Supermodel Canoes
HOW SEXY ULTRA-LIGHT CANOES ARE MADE
Te storied poetry of master builders laying ce- dar strips on an antique form to build a canoe is still present in the manufacture of today’s ul- tra-light canoes. Although modern Kevlar canoes are made in factories using the same space-age materials used to make bulletproof vests and airplanes, their creation still involves equal parts industry, innovation and human skill. A tour of one such facility feels more like a visit
to a grandfather’s workshop than it does a trip to one of Henry Ford’s production lines. Te Wenonah Canoe factory sits at the foot
of 600-foot bluffs that overlook the Mississippi River in Winona, Minnesota. Inside, workers cre- ate the kind of ultra-light canoes that make long trips easier and short trips faster. Twenty-five of the 29 Wenonah models are
available using the bread-and-butter Kevlar ultra- light hull material Wenonah has been developing for more then three decades. Te minimal thick-
ness of these hulls means the heaviest touring class canoes weigh in at just 55 pounds. Te short- est solo canoes weigh a mere 24 pounds. Proponents of high-end composite hulls will tell
you they are stiff, quiet and literally bulletproof. With work divided among nimble hands and
specialized equipment, it takes just a few hours for a hull to take shape. Each style begins in a custom wooden mould. A trigger man first sprays the inside of the
mould with resin. Next comes the Kevlar. So there are no seams, a single piece of Kevlar three feet wide and up to 25 feet long is laid and pressed by hand into the mould. After the sheet conforms to the interior of the mould, smaller strips are ap- plied to reinforce the ends before another layer of resin and Kevlar is applied. With the resin having an easy working time of only about five minutes, speed and precision in this stage of the process are critical. Smock-clad workers then put the mould, with
the burgeoning canoe still inside, on a gurney and wheel it out of the spray booth to harden, like a patient leaving surgery for the recovery room. But the operation is far from over.
Next comes the plastic surgery. After they
trim any excess Kevlar off, workers lay down a diamond-shaped PVC foam sheet and some 3/8- inch ribs. Te foam sheet and ribs serve three purposes.
Tey stiffen the hull, they provide buoyancy to a hull that is so dense it would barely float if over- turned and they provide a place to attach com- ponents to a hull that is otherwise so thin there would be no way to outfit the canoe with things like footrests or side-mounted seats. A third layer of Kevlar is applied to the inte-
rior to seal in the foam. Te next step is crucial to reducing the weight
of the canoe. Workers lay a plastic bag fitted with four vacuum hoses over the canoe’s inte- rior. Overnight, light suction will remove up to eight pounds of material, slowly extracting any still-hardening resin that hasn’t impregnated the Kevlar.
Speed and precision in this stage of the process are critical After the excess resin is removed, the PVC foam
end tanks are fitted and installed for extra buoy- ancy and fibreglassed in. With that, the structur- al aspect of the canoe is complete. Excluding the time spent vacuum bagging, the hands-on labour has so far taken about an hour. After the canoe has cured, workers free it from
the mould using specialized pliers. A ceiling- mounted lift hoists the canoe from the mould and it is taken to another area where the edges are finished off, minor imperfections are made perfect and the hull is buffed. Te canoe then undergoes 45 minutes’ worth of
finishing touches such as gunwales, thwarts, deck plates, a yoke and seats. Finally a last buff and, of course, the logo placement means the canoe is ready to push off in all its lightweight glory. When fresh from the factory, these ultra-
light—and bulletproof—canoes are not as aro- matic as a cedar canoe, but only the most stub- born traditionalist would deny the worth of a building technique that lets a paddler ease into a favorite lake in the stillness of morning as qui- etly and effortlessly as possible. BRAD BRYAN lives in Wisconsin.
www.canoerootsmag.com 59
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