Features

What are hōu Canoes unique features

hōu Canoes has one simple aim, to provide you with great canoes at the best price we can.

We know that you want to get the best canoe you can for your money, so we continue to build as many innovations and tweaks as we can into our products. So in no particular order, here is what we've done to bring you the best products on the market.

Mould in graphics

Most canoe manufacturers use stickers as their graphics, but we like to go one better.  For durability we've moulded our graphics into the plastic, giving it a great look and long lasting finish.

Wooden carry handle

Boats commonly come with an all in one end deck and carry handle made of plastic. We use two separate components for several reasons. Wood handles are nice on your hands and compared with plastic it is stronger and lighter.

These are all made from UK sourced sustainable ash made by hand, right here in the UK. To finish, we use is a unique blend of marine oils and varnishes.  It doesn’t chip like varnish and it protects the wood better than anything else we can find. 

 

Stand Alone End Deck

It’s quite common for people to wear through or damage an end deck on a canoe, if that component includes a carry handle you need to replace two things instead of one. So our end deck is just that, an end deck and it is simpler to replace. By having the handle and end deck as two separate items we also save weight making the canoe easier to carry.

Chunky bolts and seat hangers,

Over the years we have seen plenty of other canoes break their seat hanging bolts (this is why you'll see replacements on the shelf in all good canoe stores). We made our bolts thicker than standard and therefore much stronger. By increasing the bolt spec just one size up we have doubled the strength of the bolts. We've made chunky seat hanging dowels to go with them, which also improves the rigidity of the seat set up.

Comfy Seats

When looking at the size of a standard wood web canoe seat, we wondered why are the seats in all the other canoes so small?  In order to enjoy a days canoeing, a comfy seat will certainly help. So that’s what we've done, beefed up the gauge of the ash wood that we use, (sourced sustainably in the UK) and we set about making our seats big enough to be comfortable and robust.

Oversized Yokes and Thwarts

Since we beefed up the seat hangers, and then the seats, it meant that the Yolks and Thwarts looked a little weak and feeble, so we've made these bigger too! Hence oversized yolks and thwarts as standard.

Mac Wee Hole

Named after Steve Mac for his inspiration! We have added a simple drain hole in the end deck so when your boat is upside down the end deck does not collect water, so it doesn't then run down your arm next time you move the boat.  

Stainless steel fittings

All our fittings are made of high grade stainless steel, sourced in the UK.  Keeping our sourcing in the UK means that we have far better control over quality.  If something needs changing or sorting, we can simply ring or visit the supplier to make the change.

Wooden trim option

When you are making a big investment in a boat, it's nice to have the option to upgrade.  We decided we would offer a wooden trim on a few of the models.  Our wood trim option is hand crafted right here in the UK. Not only does it look great, it also makes the boat stiffer and lighter.

Plastic seats

If you prefer, we can supply your canoes with plastic seats.  Centres and rental operations often go for this option as they tend to take more abuse in these heavy wear environments.   We have also included the option of a third plastic seat in the middle.

Lodge Spec

Should you wish to buy a canoe fully spec’d up with all the kit, (sailing seat, white water air bags, kneeling thwart) then we do this too. It was developed with our friends at Glenmore Lodge.

Oh and great hulls!

Clearly we have different boats for different folks but all our designs are time served.  The base of these designs have been floating on water for many years, and with a few tweaks we have made them even better. We know these tried and tested designs work, and now so does our new material. We use the very latest triple layer moulding processes combined with the very latest material developments that give us the stiffest and lightest triple layer PE canoes on the market today.

Crash Test Program

For those times when lady luck is not on your side and you break your boat through bad luck/stupidity/not concentrating, we'll do all we can to help you fix it at cost.  If you end in the unfortunate position, just drop us an email and we'll do all we can to help you get back on the water.