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gnomeastay
  
06/25/2021 08:54AM  
Hey Y'all -

I just inherited an old Wenonah Whitewater 2 canoe from 1977 - it's a fiberglass canoe with a center rib that runs down the middle of the boat.

It has a central thwart rather than a yoke - and the thwart has strut that runs down to the center rib.

I am trying to figure out a way to portage this thing:

Any ideas of portage pads that exist for this? Or do I need to just take out the whole thwart and put in a wooden yoke? (The center strut might still be in the way thought)
 
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06/25/2021 02:07PM  
Maybe this type of portage yoke.
 
MReid
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06/25/2021 02:23PM  
I'd suggest replacing the thwart, removing the shock absorber. The shock absorber will hit the back of your head if you try to do anything with the existing thwart (aside from raising the pads an extra 12"). The center rib w/o one shock absorber will probably be ok. If not, you could make the shock absorber removable for the portages. I have a 16' C1W with the center rib and no shock absorbers, and haven't noticed any flex.
 
Northwoodsman
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06/25/2021 06:54PM  
I would seriously consider having someone else portage it!
 
DanCooke
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06/25/2021 07:52PM  
Owned a 1975 WWII. It only had the rear shock absorber. I had a wooden center carved yoke with 3 screws that went into the end grain of the yoke after going thru the aluminum gunnels.
 
06/25/2021 08:22PM  
I would start by finding the center balance point. You may find that if you added a yoke that it would not interfere with the existing thwarts? Just a thought.
 
06/25/2021 09:44PM  
Northwoodsman: "I would seriously consider having someone portage it!"


Beat me to it!
 
gnomeastay
  
06/26/2021 12:39PM  
Thanks for the replies -

Sounds like it's gonna be a bit of a project.
 
MReid
distinguished member (443)distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
  
06/26/2021 04:32PM  
gnomeastay: "Thanks for the replies - Sounds like it's gonna be a bit of a project. "

Shouldn't be bad. I've replaced straight aluminum thwarts with wood on a Clipper. Just drill out the pop rivets, cut the wood thwart to size (and seal the ends), and bolt it directly on. Or, you could make an aluminum plate, bolt it on the wood thwart, and pop rivet the plate to the gunwale. Contoured ash thwarts are about $30, then you can add whatever pads you want (I'd avoid blue foam glued to the thwart for 6km portages with a 72 lb boat--I'm smarter now, thank goodness).

If you want to keep the shock absorbers, you could probably just loosen one end of the shock absorber and lay it down for head clearance, but I doubt it's needed. The boat was built for (ww) racing, so it is probably overdesigned for BWCA.
 
salukiguy
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06/29/2021 04:29PM  
Would you want to buy this from me?





 
gnomeastay
  
07/02/2021 10:11AM  
deerfoot: "Maybe this type of portage yoke. "


Any chance you’d be willing to part with that one? I’d pay a good price for it
 
07/02/2021 12:04PM  
Sorry this item was sold earlier this week.
 
BrianDay
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07/02/2021 03:43PM  
gnomeastay: "Hey Y'all -

I just inherited an old Wenonah Whitewater 2 canoe from 1977 - it's a fiberglass canoe with a center rib that runs down the middle of the boat.

It has a central thwart rather than a yoke - and the thwart has strut that runs down to the center rib.

I am trying to figure out a way to portage this thing:


Any ideas of portage pads that exist for this? Or do I need to just take out the whole thwart and put in a wooden yoke? (The center strut might still be in the way thought)"


First of all, that's a cool old canoe. 1977 was the first year that the Whitewater II was produced. It was Gene Jensen's first dedicated downriver racing design and is a forerunner of the Minnesota II and many other Jensen designs.

I've paddled a Whitewater X in center rib with only the bow shock absorber in place. It was a little flexy but not bad. You should be fine pulling the center shock and installing a yoke.

We install yokes using small aluminum brackets that slide up between the hull of the canoe and the inside of the gunwale. We cut the yoke about 1/4" short so we can leave a little space between the end of the yoke and bracket. The yoke is bolted to the bracket, fitted into the canoe and adjusted for balance. Then it's secured with three 1/2" rivets drilled through the outside of the canoe, through the bracket and into the end of the yoke.



We usually have brackets, bolts and rivets for sale in a kit, but we're very low on brackets right now and have paused selling them. You may be able to make your own from aluminum angle. We'll try to get them back up for sale on our website as soon as possible.

Enjoy that canoe. I'm sure it has some stories to tell!

Brian from Wenonah
 
07/02/2021 03:55PM  
 
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