weight complaint

-- Last Updated: Aug-25-06 1:25 PM EST --

I am hoping there is a more acurate way to weigh my canoe. I was moving it around and thought that I should weigh it. so I brought the bathroom scale out. I got on, then got depressed at my weight. then I picked up the canoe and weight us. in disbelief I redid it a few times with and without the boat. changed the position in the driveway to forgive any unlevelness.

54.5 pounds! I bought the ultra light layup for a reason. Now I have no real problems with it, but I was stunned. It should have been 39 pounds plus the gelcoat. the foam core layup WITH gel coat is supposed to be 51 pounds! I was guessing it to be about 45 pounds...this is like 9 pounds heavier than anticipated. I feel that the extra $300 didn't really get me too far here excpet stronger lifting arms.

For all you sciencey folks, it is a We-No-Nah Solo Plus "Ultra-light" in RED gel coat. I know there are discussions on pigment weight. I am just hoping that there is a way that I can weigh it and it will be lighter (so in my mind more accuate).

Any sugessions or anecdotes would be appreciated, I really just wanted to vent to people who would be SlIgHtLy more interested than my family and friends, I am sure many of you know how that is.

Liveoutside
***** edit below *******

well it has been a few days that this thread has been up. I just wanted to say how great the people at WeNoNah have been. I posted on here and the next day I recived an email from WeNoNah addressing the issue. That was FANTASTIC! I didn't have to go to them, they got word and contacted me! I told them I was not particually worried about the weight, I an not a big time racer (and any weight means more materials were built in, epoxy, kevlar or gel coat; which can't hurt)They did look in the records and they said that the boat did leave the shop at 53.5 pounds.

That just shows that there is still some pride in one's products and workmanship. Good records and a helpful staff.

Thanks WeNoNah for your concern!

dang Gel coat
I feel your pain. I have a Jensen with Gel Coat and that stuff has to wiegh another 11 pounds to my boat. I cn really feel that extra wieght when I am trying to sprint through a portge.

darn gelcoat …
there’s a reason some manufacturers list the weight without gel coat, eh? depending on the color, (reds and oranges weigh more) it can add as much as ten pounds to a boat. sure is purty though.



on a side note, my Wenonah Minnesota II black carbon Kevlar UL is listed at 42 pounds. i added ash trim instead of the vinyl and that brought the weight up to 47 pounds. portages are soooo nice now.

Welcome to The Real World!
All manufacturers underestimate the weight of their boats. Some more than others.

They use a metric pound.

Seems a bit overweight
I would really like to see your canoe, I can’t imagine a solo plus in kevlar UL weighing a whole 2# less than my 17 Jensen in PVC core tuff-weave, with two sliding seats, wood gunwales, and custom yoke and olive gelcoat

Did someone goof and you have a flex-core hull?

Does this hull have foam ribs extending from the foam bilge piece up to the gunwales? And is the inside cloth a fine or coarse weave?

My cross-rib gelcoated Kevlar Spirit weighs 56# and its a whole lot deeper than a solo plus.

Bill

The last time I demo’d a boat…
…I took my own scale along to weigh it. I’m sure the dealers love when you do that.



I ordered one and payed a lot extra for the lightest lay-up.

The dealer then told the factory not to bother shipping it if it was over a certain weight…



Now I’m wondering if I will ever get my boat…

I thought the same thing at first
now don’t forget that the boat is 16’6", but it should be less volume than others, and I have the standard equip, nothing fancy yet.



I IMediately looked up the different layups. and mine is bumpy in the old bidge. the diamond foam bottom piece and then ribs going up. I was hoping for an error. I mean that would be understandable. 2 or 3 pounds isn’t much of a worry. I am not racing or running long portages. it was all just an eye opening shock to me.



I would put ina picture of the boat, but I can’t find my list of passwords, lol. no passwords, no links.



Liveoutside

i think that i remember seeing
kayak weights listed without the hatches on them…

Hopefully…


…that practice is changing and manufacturers will post water ready weight ranges. However if one manufacturer cheats to gain an edge it forces the others to fudge and then again each boat comes out a little different… Think Yellow Gelcoat :slight_smile:



Now if all the reviewers would post the weight of the boat they are reviewing it might shed some light on the big fudgers.

Stated weights are 2 to 8 lbs low
That’s just a fact of life that canoe/kayak buyers pretty much accept. My “52 lb.” boat weighs 60 lbs., my “41 lb” boat weighs 43 lbs, my “40 lb.” boat weighs 48 lbs, my “46 lb.” boat weighs 49 lbs, and my “35 lb.” boat weighs 37 lbs. If you ask the manufacturer, it’s “normal variation.”



To get an accurate weight, even on a bathroom scale, be consistent and use reference weights. Always put a flat piece of wood under the scale, and put a smaller block of wood or styrofoam on top to set the boat on. A good reference weight is a 12-pack of diet soda at 9.96 lbs(essentially 10 lbs.) Just stack four of them on top of your scale and set it to read 40 lbs.

Boat weights
My Pungo 140 just can’t be anywhere close to 53 lbs. I was lifting it this weekend and threw out my back (couldn’t kayak Sunday morning!). My son is 55 lbs, and I know what it feels like, no way this boat is 53lbs. The scale is coming out tonight.


hey great idea about calibrating
i have a scale i want to calibrate too…the 12 pack at 9.96 lbs, does that include the box? can it be beer? i’m assuming you are using canned drinks, thanx!

Weight and how heavy it feels
My Pungo 140 seems to weigh not much more than the Classic I used last year. Perhaps because I’m stronger now?



Sometimes my Pungo 140 seems to weigh more than at other times.



Furthermore did you ever paddle though some water fairly easily and then hit some water that seemed to take a lot more effort all of a sudden and stay that way for awhile.



Even swimming, sometimes my body glides through the water and other times I have to work at it.



Am I imagining this or are there other factors at work assisting or hindering viscosity?

check it out
You may want to grab the serial number off of the boat and give the customer sevice folks at Wenonah a call. It sounds like that boat is heavier than it should be, as the flex core boat that comes with a gel coat should only be 51 pounds.

Alcohol is lighter the water.
Ever notice beer floating in the cooler while the pop sinks.



Besides, my bathroom room scale is not that accurate.

"No Coke; Pepsi!"
Actually, use anything you want, but weigh it at the grocery store on a good scale. It just makes the math easier to have something that weighs 10 lbs that anyone can get ahold of.

Double check, then call We-no-nah
Those weights are weigh (sorry) off. We-no-nah prides itself on being accurate with estimated weights. In fact, they claim to publish weights slightly lower than the average for that model. I seem to recall several Canoe & Kayak canoe reviews where the We-no-nah hulls were in fact lighter than the published weights.

Reds should not weigh more
As most red pigments have a low density compared with say white or yellow.