I love the 14.5 but looked at a 16 today. Hummm...I know it's a tandem only (foot pegs in rear limit how far forward the rear seat moves but I usually carry weight forward when going solo. The 14.4 vs. 16 - any thoughts? I usually stand and push pole when seriously fishing. The 16 should be theoretically a faster boat than the 14.5 - anybody paddled both?

I've paddled the 16, just not solo, but with a 7 and 4 yr old. My 4 yr. old was walking around in it while I was standing. It'll be a little more susceptible to wind since it's got more freeboard and length. I'd imagine if you were carrying 60-80 lbs in the bow it'd trim pretty well though. It's a carrying machine no doubt best choice over any 16' canoe I've ever paddled.

I'm certain you could customize a 16 to accommodate a seat mounted toward midship. Just attach a pair of those rails that the seat slides under and you're good to go.

They're going to making Natives out of Tigris material soon too, so that will considerably lighten the weight of the craft, but will also raise the $$$ amount too. Although there are certainly many traditional canoes in the 16-17' lengths out there that are faster than the Native 16, they're likely not as stable due to the hull configuration.

I think one of the benefits of a 16 over a 14.5 is being able to carry more gear for camping, and being a bit faster with 2 paddlers. Other than that, we're only talking another 19" in length.

YakForFish: The spec sheet says the depth of sides are the same. Is the increased freeboard due to shallower draft in a given load due to longer length? Spec. show depth and width are identical between the two with a weight gain of 7 lbs.

Certainly a 16 will float slightly higher than a 14.5 due to the extra length. My 14.5 is the fiberglass (Elite) model, so it weighs a bit less than the polyethylene model. The new Tigris material should make it even lighter, with even more buoyancy.

Marsh - I'll have to check with them about the spec's on the web. I can tell you that the 16' I have is taller and wider than a 14.5. It's not much, maybe 1"-1"1/2 higher and 2" wider.

Yak: Now I'm confused. I looked at a 16 next to a 14.5 and it does look like it is wider with a higher freeboard, the the spec. sheet from native indicates the only difference is the length and an additional 7 lbs. When I picked it up, I couldn't tell much weight difference in the two.

marsh - the 16 is roughly 31" wide and 13" tall. Looks like the spec sheet needs correcting.