BoatBanter.com - View Single Post - lightweight, abrasion-resistant canoe?

John Ramsay

wrote:

Is it possible to find a lightweight tandem canoe (~50 lbs) that is
also reasonably abrasion-resistant? We paddle in fla****er conditions,
but we scratch rocks with the bottom a lot - e.g. paddling in High
Sierra lakes. They say Kevlar is abrasion-sensitive, but exactly how
sensitive is not clear. The canoe we've been using - Royalex Wenonah
Spirit II - is 68 lbs and too heavy for me and my wife to portage.
Also, it does not cut through water well. Kevlar and Royalex are the
only materials I've heard of. I've paddled a Kevlar canoe in the
Tupper lake region in ADK and loved it, but the Sierras are much more
rockier, so, I am afraid to ruin an expensive boat if I get a Kevlar
one. I am not a very diligent paddler either.

Kevlar is subject to surface scratches. I have a fairly light tandem
canoe, less than 50 lbs,
and it scratched easily but not deeply.

As suggested, you might try a tough inflatable.