About Marathon Canoe Construction
Proven designs,
built to be stiff, light and strong
To win races, a canoe must be well designed, of course. But stiffness is also cruitial or performance is lost. We build our proven designs using advanced techniques to create the stiffest possible hull without excess weight.
We've perfected our methods to deliver the best balance of stiffness, strength and weight. A few builders have made hulls a pound or so lighter, but these canoes are extremely fragile, and very costly.
For example, our foam-core is the same type that is used in the aerospace industry. Ours is made to our specifications, and we hand pick each for perfectly uniform cell structure.
Our side-ribs are 1/4" thick. Thinner ribs would save some weight, but we found that thinner ribs harmed strength and stiffness too much. We also use a thicker side-rib (3/8") where seat hardware or a foot brace is attached to the sides of the hull. An aluminum plate is laminated onto the rib, and the hardware is rivetted through the plate into the rib. This results in a stronger attachment, and also eliminates rivet heads on the exterior of the hull that could chip a paddle.
We've been building marathon canoes for more than 30 years. We've found what works and what doesn't. Our highly-competitive designs have an excellent blend of strength, stiffness and light-weight, at a reasonable price.
How we build marathon canoes
We build marathon hulls From Kevlar or graphite. All of our marathon hulls have the following characteristics no matter what fabric they are built from:
- A rigid PVC structural-foam core is laminated into the bilge and PVC-foam ribs are laminated into the side to stiffen the hull.
- The hull is vacuum-cured for a perfectly-uniform lamination with a very high ratio of strength to weight.
- Sliding composite seats, adjustable foot brace, 3/4" thick wood inwales, and marine-anodized aircraft-grade aluminum thwarts are standard.
Kevlar Ultra-light construction:
A full layer of 5 oz. Kevlar fabric outside and a full layer of 2 oz. Kevlar fabric inside with a rigid PVC core and side-ribs and additional Kevlar and fiberglass reinforcements in strategic areas. Tandems include a waterline wood bulkhead in the center and a wood butt-block in the bow.
Kevlar Ultra-light with graphite bulkheads:
A full layer of 5 oz. Kevlar fabric outside and a full layer of 2 oz. Kevlar fabric inside with a rigid PVC core and side-ribs and additional Kevlar and fiberglass reinforcements in strategic areas. Tandems include a graphite-skinned bulkhead at the bow and stern seats and a graphite-skinned waterline bulkhead in the center and a wood butt-block in the bow. Solos have a graphite-skinned center bulkhead.
Graphite Ultra-light with graphite bulkheads:
A full layer of 5 oz. graphite fabric outside and a full layer of 2 oz. Kevlar fabric inside with a rigid PVC core and side-ribs and additional Kevlar reinforcements in strategic areas. Tandems include a graphite-skinned bulkhead at the bow and stern seats and a graphite-skinned waterline bulkhead in the center and a wood butt-block in the bow. Solos have a graphite-skinned center bulkhead. |
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About Recreational Racer/Cruising Canoe Construction
High-performance,
versatile canoes
Construction methods for our recreational racers/cruisers are similar to our marathon canoes, but these hulls are built to withstand heavier use, and more diverse conditions. These are highly-efficient designs, but not so radical that a less-experience paddler can't control them. These hulls are frequently raced in local competitions, paddled for exercise, or for fast cruising..
Royalex:
This construction consists of a core layer that is thicker in cruicial areas, two substrates, and two skins plus additional layers of material in bow, bilge and stern. The Royalex material provides floatation, so no end-tanks are used. A highly durable material that's strong, flexible and abrasion resistent, Royalex is the preferred material for a canoe to be used on large, tumbling rapids, or on shallow, rocky streams. Black vinyl gunwales, wood thwarts, an ash yoke and wood-framed web-seats are standard.
Kevlar Flex-core:
These have a full layer of 5 oz. Kevlar fabric on both the interior and exterior. A core material with limited flex is laminated into the bilge. Additional Kevlar and fiberglass fabric reinforce targetted areas. By increasing the thickness of the hull, side-ribs can be eliminated. End floatation tanks, marine-anodized aluminum trim, and bucket seats are standard.
Because the hull wall of these canoes is thicker than the Ultra-light core construction, this method is heavier, but this construction allows some flex under stress, so these hulls are more rugged and are also lower cost.
Kevlar Ultra-light:
These have a full layer of 5 oz. Kevlar fabric on the interior and a full layer of 5 oz. Kevlar on the exterior with a rigid PVC core and side-ribs and additional Kevlar and fiberglass reinforcements in strategic areas. We also use a thicker side-rib (3/8") where seat hardware or a foot brace is attached to the sides of the hull. An aluminum plate is laminated into the rib, and the hardware is rivetted through the plate into the rib. This results in a stronger attachment, and also eliminates rivet heads on the exterior of the hull that could chip a paddle.
This is our most-popular construction. It is very light and stiff, and delivers excellent performance. End floatation tanks, marine-anodized aluminum trim, and bucket seats are standard.
Graphite Ultra-light:
These have a full layer of 5 oz. Graphite fabric on the exterior and a full layer of 5 oz. Kevlar inside with a rigid PVC core and side-ribs and additional Kevlar and fiberglass reinforcements in strategic areas. We also use a thicker side-rib (3/8") where seat hardware or a foot brace is attached to the sides of the hull. An aluminum plate is laminated into the rib, and the hardware is rivetted through the plate into the rib. This results in a stronger attachment, and also eliminates rivet heads on the exterior of the hull that could chip a paddle. End floatation tanks are eliminated to save weight. Black aluminum trim and bucket seats are standard.
This is our lightest construction. It is extremely-light and stiff, but is not as rugged as our other constructions. |
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