bag filled with water. It is also fast when paddled this way.

I took this boat out fishing on a small lake yesterday in moderate wind and I was pleasantly surprised at how straight it tracked and how little effect on me the wind had. At the same time it turned easily.

With all the room this offers to a solo paddler it is perfect for fishing but it could be used for tripping for a two or three week trip for one.

I have never like small, skinny canoes but the Bob Special is wide and stable without being heavy, and it paddles like a dream. I like a canoe that I can get up and move around in when I need to for accessing gear, stretching my legs, etc. and I can do that in this boat.

I will add a review later regarding its tandem capabilities but as a solo boat, I don't think you could do better. As a solo canoe then, I have to give it a 10.

Submit your own review!

08-09-2004
Submitted by: Rick

Rating: 10 of 10

Our first canoe. We sail, kayak, and winsurf, but never the slender boat. What a gas! Fast, steady, quiet, and a pleasure to paddle. The best though...the people at the factory...From Tim the owner, to his crew that I chewed their ears off. Kudos to Alda, Rachael, and John, all of which know the true meaning of customer service. Thanks so much for your help and guidance. Please keep up the good work, and your devotion to customer service.

Submit your own review!

09-22-2003
Submitted by: Iain

Rating: 9 of 10

This is my first canoe - a Bob Special Royalex. I bough it in August and went on holiday to the north west of Scotland. I had a great time, on both sea lochs and fresh water lochs. I found it very light, to carry and on the water. It was very stable, but a bit un-nerving whenever the dog decided to change sides! I loved visiting islands that normally can only be viewed from afar and seem caught in a time warp. I tried the canoe solo, but found sitting so far back in the canoe the nose was out of the water. Kneeling in the middle resolved the problem - but I kept going round in circles! As a beginner I have nothing to compare it with, but I found the Bob Special good value for money and great fun.

Submit your own review!

03-11-2003
Submitted by: ---

Rating: 9 of 10

My Bob is a kevlar/spectra. I got the canoe last year and broke it in by taking it on an 80 km trip into the Algonquin National Park in northern Ontario. Even though there were two of us with gear and pack for a week we still had room and didn't really feel crowded. We had some long portages of up to 2 km but this canoe weighs in under 50 lbs ! It was no problem! The canoe tracked well and handled great in the narrow creeks and small beaver pond of Algonquin. This a great general use canoe for solo or tandem and I highly recommend it!!

Submit your own review!

04-01-2002
Submitted by: nelges

Rating: 9 of 10

I have had my bob for about 2 years It is in royal lite layup. Great boat and I've tried many. I have used it mostly solo, on flat and some class 3 rapids it handled well, although I would not recommend class 3 tandom. Great tracking and manuverabilty good load capacity, and at 52 lbs fun to portage.

Submit your own review!

01-21-2002
Submitted by: Dilligaf0220

Rating: 8 of 10

I have owned my glass Bob for four seasons now, and am generally happy with it. If you're looking for a do-all solo/tandem tripping canoe, this design is superb. Unlike other designs that focus one area (speed, capacity, tracking, manueverability) this boat is more than adequate at all of them. With it's large beam and tumblehome, it feels bigger than it is, more solid. But it still handles well in small twisty creeks. It definitely likes to be trimmed bow heavy, even with a sliding bow seat, an extra 20lbs. up front improves handling noticeably. With the big beam, capacity is outstanding for a 15' canoe, I can take everything I need for a solo ten day trip, and I pack a lot of gear. I paddled an Osprey this summer and after the Bob I felt claustrophobic. It's also a very dry boat, never had any problems shipping water and I'm not queasy about paddling in big seas. It can sometimes feel tublike in a headwind though, especially lightly loaded.

The design is great, however the manufacturing is not. My boat was four months late, and even then I had to reject two hulls because of manufacturing defects. I've talked to other owners of Bob's and this used to be common to glass/kevlar boats, however I don't know if this is still the situation. Royalex hulls seem to be fine. Try to pick up your boat at the factory, and inspect the hull THOROUGHLY before accepting it. Don't have it delivered to your home, there could be problems and extra costs returning it. Once again, for a high capacity tripping solo/tandem 15', this can be an excellent boat.

Submit your own review!

10-08-2000
Submitted by: Dave

Rating: 9 of 10

We've been paddling a Royalex Bob Special for a couple of months, and have been quite pleased with it. Most of the time it is used as a tandem, with occasional use solo, and all of the usage has been on lakes. The boat has pretty good speed, decent primary stability, and excellent secondary stability. The boat tracks well, although not as strongly as a pure cruiser. Maneuverability is excellent. With the combination of speed, decent tracking, and maneuverability, it is a really fun boat to paddle.

I noticed the same thing about paddling solo as was mentioned in the previous review, which is that the bow rides high when you paddle solo from the bow seat. Putting a little bit of weight in the bow (I use a gallon jug filled with water) and kneeling behind the carrying yoke cured the problem. I usually paddle solo with the boat heeled to one side, and it works really well when paddled like that.

It's a fun and versatile boat, and one that should meet quite a range of needs.

Submit your own review!

09-27-2000
Submitted by: Chris

Rating: 8 of 10

Our Bob is R-Lite -- at 52 pounds very easy to handle on and off the water. Great lines, good tracking (esp. tandem), pretty fast,and stable but quite maneuverable on flat water (all I've tried to date). The construction quality seems quite good. My only quibble is with seat positioning. The bow seat is so far forward in tandem there's not much room for the front paddler (maybe we're just adjusting to the smaller 15 ft. boat), and so far back when paddling solo that the bow rides high. Kneeling cures the latter problem, and I'll probably either add a kneeling thwart or just put a couple weights at the bow. I suspect, however, the canoe would perform a bit better and be a bit more comfortable if both seats were moved a bit toward center. Well, nothing's perfect, but overall I am very pleased with this canoe. Much preferable (to me) than the similarly-sized options readily available in this area (mid-Atlantic U.S.).

Submit your own review!

12-04-1999
Submitted by: Al

Rating: 9 of 10

I've paddled this canoe for about 10 seasons. It has an ultra-light kevlar lay-up weighing about 36 lbs. Very light to portage and a very good solo boat. Have used it on many severe wilderness trips as a tandem canoe and the hull has held up surprisingly well.Had the same dry rot problems with the ash gunwales as the Prospector review reported. I replaced with ash from the manufacturer. Also a very fast tandem canoe. Will out distance many 16' designs. Good capacity too at 800 lbs. Paddle it often with over 500 lbs gear and paddlers and it still performs adequately. Probably the best solo/light tandem tripper out there.

Submit your own review!

Don't Miss the Paddling.net Weekly Newsletter!

100,000+ people can't be wrong!
The Paddling.net Newsletter is a must if you like to canoe or kayak! Each week it is packed with great articles, photos, product reviews, and special features. Better yet, we promise not to sell your email address to anyone; that's right ZERO spam! Sign up today and find out what you've been missing!

Page Options:

Submit Review of this Product Email Page Printer Friendly Version