I've had the Kevlar Wenonah for seventeen years. Bought it at an overstock sale for a trip that didn't cooperate. My son Allan and I were as ready as ready could be, light gear, lots of food and the thrill of a ten mile lake crossing followed by a four mile portage waiting up in northwest Manitoba. That day we learned it's possible for a fifty thousand acre lake to be frozen solid in early June when you're five hundred miles north of the border. Oh well, we had a plan B that provided two weeks of the best fishing we'd ever had.
The canoe was exactly what I was looking for, light weight and formed from leftover patches at the factory. Only problem was it didn't have a carry yoke. Not a problem. I fashioned one from ash, broke it on the first trip and never replaced it. Over the years the boat suffered from not having a center thwart and an eighth of a ton Iowan bouncing around up front. First the aircraft aluminum seat frame snapped and I rebuilt it from ash and added cane seating. Last year one of the aluminum gunwales split. Not good. Earlier this spring I braced the split with a pair of heavy duty straps bolted in place and yesterday reinstalled the center thwart a tad behind center to allow the use of a clamp on carry yoke. She's a jury-rigged joy to behold and ready for Brian and my trip next Wednesday. Took me seventeen years to do what I should have done on day one. For me that's a little ahead of normal.
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