Stellar 16' Touring Kayak (S16)

The Stellar S16G2 kayak has proven to be ideal for me – light weight, maneuverable, swift, and stable. I live on a large lake in Upstate South Carolina, kayaking there and several other lakes and rivers in the area. Car top the boat frequently and paddle fairly long distances mainly in flat water or gently flowing rivers. Bought this newly revised model from the great folks at Savannah Canoe & Kayak in the early Spring and have been out at least weekly in the nine months since then.

Coming from a large heavy, composite sea kayak with hard chines that was very stable and just wanted to go straight, there was a learning curve. The Stellar is Swede form with a rounded hull and soft chines. Has a good size cockpit and a molded paddle rest behind the seat, so it is easy to get in and out. It sits high on the water with little displacement, which makes it fast and quick reacting, but a bit challenging in the wind. Initially the Stellar felt a little unstable in comparison to my WS Cape Horn 17 Pro and a tad difficult to control. Fortunately, I was able to contact one of the designers of the boat at Stellar, Ben, who helped immensely. With a few changes in technique he suggested, we were able to turn it into the perfect boat for my use.

There were three major changes from my previous boat:

First, with the light weight and hull shape, the Stellar is designed for the rudder to be down most of the time for good tracking. The boat is extremely maneuverable with the rudder up, which is great for narrow streams, etc. but it is much more stable, efficient and fast with the rudder down and is still quite easy to turn.

Second, the boat is more responsive and faster with a high angle stoke and a shorter paddle than the low angle stroke and long paddle used with the longer, heavier sea kayak.

Third, the boat is more stable and efficient with your knees bent and centered, then using your legs as in a racing kayak, which gives you good hip rotation and power. Still easy to tuck the legs under into the side braces if the conditions get rough.

So, this boat with its more modern design and the required changes in technique is now stable, fast, and a lot of fun. Oh, and at 38 pounds in the advantage layup, it is easy to put on the car rack by myself. My 74-year-old body appreciates that. So, again, for me, and I suspect many others, this is or will be the perfect kayak.

I purchased a Stellar S16 Advantage for Adventure Triathlons. I have been very pleased with my purchase. The first race I used the Stellar S16 I finished 6th overall and won my age group.

The S16 has very good stability and speed to match. It tracks well with or without the rudder. The cockpit is a little small and slow to enter and exit compared to a surf ski in race transition but provides a nice tight fit with a responsive feel. The seat is comfortable and the foot position is very easy to adjust. Lots of storage area to pack gear for a weekend or day trip.

The composite finish makes the S16 light, easy to transport, and store. The downside to a composite boat is that it is easy to scratch the gel coat on the bottom hull. A cautious paddler won't have an issue with that aspect.

I would recommend the S16 to anyone wanting to go fast in a conventional kayak.

I bought a new Stellar S16 Advantage in May of 2014 and continue to love the boat. First of all, its great-looking, with a red deck and white hull. Fit and finish is outstanding, inside and out. I've owned many kayaks and this is my favorite so far. Weight is amazing, only 38 lbs for a 16 foot sea kayak. Seems to be pretty tough too, with three layers of fiberglass on the bottom. Hatches are very roomy and really like the concave hatch covers; easy to remove and put on. All fittings are recessed with drain channels around the hatches.

It feels "tippy" when you first get in due to the rounded hull, but that design contributes to the great speed of this boat. It leans very smoothly and you can easily bring the cockpit coaming right down to the water's edge to facilitate turns. Seat bottom is very comfortable for several hours on the water. The backband is adjustable fore and aft using adjustable webbing; I just wish it were somewhat higher. It's great being able to adjust the foot braces while seated too.

Nice to have a rudder; I've used it in rough water in Long Island Sound and it really does the job to keep me on track. Still getting used to the SmartTrack rudder system, with the peddles above the foot braces, but seems to work well; takes some effort to deploy since its spring-loaded, but easy to raise. Sitting in it I seem to be closer to the water than other kayaks I have owned, but a standard spray skirt fits very well over the cockpit.

All in all, the Stellar S16 is the lightest, most responsive, and fun to paddle kayaks I have ever owned, and for a very reasonable price.

Last Saturday I met with Drew Harrison at the Alder Creek Kayak and Canoe store on the Columbia River to test paddle the Stellar S16 and S18. I weighed these boats with my bathroom scale, the S16 Advantage at 39 lbs and the S18 Excel at 34 lbs. The seats and back bands were comfortable and the 32" long cockpits made getting in and out a snap. I then paddled these boats on the river south of the store. This is a no wake zone, with heavy power boat traffic. The current was approximately 2 mph with a good breeze blowing against it. The result was a mixed chop, which would have been very unsettling in my WSBS EFT. I found both boats to be very stable in these conditions. The S18 was slightly faster and the S16 was slightly more stable. The rudders on these boats did not work well and I could have used them in these conditions. These were 2010 models, they are switching to SmartTrack rudders and pedals for 2011. I would rate these two boats at a 9 out of 10 because of their rudders. I am placing an order for a 2011 S18 Excel.