A short video on the origin and history of the Wenonah Canoe Company by founder and owner Mike "Born to Paddle" Cichanowski.
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Video: The Origin of Wenonah Canoe
- Thread starter Glenn MacGrady
- Start date
Thanks for the video Glenn.
Met Mike in '83 or '84, can't remember exactly.
Fox river just out of Aurora, IL. I was up there on business, and just happened to find out about the event.
It was a Olympic qualifying event. It was the first time I had ever seen pure racing. Remember the coat hanger wire frames around their necks holding the bite valves and tubing for the hydration bladders that were laying behind them. True athletes, with an extreme level of fitness.
I was there as a spectator, and Mike and I visited riverside for quite a while. Interesting guy. Didn't know who he was until way into the visit.
He was there to get feed back about how his race boats were performing. I learned a lot in a short while just listening and playing sponge.
We ribbed each other about how funny each of us sounded to the other. His Minnesota and my Louisiana.
Nice guy.
Met Mike in '83 or '84, can't remember exactly.
Fox river just out of Aurora, IL. I was up there on business, and just happened to find out about the event.
It was a Olympic qualifying event. It was the first time I had ever seen pure racing. Remember the coat hanger wire frames around their necks holding the bite valves and tubing for the hydration bladders that were laying behind them. True athletes, with an extreme level of fitness.
I was there as a spectator, and Mike and I visited riverside for quite a while. Interesting guy. Didn't know who he was until way into the visit.
He was there to get feed back about how his race boats were performing. I learned a lot in a short while just listening and playing sponge.
We ribbed each other about how funny each of us sounded to the other. His Minnesota and my Louisiana.
Nice guy.
Good video, very down to Earth and authentic.
Those guys are pretty lean! Probably why the tractor seats in my old Wenonah race boats fit my daughter better than me.
Those guys are pretty lean! Probably why the tractor seats in my old Wenonah race boats fit my daughter better than me.
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When I first got my Northstar North Wind solo I took it for a paddle, on a local lake, and tried to do sit-n-switch.
I could barely get two strokes a side.
I decided I'd need a boat that tracks better, if I wanted to do sit-n-switch.
But tracking isn't just about rocker, it's about length too.
A 16' canoe with one inch of rocker might track as well as a 15' canoe with no rocker?
The theory behind asymmetrical rocker is you get a boat that both turns and tracks.
How well that works, in practice, is open for debate but it seems to be pretty well accepted.
Even some marathon racing canoes have asymmetrical rocker.
Then there is the separate issue with how far up the sides the widest point is.
It's been a long time since I've paddled a Wenonah. I know I liked my Encounter. It would be interesting to have a Northstar and a Wenonah on the same BWCAW trip and switch boats a few times. Or, more relevant for me, a flatwater river trip.
I could barely get two strokes a side.
I decided I'd need a boat that tracks better, if I wanted to do sit-n-switch.
But tracking isn't just about rocker, it's about length too.
A 16' canoe with one inch of rocker might track as well as a 15' canoe with no rocker?
The theory behind asymmetrical rocker is you get a boat that both turns and tracks.
How well that works, in practice, is open for debate but it seems to be pretty well accepted.
Even some marathon racing canoes have asymmetrical rocker.
Then there is the separate issue with how far up the sides the widest point is.
It's been a long time since I've paddled a Wenonah. I know I liked my Encounter. It would be interesting to have a Northstar and a Wenonah on the same BWCAW trip and switch boats a few times. Or, more relevant for me, a flatwater river trip.
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