So I am hoping for some advice on a yoke addition to my newish-to-me canoe.

Bought this almost a year ago by family proxy in Vermont, and it eventually came to me in MN a couple weeks ago. I finally got to see it in person, and it’s even nicer than I thought.

It’s a 27 year old Jensen 18 that looks close to new. Wood inwales (mahogany? something almost black) and decks (cherry?). It legitimately might be too nice to trip in, and I need to think about that some more.

I weigh it at just under 38#.

The trick is it does not have a yoke, but rather a standard aluminum thwart in the middle.

Normally this would be an easy swap & the sort of thing I could do in my sleep, but I am concerned about the load this will put on the thin strip of wood that is the inwale.

Hoping some of you might have some thoughts on the strength of the inwale and best type of connection one might use to secure a wood yoke given the existing structure.

?

Inwales appear to have been stained or painted at some point then applied with a varnish or urethane. I dont know of any wood that close to black that would have been used on a canoe, but I could be wrong.

With that said it's a fine looking boat. But looking at that closeup in photo two, I would have some of the same concerns, it looks like the inwale perhaps over time has pulled up a little from the hull and might not be in your best interest to use for a place to secure a permanent yoke.

You may be best served by contacting Wenonah directly and asking if they have any advice or solutions for you. It might involve drilling and riveting.

It looks like the inwale is wood but it's capped with aluminum, is that right? It also looks like the aluminum crushed and flattened a bit from the torque on the fasteners; I think that's no big deal. if all it has is washers between the nuts and wood you can improve the integrity of the connection by replacing the washers with a metal strap that will spread the load. If you want to make the connection even stronger you could add a longer strap with four holes and keep the existing fasteners but add two more holes on each side an inch or so outboard of the current fasteners and that would spread the load out even more.

Offhand I'd just pick it up by that thwart and see how flexy it is. Most likely it's fine. The aluminum won't crush any more once it's flattened against the inwale and the inwale probably doesn't mind flexing but I think it's worth adding a strap to the underside to avoid damaging it by crushing it with fastener loads.

I was also wondering if you could use a fabric yoke that slips over the whole boat but I guess the balance would be way off or you'd have to remove the center thwart for portaging and then the boat might be a little too flexible for peace of mind.

Something like this?

Really sweet ride!

The 18 Jensen is one of my all time favorite tandem trippers. Paddles so sweet, handles surprisingly big seas (though with large bow paddlers it will occasionally choose to slice through large incoming waves rather than going over them). Great score.

Replace the thwart with a standard ash yoke. Use a metal plate on the outside of the gunwale and an L-shaped mounting bracket on the inside. Plate is mounted with bolts running horizontal. Available from Wenonah.

Mounting bracket

That is a great find! Congrats. Agree with the ash replacement.

I would also agree with the ash thwart. I have replaced thwarts with ash by bending flat aluminum around the end of the thwart and riveting it to the aluminum gunwales. I would agree with adding a strip on the outside of the hull. Very nice boat. We paddled a Jenson 18 for years. Just don’t run white water with it, it doesn’t work!!

Carl

Thanks for the replies and ideas everyone.

The gunwales have no aluminum. It's wood (stained black as the underside is a lighter color) adhered with resin to the kevlar.

I'll post a photo showing the deck which may or may not help visualize - the dark stained wood (likely two or even three strips glued together based on how it intersects the deck) runs the entire length of the canoe save those last few inches on both ends.

underside of gunwale looks unstained

I keep walking outside and looking at it and keep thinking that it's too nice to use as a tripping canoe.

I should probably drink on it some more.

sns: "I keep walking outside and looking at it and keep thinking that it's too nice to use as a tripping canoe.


I should probably drink on it some more.


"

I think if you give me that ugly, beat up and totally worthless SR in the background for $5 you will then be okay tripping in the Jensen;-)

this is what someone did for me, after he borrowed it for a trip.

1. unscrew the center thwart.
2. Put a fat pool noodle around it. It is hollow and should slip on.
3. Screw the thwart back into place.

works great.

sns: "I keep walking outside and looking at it and keep thinking that it's too nice to use as a tripping canoe.


I should probably drink on it some more.


"

Like a half dozen wood canoes I have downstairs. I don’t want to scratch them so I keep them in the dark. Sort of a shame actually.

The wood is mahogany. It was readily available in long lengths back then and is very light. Decks are absolutely mahogany too. You need to put some scratches in that thing ASAP.
Tom

Frenchy, I appreciate the generous offer but alas - have to keep the SR to go with the paddle you sold me. In fact, paddled today on the St Croix in the SR Blackwater. Downwind with that doubleblade...I was flying!

zehyani: "this is what someone did for me, after he borrowed it for a trip.

1. unscrew the center thwart.
2. Put a fat pool noodle around it. It is hollow and should slip on.
3. Screw the thwart back into place.

works great."

As an owner of a few XL pool noodles, I just tried this, and wanted to report back.
It is sort of OK at best for me. I could see doing some short carries this way. Might be better if the noodle does not spin on the thwart tube, but even then I'd say this is a temporary solution.

Did it feel excessively flexible when you tested it with a pool noodle? If not that tells you that you could just bolt a normal wood yoke in place of the center thwart.

If you want to add strength to the gunwales at the yoke attachment point you could buy a yard of 3" carbon fiber fabric and just apply a couple of short pieces (maybe 8 inches?) in the center. It would be effective but personally I have a hard time modifying cool vintage gear.

BUT - when the cool vintage gear also perform as as well or better than the latest/greatest designs on the market then I would use the heck out of it. I think you need to put hundreds of hours on a boat before you can actually say you "know" the boat well. I bought a used Advantage last year and after paddling it maybe 3 dozen times I feel like we're still dating and getting to know each other. If you don't use that boat you may never get to know it.

just my two cents

I would either bolt an ash yoke in place, using the existing holes. For an added measure of security, you could run a couple stainless steel screws through the kevlar and into the end grain of the thwart. Or, simply bolt the portage pads onto the aluminum thwart. A canoeing comrade of mine did that with his 18' Sundowner, and it held up just fine. 38# isn't going to put much stress on it. He used the contoured yoke pads that you can pick up at Piragis.

https://www.boundarywaterscatalog.com/hidden-river-yoke-shop/contoured-yoke-pad-6719