Stellar Kayaks & Surf Skis is a Global Company, striving to bring the advantages of advanced composites to paddle sports, producing some of the lightest and stiffest boats available today. Our design team hails from North America and Germany with input from paddlers World Wide. Combined, we have over 60 years of composite boat building experience and backgrounds in naval architecture, composite engineering and design and computer modeling and design.
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- Find A Dealer
- 413-225-3125
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Overview
Highlights
- Designed for speed and stability
- Higher decks allow for a dryer paddle in rough conditions
- Ample storage for longer tours
Available Colours
- Yellow
- Orange
- Red
- Blue
- Green
- Pink
- White
Stellar Kayaks & Surf Skis is a Global Company, striving to bring the advantages of advanced composites to paddle sports, producing some of the lightest and stiffest boats available today. Our design team hails from North America and Germany with input from paddlers World Wide. Combined, we have over 60 years of composite boat building experience and backgrounds in naval architecture, composite engineering and design and computer modeling and design.
- Visit Website
- Find A Dealer
- 413-225-3125
- View all Stellar Kayaks Products >
Features & Specifications
Overview
- Model Year: 2018
- Category: Kayaks
- Kayak Type: Touring Kayak
- Paddlesport: Kayaking
- Number of Paddlers: Solo
- Structure: Rigid or Hard
- Propulsion: Paddle
- Best Used For: Sea Kayaking & Touring
- Intended Waterway: Lakes, Ponds & Inshore, Open Water & Ocean
- Specifically Designed For: Average Adults
Specifications
- Length: 16' 0" / 488 cm
- Width: 22" / 55.9 cm
- Weight: 38 lb / 17.1 kg
- Capacity: 350 lb / 158.7 kg
Features
- Primary Material: Fiberglass
- Hull Shape: Shallow Arch
- Chine: Soft
- Rudder or Skeg: Rudder
- Self Bailing: No
- Bulkheads: Stern, Bow
- Number of Hatches: 2
- Storage: Stern Hatch, Bow Hatch
Outfitting
- Outfitting: Backband
- Seat: Molded
- Standing Platform: No
- Rigging: Deck Rigging, Safety Lines
What Users Are Saying
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 Lawry, 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.
Although this review is of the Stellar S18 EXP G2, the design of each kayak is almost identical, other than length. I also purchased my kayak from Savannah Canoe and Kayak, May, 2024. I’m 64 and own four other kayaks, all from Tahe Marine “TM” (Now Zegul) purchased between 2013 - 2016. All four of these kayaks are considerably heavier (55 to 65+ lbs.); the S18 EXP G2 is only 40 lbs. making it considerably easier to place on my Toyota Highlander. I also had trouble initially with stability, and tracking. The design of the Stellar kayak is greatly different from my “TM” and many of the current sea kayaks available today. The biggest difference I noticed is in the tracking, please compare the stern of the Stellar kayaks to a brand like P&H; the back of the P&H drops down almost like a rudder, whereas the Stellar is almost flat. The flatness of the stern, in addition to the round hull and soft chines, I suspect is one of the design components that adds to the kayaks speed. However, this hull design also makes it difficult to paddle in a straight line, but with the rudder down, the kayak tracks true, is very fast, and easy to maneuver when placed on edge. When I purchased my Stellar, the seller stated that it is the fastest kayak they have. Using my Gearlab Outdoors, Ipik, paddle, I average 3.5 to 4 mph, on my nearly daily, five mile morning workout, baring weather conditions. At 64, 5’ 8”, and 160 lbs. I’m no way in shape, especially after the downtime of the COVID lockup. I suspect a younger and stronger paddler would easily average 5 mph+. I live in Southern WV, and have already taken several trips down the New River and Greenbrier River, with even some class 3 rapids. Although I didn’t have any issues in the white water, I now will only use this kayak for flat water and where conditions allow for no more than class 2 rapids, which I feel is what this particular kayak was designed for. I still use my “TM” kayaks(14’ white water; 16’ fishing and day trips; 18’ Great Lakes and Atlantic Ocean). My go to machine now is my S18 EXP G2. If you want a light, fast, and enjoyable kayak to paddle, you can’t go wrong with Stellar; purchase one and have fun.
