Anyone own a kevlar Wenonah fusion canoe?
Any thoughts on a solo canoe for a recreational paddler? I need a light weight one I can handle by myself. Am 6’, 185 lbs. in good shape.
Does Kevlar hold up on shallow rivers? Not white water, but some rocks.
Wenonah does not use S-glass or
E-glass for the outer layers of their “Kevlar” boats, so once you wear through the gelcoat, the Kevlar will start fuzzing. Fuzzy areas can be tacked down by rolling on epoxy. Using some glass for the outer layers doesn’t seem to add weight, because the outside glass accomplishes hull stiffness better than using Kevlar for outside layers.
If you really love the boat, go ahead and buy it. You can deal with the scrapes.
solos
Lighter is always nice, but if you’re really worried about rocks a solo in Royalex will probably only be in the low 40s – still fairly easy to handle.
Durability depends on the layup. Some lightweight Kevlar layups don’t do well with rocks, but heavier layups can do very well.
There are lots of nice solos out there. What have you paddled that you liked?
At 6’ and 185 I suspect you could handle
any canoe of 16’ or less on the market. Royalex or gelcoated composits WITHOUT a foam core in the bottom do well with abrasion. Composites without cores though are hard to find. Prospectors, the 16’ penobscot, Mohawk 14’ Intrepid come to mind. The Mad River Guide is popular as well and others I’m sure
MMmmmm, I dunno. It might be hard
to find Royalex solos below 45 pounds that aren’t toys. My Mad River Guide Solo, 14’ 6" long, weighs somewhere in the mid 50s before outfitting. Maybe certain Mohawk solos in R84.
What About Tuffweave?
Wenonah’s tuffweave WILL hold up to abuse and rocky streams. I’ve had two and was impressed by that layup. Even if it’s not listed on the website, I betcha Wenonah would make one in that layup.