How to tell if its a Flex core or X-rib

Advice
#1

Hello,

I am considering getting a Wenonah Jensen 18 canoe and I see the Tuf-Weave hull comes in a Flex core @60lbs or a Cross Rib @70 lbs. Im wondering how to tell the difference. I assume they look different but I dont know what either looks like.



First, is there a performance difference other than weight?



Second could you look at the pic he gave me and tell me which core it has?



http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh254/mcimes/JensenFront.jpg



http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh254/mcimes/JensenSide.jpg



Other thoughts?

Thanks!

#2

The seller doesn’t know? I can’t tell
from the pictures. It looks like an odd segmenting of a flex core with some expected ribs up the sides.



One thing…If the St. Croix is your favorite kind of paddling experience, will you be happy with a design suited more to speeding across open lakes? Not that a Jensen 18 can’t be used on easy whitewater, but it will be harder to handle there than several other Wenonah tandem designs.

#3

.

– Last Updated: Apr-10-12 1:23 PM EST –

Im debating how much maneuverability I will really need...I know the Jensen has zero rocker so it wont want to turn sharply.

Although I will be on the St Croix frequently the parts I tend to canoe down have almost no rapids and wide channels with few rocks/rapids. So...I dont know I guess. How much do you notice flat vs slight rocker vs aggressive rocker? I have lots of experience with Alumacraft and grumman canoes but am just getting into the world of nice canoes. What kind of hull profile do they commonly have?

98% of the river canoeing I would be doing is just for preasure so I dont expect anything over class 1 really. Id also like to be able to use it to excersise on the lakes near me, which I know anything that floats will work but its more satisfying to go some distance.


I would prefer a Spirit II in tuf weave but they're are hard to come by. This guy would trade my canoe + a little $ for the jensen so thats the main reason Im considering it.

Thanks

#4

18’ Jensen
From the photo it looks like a core-stiffened fiberglass layup. It is just like the ultra-light Kevlar layup, but with fiberglass or Tuff-weave (depending on its age) instead of the full layers of Kevlar. There are still kevlar partials in the high wear areas. It should weigh somewhere around 54-58# with that center seat added.

Buy it. It will do what you describe as your paddling. And will you enjoy the weight and speed difference over the aluminum boats you’ve had.

Bill

#5

Agree

– Last Updated: Apr-10-12 2:14 PM EST –

It would help to know the year it was built which can be gotten from the last 2 digits of the HIN. Wenonah changed its construction options over the years.

But I'm pretty sure that is an Ultra-Light lay up. The Cross Rib layup had cross ribs but no center core. The Flex Core boats had a center core, but no side ribs. The Ultra Light layup had a central foam core diamond with side ribs extending from it.

Wenonah lists the Tuf-weave Ultra-Light foam core layup at 56lbs for the Jensen 18. The center seat may bring it up a bit.

I have paddled a good bit of the St Croix. Wind is often more a factor on that river than anything that requires actual maneuvering. The Jensen is a relatively shallow boat with less windage than many tandems and I think would be delightful on the St Croix.

#6

.
I believe its a 1982 model if that helps



Thanks

#7

I was on the St. Croix in mid summer,
and at a low level, it was nice to be in a ww boat.

#8

???
Was that mid-summer last year? The river was at some of the highest levels I’ve seen last summer.

#9

St Croix
The portion of the St Croix I am most familiar with is that below Interstate State Park to the Mississippi and the only real maneuvering I recall is that required to try to find water deep enough to float the canoe at lower water levels. I imagine the portions further upstream are different.

#10

It was back around 2000, and
I ran a section ending roughly opposite where a feeder river entered from Minnesota. Can’t recall its name. Didn’t find any true play spots, but there were some eddies worth hitting.



We visited a park downstream…Interstate? I don’t know…and met a c-1 paddler who worked his way back upstream to a good wave/hole that passes for a playspot. That park was where the river cuts down between cliffs. I think it flattens a good bit after that, with more powerboats, on the way to the Big River.