Manitou II

I wanted a 14' Kayak, but circumstances dictated a shorter boat. I am very happy with the 11' Neckey Manitou. It tracks well, is reasonably fast, and easy to maneuver. Extra...the rear hatch stays dry! No problems paddling upstream even in high water after a storm. The Manitou is also affordable. This boat was definitely a good choice!

I have one of these yaks. while it is sleek, fast and durable, it is a bit unstable for me. I generally travel slower rivers and even there it feels a little squirrely. Probably better suited for lakes. All said it is a quality kayak and would be a good choice for one more agile. I give it 7+.

This is a nice boat to paddle and has some nice features as a recreational tandem. It is 14'8" long with a 28-inch beam, weighs around 75 pounds, and has a capacity of about 475 pounds. Has a snazzy color scheme to it (I got the "storm" variety, which is bluish).

What I like best:
1. Seats are nice (adjustability and padding); also, the fore-aft seat locations can be adjusted too
2. Like the large, sealed stern bulkhead
3. Like how well it paddles/cruises. Enables you to keep pace with 17-foot canoes, but it is not as long, bulky, or heavy to transport as a canoe and gives you more comfortable seating too. It can be paddled all the way up to its maximum theoretical hull speed of around 6 mph (tandem paddling).
4. It is stable and tracks well. A rudder can be added if desired, but I have not needed it.

A couple things to consider. It was designed as a "two-and-a-half person" kayak, so the rear cockpit is huge to allow a child or dog to sit just in front of the rear paddler. Since it is only 14'8" long, the front cockpit ends up being a bit tight for taller people. So you need to determine if your priority is being able to handle taller people in the front of a tandem kayak, versus the idea of the extra space in the back cockpit.

I have to admit that if I would not have gotten such a good deal on a lightly used one, I would have had a hard time getting myself to pay its new price. This is a boat I hope to get much use from over the coming years (assuming it will have good durability).

The Manitou II is a great kayak. I have had mine for about 5 years now. I bought mine because I have a younger son that I wanted to be able to take out on the water with me. This boat fits us perfectly.

There is a large storage area in the rear, which is spacious enough for a few large dry bags. I usually put coolers between my legs on the floor behind the front seat. It comes with a third child seat but I usually remove it after travel as it seems to take up space I could use otherwise. It's a nice feature though, as it has a small storage compartment in it.

The only things I would like to see changed are a drain plug put in so removal of water is easier, and hinged compartment lids.

This is a great kayak for lakes, rivers, and sea.

Manitou II is a fabulous boat. Well built. I like the double cockpit as it gives more stability and I feel the boat will hold together better. The seats have all kinds of adjustments and are comfortable, but a little firm on the butt, so I use a cushion.

I am over 6 feet and there is plenty of room in the back. The front is tight for someone my size, however the wife is very comfortable up front and she is 5 and a half feet. We have navigated on strong tidal rivers as well as very tight creeks. The rudder is a must as it is so easy to use and keep you tracking straight. All you have to do is coordinate your stroke with your partner as you will klunk paddles otherwise. The rear hatch opens and closes easily, but would be difficult to get to while in the boat. There is plenty of room in the back seat area for a small cooler to fit in front and out of the way. Tracks very well and takes waves nicely.

Loads easily into the back of a full size pick up bed. It sticks out, but travels well. We also load it on top of our pickup using the Thule T-bar up front, which can also be used in the back and a single Thule load bar on the roof. We do this when towing a 5th wheel trailer and works well. The rear is somewhat heavy with the rudder and I would not want to go any larger as the weight would most likely be too much.

I bought this kayak sight unseen as it seemed to me to be the best for us. I was not disappointed in the least. It moves really well in the water. We have not tried it out yet as a single. Very easy to adjust everything and the seats will lie back and stay in place when traveling upside down on the roof.

My wife and I purchased a Manitou II early this spring and after a full summer of use, I can give it a great rating. We also purchased a Manitou 13 at the same time, so that we can comfortably go out with our six-year-old son on day-trips. The two kayaks together have been a perfect fit for us -- my wife will normally take the 13, while I'll sit in the back of the II with our son in the front. The adjustable seats are great because I can slide both seats just a little ways forward to balance our weight better, and with my son only paddling a little bit in front, I can be in a slightly more central position. I've taken it out solo several times and find it performs nicely with the seat all the way forward, though as a solo kayak it feels heavy and slow compared to the Manitou 13. It is surprisingly easy to paddle solo though (or with a kid in front who's not paddling much), and I can easily keep up with my wife in the Manitou 13.

I find the seats comfortable, and making some adjustments throughout the day can keep you stay more comfortable than keeping the seat in one position. The seat adjustments work well -- I think the straps are a better solution than the cords that Old Town uses for adjusting these same seats. And being able to raise and lower the seat back is really nice. The foot pegs are easy to adjust and work well. I wish it had some thigh padding inside like the Manitou 13 does, though -- although it's a wider cockpit and you might not always want your legs pressed against the sides in the Manitou II, it sometimes is helpful, and would be more comfortable with some padding. I might try to add some to it.

