Wenonah Kevlar® Flex-core

[robkanraft]

Hey Wenonah owners, thinking about a Fisherman canoe. Is the Kevlar® Flex-core hull safe on river bottoms like the Buffalo? Not talking about crashing into rocks, just low water hull abrasion. Or better to stick to Royalex?

[Al Donaldson]

R:

If you can stand the appearance. a good kevlar hull will stand up to tons of abrasion: as soon as the epoxy (or vinylester, with Wenonah) scratches down to the fabric (leaving a garish yellow-white scratch), the hull doesn't wear appreciably past that point.

The outfitters in the Boundary waters use kevlar hulls a lot, and they do not seem to run into any structural problemms, even though many of their beaches are sharp graved (unlike the Buff's rounded stuff) and though many of their renters are a bit inconsiderate of the boats.

Hope this helps.

regards,

al

[arfish]

I considered Kevlar Flex-Core, when I bought my Wenonah Solo canoe, which I use mostly for fishing. I decided that since the fishing is best in the summer when the water is low, and sometimes its best when the water is at its lowest, it was worth getting RX, and at a lower initial cost it was an easy decision for me. My Vagabond only weighs 45 lbs in RX, so weight wasn't an issue for me. If weight is an issue with the Fisherman then maybe invest in a cart.
Also, I don't know this from personal experience but I've heard that Kevlar is noisier than RX, so that is a consideration when fishing.