I'm considering selling my Wenonah Champlain that I purchased used in 2017. One of the options I'm considering to replace it is purchasing a new Champlain. Wondering if anyone here owns or has used any of Wenonah's canoes in their IB ultralight layup and has any feedback on the look or function.

I'm biased. I got mine used and I love the look. Goes nicely with Wenonah's black aluminum gunwales. As far as function I honestly don't know the facts but I think it adds a pound or two and should help a tiny bit with impact resistance (not sure about abrasion resistance since it's under gelcoat). I treat it like lightweight kevlar (I'm kind to it but don't baby it) and enjoy a little extra peace of mind even if it's not justified. :)

justpaddlin: "I'm biased. I got mine used and I love the look. Goes nicely with Wenonah's black aluminum gunwales. As far as function I honestly don't know the facts but I think it adds a pound or two and should help a tiny bit with impact resistance (not sure about abrasion resistance since it's under gelcoat). I treat it like lightweight kevlar (I'm kind to it but don't baby it) and enjoy a little extra peace of mind even if it's not justified. :)
"

Ok, maybe I have misunderstood the Wenonah approach for years... I was under the impression that Wenonah only puts a thin, clear gelcoat on top of their aramid boats. They call it a skincoat. Do they actually put a "full thickness" clear gel coat on the entire hull? Or just the bottom part of the hull?

justpaddlin: "I'm biased. I got mine used and I love the look. Goes nicely with Wenonah's black aluminum gunwales. As far as function I honestly don't know the facts but I think it adds a pound or two and should help a tiny bit with impact resistance (not sure about abrasion resistance since it's under gelcoat). I treat it like lightweight kevlar (I'm kind to it but don't baby it) and enjoy a little extra peace of mind even if it's not justified. :)




"

Looks nice!

Kendis: "

justpaddlin: "I'm biased. I got mine used and I love the look. Goes nicely with Wenonah's black aluminum gunwales. As far as function I honestly don't know the facts but I think it adds a pound or two and should help a tiny bit with impact resistance (not sure about abrasion resistance since it's under gelcoat). I treat it like lightweight kevlar (I'm kind to it but don't baby it) and enjoy a little extra peace of mind even if it's not justified. :)
"

Ok, maybe I have misunderstood the Wenonah approach for years... I was under the impression that Wenonah only puts a thin, clear gelcoat on top of their aramid boats. They call it a skincoat. Do they actually put a "full thickness" clear gel coat on the entire hull? Or just the bottom part of the hull?"

Brian here from Wenonah,

Kendis is correct that our ultralight canoes are constructed with a "skin coat" rather than a full thickness gel coat. The skin coat is a very thin layer of resin that covers the outer surface of the canoe. Eliminating gel coat saves a considerable amount of weight in the finished canoe.

Justpaddlin is correct, too. IB is very similar in performance to our standard ultralight aramid construction.

Our IB construction is made by replacing the outer layer of aramid fabric in an ultralight aramid canoe with an Innegra/aramid weave. The Innegra fabric absorbs resin in a slightly different way than aramid fabric does and this results in a slight increase in weight over our ultralight aramid construction. There is no extra gel coat on these models.

Technically speaking, the Innegra fabric may slightly increase impact resistance in these canoes, but the biggest reason that most people choose an IB canoe is the looks.

Our IB construction allow you to get the proven performance, durability and light weight of our ultralight aramid canoes in something that looks distinctly different.

Hope this clears up any confusion.

Brian