Howdy guys!

I am on the fence about whether or not to purchase a Wenonah MN2 for $900. The boat definitely needs some work - it has one quarter-sized puncture in the bow and the entire hull looks like it needs refinishing. I am planning to go take a look at it tomorrow or the following day. I'm not afraid to put some work in and I am familiar with working with fiberglass and polyester/epoxy resins, but not kevlar. Is there anything I should know about that?

In the opinion of the many experienced paddlers and handy-folk here, does this sound like it'd be worth the effort? The work I am envisioning is removing all the gunnels, thwarts, etc., cleaning/sanding existing resin coat as needed, patching the hole, and then re-coating the entire hull with poly or epoxy resin (whatever Wenonah suggests).

I've never paddled this boat before, but I only read and hear great things about its tracking, weight, and abilities as a wilderness tripping boat. Coming up from paddling older aluminum and 'plastic' boats here...Thanks all!

Go for it. Know that kevlar is hard to cut. Hopefully epoxy.

Price is not irresistible for me but I'm sure you could resell and get your money out of it.

My opinion.

I would start at $600 after looking at it and see if they will come down. It looks like it has been setting outside which is hard on the Kevlar. It is much easier to repair a Kevlar canoe with fiberglass, Kevlar doesn’t sand and requires several coats of resin to get it smooth. Wenonah uses vinyl ester resin to build canoes. The MN2 is a good canoe for tripping, it will travel fast and haul a load. It doesn’t turn well and is a little twitchy when fishing with an empty canoe.

Carl

Good project boat, but imo $900 is too much.

It's definitely an older model. Have the owner send you a picture of the ID plate, you can decipher the year of build from that. Kevlar doesn't like UV rays. For $1400 to $1500 you should be able to find one that's much newer, and ready to paddle. At $900 it wouldn't take much to get up to that cost, especially if you consider your time.

Thank y’all for the replies and advice! I’ll go look at it today and see if there’s any other surprises. I’m a little worried about those dark splotches, maybe saturated foam core?

I should’ve mentioned that he’s asking 1500 for it at the moment, which is…pretty ridiculous and the reason it’s been sitting up for sale for over a month now I think! On a whim I messaged to ask if he’d take 900 for it and he reluctantly accepted, although he sounds motivated to see it gone. We’ll see just how motivated…

Thanks again!

Look for signs of brittleness from overexposure to the sun.
The dude is delusional if he sincerely thinks it's worth $1,400. A person could get that much for an older canoe IF it had been pampered & restored to almost pristine condition. I see signs of neglect.

That's an old boat--the "Kevlar 49"moniker hasn't been used for 30 years or so. $1500 is an absurd price. The serial number on the plate will give the year of manufacture--I'd guess late 80s when they changed the Whitewater II to the Minnesota 2. The hole, while patchable, gives me pause. To me, it suggests a brittle boat (Kevlar and FG get brittle after lots, and lots of UV). While the hole is easily patchable, I'd be concerned about the overall strength of the boat. I'm not sure how to test it other than beating on it and see if any cracks develop (!). Good luck!

$900 is too much for that. Many outfitters are selling canoes right now to make room for next years new fleet. Most are 1-3 years old, in very good condition, and repairs (if needed) have been done. Prices these days are ranging from $1400 - $1800 generally. These canoes have at least another 20 years left in them if you store them out of the sun. They will even store them for you over the winter until next spring. Many models to choose from. Support our great outfitters, they had a tough summer with the BWCA closed for a portion of it.

Don't buy it. The hull is seriously degraded from years of exposure to sunlight. It will puncture easily,, will break rather than flex. This once fine canoe is landfill material.

My offer would be to have him pay me $200 to take off his hands, then take to the land fill and use the money to buy a decent boat!

Banksiana: "Don't buy it. The hull is seriously degraded from years of exposure to sunlight. It will puncture easily,, will break rather than flex. This once fine canoe is landfill material."

Agree 100%. I wouldn't touch it. Take your $900 and put it toward a new one or much nicer used one. The hole will always be a hole even with a patch. Looks like it has been outside in UV all its life.

I'm not touching that boat w/ a pole personally

Thanks guys, I didn’t even bother to go look at it. Glad I asked! Will save that cash and put it toward a good boat in the future. It’s tough to find these down here in Texas it seems! Might have to make trip up to the bwca one of these days just to find the right one and spend a few days or weeks on the water while I’m at it. Cheers all!

Texas, eh? Born and raised next door in Cajun country. Settled in Ohio. I make a yearly 1800 miles round-trip drive to canoe-camp the BWCA. It's that special.

wrightscreek - Where are you down here in Texas? I'm in the Dallas area and I drive to MN and back at least once a year and have a canoe rack on my truck. I have a Wenonah Boundary Waters that is in very good condition (just refinished) that I may consider selling in the future.

Northwoodsman: "wrightscreek - Where are you down here in Texas? I'm in the Dallas area and I drive to MN and back at least once a year and have a canoe rack on my truck. I have a Wenonah Boundary Waters that is in very good condition (just refinished) that I may consider selling in the future."

I’m located in Austin, but wouldn’t think twice to make the trip up to Dallas. Keep me posted on that! Thanks

mjmkjun: "Texas, eh? Born and raised next door in Cajun country. Settled in Ohio. I make a yearly 1800 miles round-trip drive to canoe-camp the BWCA. It's that special.
"

That certainly makes it sound like it is! The lady and I are planning to spend some time traveling next year so she can work some travel nursing gigs while I work remotely - I think we’ll put somewhere close by the boundary waters on the list.

At a lot of outfitters you can rent a canoe then apply the rent towards the purchase of a canoe, new or used.

Northwoodsman: "$900 is too much for that. Many outfitters are selling canoes right now to make room for next years new fleet. Most are 1-3 years old, in very good condition, and repairs (if needed) have been done. Prices these days are ranging from $1400 - $1800 generally. These canoes have at least another 20 years left in them if you store them out of the sun. They will even store them for you over the winter until next spring. Many models to choose from. Support our great outfitters, they had a tough summer with the BWCA closed for a portion of it."

agree, many outfitters selling much better boats than that, $900 too much.

Too add to a few of the comments about trying out canoes, and potentially doing it in Ely. Piragis let me try out several canoes in one day. We picked up one took it down to Semer's beach, portaged it in, loaded it up, and paddled around for awhile. When we were done with one I returned it and swapped it out for another.

It was quite enlightening.
If you get a similar opportunity I recommend it.

Speaking from an outfitters point of view 900 is way too much money for that canoe.

Piragis bought some Wennoah Champlains From the Summers Boy Scout Base. Around $900. Give them a call and put down a deposit and it will be there next spring.
Carl