This seems like a good place to make my first post…
The first canoe of my own was anything but a virgin. She’s a 1983 Wenonah Jensen 17 and was once part of my father-in-law’s rental fleet. F-I-L sold his canoes off over time until only two remained. Those two canoes sat outside next to the establishment where he worked for over ten years. They sort of became community canoes, free to anyone who knew about them. Virgin? Yeah, right! It’s a miracle they were never stolen. Gotta love small towns, right? When F-I-L changed jobs he decided to take his canoes, keeping one for himself and giving the other to me.
Let’s just say he kept the nicer of the two. My hull is gouged, chipped, scraped, cracked and even punctured. Most of the damage occurred when someone (no one seems to remember who) took it to the Boundary Waters, apparently for the sole purpose of ramming into rocks. The ancient yellowed glue fix on the puncture has begun to leak, so a real fiber glass repair is due. It’s still my primary boat, even if there's a little duct tape on her right now… I compare it to the Millennium Falcon- fast but ugly.
The first canoe of my own was anything but a virgin. She’s a 1983 Wenonah Jensen 17 and was once part of my father-in-law’s rental fleet. F-I-L sold his canoes off over time until only two remained. Those two canoes sat outside next to the establishment where he worked for over ten years. They sort of became community canoes, free to anyone who knew about them. Virgin? Yeah, right! It’s a miracle they were never stolen. Gotta love small towns, right? When F-I-L changed jobs he decided to take his canoes, keeping one for himself and giving the other to me.
Let’s just say he kept the nicer of the two. My hull is gouged, chipped, scraped, cracked and even punctured. Most of the damage occurred when someone (no one seems to remember who) took it to the Boundary Waters, apparently for the sole purpose of ramming into rocks. The ancient yellowed glue fix on the puncture has begun to leak, so a real fiber glass repair is due. It’s still my primary boat, even if there's a little duct tape on her right now… I compare it to the Millennium Falcon- fast but ugly.
