Rich, 

this is definitely a question you want to put to tech support at CLC (see contact information on their website) as they will have dimensions that are not available from the website.  if not from tech support a current owner who will measure for you is important.

my sense is if it can be fit, you will need the regular 17....and that the 17lt will be too low.   i built the 17LT and while its plenty roomy, i am pretty sure it does not have 9 inches...except maybe from the bottom of the keel.

a part of the answer will also be if a bear canister has any flex in it or if it is a solid object...and how it fits relative to the center line of the kayak. where the storage area is deeper than when you move out towards the sides.   so best to have somebody test fit your bear canister into a real hull to avoid surprises or somebody who really knows what a bear cannister is to give you comfort that in can fit.

good luck.

h

Thanks, I did submit this question to CLC tech support last week (have an on-going e-mail thread) and they never responded so figured would try here.  Will resend the e-mail. 

Bear Canisters are pretty solid objects, anything with flex/give would give a bear something to get its claws into.  They can be pretty resourceful (the bears).

   C-17......mine is more of a hv boat. I think the C-17lt has a lower rear deck. Which I would love to have. BUT with  the C-17  I often carry in either hatch a NRS soft size "12 pack" cooler, model from years ago. It's dimentions are 15x10x10. It gets bigger when loaded. I have carried two of them in the rear hatch.  Note always remember to "chock" the round cylinders stowed in the hatches. The rumble, rumble, ...thump...rumble, rumble can be annoying. 

Of course you know that you are building the boat and can determine the size and shape of the hatch if you so desire. 

You could also mount that canister between the foot pegs foward of the foot pegs. There is a lot of unused space up there in mine. Or perhaps short legs. 

CLC did respond after my second inquiry, am sure they are busy.  The rear hatch is more than accomadating and the rear cargo space is supposed to be at least 10" high in the center. 

Otherwise can just build some cask supports on the back and store it like a fuel-oil can...make it run lengthwise to the boat, paint flames on it and call it my JATO unit.

   Hey Rich0126,
Not sure if you are still looking for an answer, but i'm currently finishing up a build of a C17LT & just did a hike where I bought a bear canister which is probably similar to the dimensions you posted (https://bearvault.com/product/bv500/).  Anyway, I just went to the garage to see if it would slip into the rear hatch and it does.  But it's limited to the front end of the bulkhead where it's deeper.  It only has about 0.25-0.5" of clearance, but then this decreases have you move aft.