The hatch works well; the roomy cockpit is nice for fishing or fitting some extra gear in; the recesses for paddle float rescue work great -- we've tried it out just to make sure we'd be able to get back in if we ever capsized; the bungies are nice for strapping in some gear like a bilge pump; the drink holders in the seats are great to hold a bottle of water instead of having it roll around on the floor. The kid's jump seat is easy to remove to give yourself more cockpit room, and we've never used it -- three of us have gone out in it a couple times, but the kid just sat on a boat cushion on the floor.

We tried several tandem kayaks at a few different demo days, and this one seemed the best fit for us, it tracked the best, and seemed the easiest to paddle. At one demo I tested the Pamlico 145T and the Manitou II side-by-side -- both had rudders, but I flipped them up to also test without rudder, and the Pamlico 145T that we tried did not track nearly as well as the Manitou II -- it seemed to turn back and forth a lot with every stroke, while the Manitou II went much straighter. And the Pamlico seemed to me to just move slower, though I don't know how true that really is. I do know that on the Pamlico we tested, the seats were somewhat stuck in one position and were hard to adjust, and I believe when we did get the seat moved forward, the foot pegs would not move far enough forward.

We opted to buy the Manitou II without a rudder, and we're happy with it -- we're paddling lakes and rivers and I think the rudder just would be more weight and hassle to care for than it'd be worth to us. For some people in other circumstances, I'm sure it's well worthwhile. There have been very few times when I've been in heavy wind that I wished I had a rudder to help keep going straight, but being someone who's used to canoeing more than kayaking, I find if pretty easy to compensate for the wind by just changing paddling technique a little (and I'm not a highly accomplished paddler). And turning the kayak sharply and quickly would be easier with a rudder, but again, that wouldn't be worth it to me -- I can turn it easily enough just with some simple paddling technique -- for my recreational use, it's fine without a rudder, but someone looking for more serious performance than me (or using it in coastal conditions certainly) would probably want the rudder. I'm just starting to learn to "edge" the boat to help turn more easily.

The Manitou II is fairly heavy to move around and load (compared to a solo kayak, but all tandems are), but I can load and unload it by myself on our SUV using a Thule Glide-and-Set rack. By placing a bath mat over the back edge of the roof, I can lift the front end up on the mat, then move to the back of the kayak still on the ground, lift and slide it forward onto the rack easily. I'm tall and thin, not terribly strong, and it hasn't been difficult for me. And I made a cart out of an old jogging stroller axle and wheels that makes it easy for me to cart it by myself -- carrying it by myself any distance without the cart is very tiring.

Our family has had a great time kayaking many lakes and rivers in these kayaks, and I'd highly recommend the Manitou II for anyone looking for a tandem that probably handles a little better than most other recreational tandems. If it were just my wife and I, we'd probably have two Manitou 13's instead, but for the three of us this is a great solution.

Embarked on single paddler doing short up stream and down stream runs in very shallow river with slow current, and logs to maneuver around. The Manitou II handled very well, easy to paddle up stream, and maneuver around logs. Kept rear seat in back most position with no weight in the front.

Nice Tandem, been on two trips and Very nice Boat back area large for my Dog to come along I don't know if the jump seat leaves enough room for lG paddler and Child But GREAT for LG paddler and SM dog.. Giving a 9 Because the front bulkhead has no hatch and is a bit cramped for taller people.. pegs and seat fully out can still put feet on bulkhead.. there needs to be a hatch on the front great storage in the Back and in the middle by DOG made her a nest of dry bags.. cant but anything in the front... Limiting the Range of the boat 1-2 day only.. Which I realize is pushing the boundary for a rec boat.. but it handles so well it makes you want to do longer trips... V dry also

Update. I find the Manitou II is a great little tandem, at 14'8", for what you get - it has a lot going for in the short length. My wife and I embarked on a short 3 1/2 hour journey. As I mentioned in my first review, I had not had the pleasure of occupying the rear cockpit. There is so much room there, until one could easily slide the seat forward, lock in, and have storage behind the seat as well as the dry storage. The Manitou II, I felt, tracked very well without a rudder system although I am sure it would enhance the experience even more with one. In the calm waters - a couple strong strokes and your gliding far. Passing motor boats leaving behind their wakes didn't damper us a bit. It took boat wakes very well. Stable kayak - for my wife to not feel ill at ease says a lot about the stability of the Manitou II. Upon reaching open water and more winds, the Manitou II kept a fairly well straight track with a slight drift when paddling slowed or coasting. Handles very well in the shallows (1' or less). All in all I rate the Manitou II a 10. For what I know about tandems - Necky has created a very nice tandem. It can get around in some tight places as we found, and will quickly spin about letting you do some backward paddling. We found this rather nice upon spotting a Bald Eagle coming into view and then soaring above. A quick spin and we could watch as we slowly paddled backwards and as the Bald Eagle slowly soared out of sight.