C-Forum

I was fortunate to get one of the last availible (in Europe) Nova Craft Ocoees in Royalex. It's red, meaning it is the "light weight royalex" version (17 kg for the Ocoee) and not the heavier "Royalex Plus" (which was unfortunately no longer availible).
If I understand correctly the Nova Craft Royalex (not the RX Plus) is not the same as Royalite R84 which is a different laminate but it is a thinner and lighter version of the regular royalex (thinner foam core and thinner ABS).

Has anyone first hand experience with the light weight Royalex version of Nova Craft (not the Royalex plus)?
Is it much less durable compared with the Royalex Plus or regular royalex used by other manufacturers? Does it hold well enough in whitewater?

Thanks for sharing your opinion / experience.

We can destroy anything, and so can you. Durability in ww is relative to aggression, caution, skill. My primary canoe is 17 years old, has been used in moderate ww all over the US, and has no significant damage. But other paddlers I know would have torn it to bits in a couple of seasons.

So, we'll need to know, at least, in what sort of ww you want to use it.

A suggestion. If you install support between the thwarts and the bottom, with minicell pillars for example, this will reduce the risk of the thinner Royalex being wrapped around a rock or tree, and will also reduce "oil canning".

I believe you are correct. The lighter Royalex used by Nova was regular Royalex with a thinner sheet specification, not R84.

If I remember correctly, judging by the weights listed by Nova on their website in comparison with the weight of the original Dagger Ocoee, the "Royalex Plus" was really just the Royalex specification that Dagger used, not some "heavy duty" Royalex.