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.

I've never heard of any real problems with nucanoe other than weight. Any boat is going to have maintenance issues and especially if neglected.

#2 on your list left me scratching my head?
Inserting foam into a hull would have no effect on a scupper hole since the scuppers are molded into the deck and bottom sealing them from any void space inside the hull.
Salt water can wreck havoc on just about everything if left neglected, and that is why rinsing off your kayak with fresh water is a good practice after use in fresh or salt.
Storing any kayak out in the direct sunlight without any kind of protection from the direct rays of the sun for long periods of time is going to take it's toll eventually on any kayak.
As mentioned, the only con I've heard mentioned time and again is the fact that the boat is heavy!

Thank you for your comments.

Regarding #2 I guess the foam insert is a tad thicker and bulges the floor up that traps a little bit of water forwards. Since there are only 2 scupper holes towards the rear, the water does not drain as well. Thats why I am thinking coming up with something similar maybe of a larger area could give more stiffness and less bulging. I would think Nucanoe had a chance to come up with a solid improvement to design limitation instead of a quick and dirty fix.

This is tough understanding exactly what the details of these complaints are without seeing them with my own eyes. My guess is the design of the cockpit being almost totally flat is why there is some flex. Normal for a plastic boat. As for the other fasteners rusting, that is mostly neglect. Since nucanoe pretty much targets duck hunters and fly fisherman they have not been a kayak I have seen much around any coastal areas. As for the down and dirty quick fix, they could add more plastic to that area durring molding but that only makes a heavy boat heavier. I have seen guys stick a bunch of pool noodles in the hull.

In all my time on this forum, from the time the Nucanoe came into production, I've not seen but maybe a couple of complaints about their product, and that was the weight and being slow, which is understandable because of it's design and function.
It's not a boat you would want to paddle long distances or cartop. That is why the stern is setup for a trolling motor.
The foam you speak of inserting into the hull should be a tad larger and forced into the hull to give it strength, and foam will take a set and compress over time, so the bulge won't be for long after the foam has been there a while.
Draining the water would be as simple as shifting your weight to the rear of the boat.
You can find negatives on just about any kayak on the market.
If you can find one that is perfect, by all means post the make and model on here!
Welcome to the forum! Our comments are to try and be helpful and most here are speaking from years of experience we've acquired by our own trial and error, and we are always open to new ideas and questions.

2013 Nu Canoe Frontier 10 owner here. This vessel is beyond stable. I've tried flipping it and cannot. As Christian mentioned, my only complaint is the weight. Pro's far outweigh any con's. I bought it used, and it's seen plenty of time on the water, but the prior owner did store it inside, and so do we. No leaks, warping, etc


They're nice yak's.