Innova Baraka Inflatable Canoe Self Bailing

As of March we have no availability on this model, or any other Innovas, so please check back toward the end of 2021 for more info. The Innova Baraka has been around quite a few years, but for a long time it was not imported to the U.S., and when it first became available here it appeared the price would not be competitive with some of the other river tandems out there. Now that the Innova warehouses seem to keep a few on hand, and with the decreased price being very reasonable, we decided to add it to our Tandem Whitewater section.

The Baraka is a canoe style model that can be paddled from the padded bench seats, or kneeled in. It's also possible to paddle it sitting on the floor as a conventional style inflatable kayak, though the low-ish mounted floor will get wet with heavier paddlers. This model has quite a lot of rocker in the bow and stern to ride over most waves, with a closable self bailing port near the rear. Probably the best way to label it is a “quasi-selfbailer” since it's bailing speed is slower than most typical tandem whitewater kayaks.

It is 41” wide with 12.5” tubes, 13-1/2' long, and weighs 52 pounds. Like all Innovas, it deflates compactly for its rather large size. There are generous gear nets & tie-down points with safety line attachments, and an extra little inflatable foot / backrest. There are also two pairs of leg straps, used for kneeling, though they are removable and not mandatory. It has a pressure relief valve on the I-beam floor, and inflates to a firm 3+ p.s.i. The Baraka comes with an XL size Innova dry bag-carry bag. The packed size is about a foot thick by 18” wide, by 28 or 29” long. It will hold three adults, with a roughly 600 – 650 pound capacity in non-bailing mode (i.e. with the roll down bail vent closed), or about 425 pounds in self bailing mode. The 770 pound figure on the Innova site is overly optimistic if you expect decent performance.

What sort of whitewater should a Baraka owner contemplate? Well, given the somewhat slower bailing speed, this boat will work best with pool & drop rivers and rapids, whether class II or IV, where the rapids tend to be shorter and followed by recovery areas. Rivers with very continuous rapids may prove too challenging for this canoe, given that when swamped it is a very deep boat that can hold a huge amount of water. Some of the big, open rivers in Alaska and Montana might be good examples of where the Baraka would be ideal, with lots of camp gear space for multi-day trips. Something like the upper reaches of our local Merced River out of Yosemite, with non-stop class III and IV water and no eddies, would not be a place we would want to use this boat. Especially at high Springtime flows. Your feedback, if you have paddled the Baraka, would be appreciated as this is a new one for us.