Considering a Kevlar Wenonah Fisherman or maybe Kingfisher but would like to hear how your Kevlar canoe has held up. I understand the pro’s and cons but would be interested in real life experience with one of these from a fisherman’s perspective.
Will be stored inside but I’m a bit spooked after reading that kevlar and UV are not a good mix. ?? I’m probably worrying needlessly, but…
Thx
The UV deal I believe is more focused on the Epoxy resin and not the fabric itself. Epoxy resin gets discolored but still remains effective for many years. Add uv stabilizers or pigments and you’d never know it.
I did have a friend that sold those in his outfitter shop, and he got a lot of positive feedback, but I don’t have any personal use experience with them myself.
Mike - I believe you’re right. More the epoxy piece of the Kevlar construction.
I had one (an Old Town Canadienne) that I just sold earlier this week. I kept her up on saw horses, covered with a tarp. The canoe was 36 years old and still looked great! Keep good wax on it, cover it or better yet, store it inside. BTW, there is a really nice Kingfisher for sale down in the Keys. I think the seller wants about $1500 for it. FB Marketplace.
If you keep it stored inside you have nothing to worry about. They start to look ugly if you store them outside, and the resin starts looking chalky. Kevlar canoes are awesome, but not super great if you are going to be dragging them across oysters. If you found a deal on a kevlar canoe they are super light, easy to portage and throw up on a cartop. If you want tough and affordable an old Winonah royalex or the new T-Formex canoes are pretty awesome and great for dragging over stuff and not having to worry as much about damage from UV, Shells, etc. I still use a 20+yr old Royalex solo canoe that has been dragged over just about anything you can imagine, and though battle scarred it is still going strong.
I have a t-formex kingfisher and I love it.
Really couldn’t imagine getting a smaller one. It’s practically perfect in every way.
Only fault is it is a little slow. Coming from a narrower round bottom thing thing feels like it’s dragging. I would assume the lighter construction options would be much faster as they’re stiffer but with mostly duck hunting and fly fishing with it I am very happy with the more durable design
I’ve haven’t completely ruled out the Tformex version for the reasons mentioned, but have kinda decided that if I really want a lightweight canoe, go all in. Buy once, cry once. First I’m gonna buy a beater on FB for $200-300 and make sure I actually like fishing out of a canoe.
I have a Whenonah Wilderness in tough weave and Champlain in kevlar. I love fishing and hunting out of my wilderness…. It makes me wish we had more no motor zones in Alabama. I take the wife and kids in the Champlain. I really like the tough weave with gelcoat. I can be a little harder on it than my Kevlar boat and its still light enough to get on my car.
There is either a kingfisher or fisherman at the Fairhope Boat Co that is brand new and the guy has them marked down $800 trying to sell them. If your up this way you can get a good deal on a new one.
Pulled this off their FB page. I believe he still has them. one kingfisher with 3 seats and a kevlar fisherman.
I’ve been torn between a good kevlar canoe and an L2Fish paddleboard. 
I’m just looking for something to use till I can get back in a proper skiff. How do these canoes compare to the L2Fish? Anyone with experience care to share?
No worries they are tough, I have a Wenonah Solo Plus, tough weave/kevlar, I store it inside but it’s very resistant and great to fish off.
I like the canoe barn! Nice.
Two different monsters. I’ve experiened both being an L4 and a Kingfisher Canoe.
The difference is that the L2 and L4 are catamaran hulls, you are going to have a hell of a time paddling to turn them “on a dime.” On the contrary the Kingfisher, Fisherman etc canoes are more flat bottomed and the water essentially glides under them.
I was dock fishing at night in a Forum members kingfisher and was surprised, had I been in the same spot in my L4 (Without my powered rig setup) the water would’ve been much harder to navigate when being sideways against the current.
If you are wanting a bare bones, “analog” experience of using paddles and a basic anchor go canoe. If you want to make a temporary microskiff with an L4/L2 with an outboard, trolling motor, cooler seat etc then get a l2/l4.
That said, I have a fully rigged out L4 with 6hp tohatsu, micro powerpole, and a autoboat smart trolling motor. I’m expecting my skiff in November so will be selling it, trailer included, for 50-60% off retail. If you’re interesting in discussing at all PM me. I’m Located in FL near Stuart.
Thanks for the feedback.
I like the L2fish a lot but I’m looking to keep it as simple as possible. They look really cool all rigged out but I think I would need a trailer. When I had my kayak I hated how complicated it was to launch due to having too much stuff.
A canoe would probably be the easiest route but I’m wondering if a Wenonah or similar is really justified over something much cheaper.
Lol, I should just finish my skiff but with fall approaching I want to be on the river instead.
Simple would be the canoe route. The L2 and L4 are really meant, in my opinion, to be rigged out with the cat style hull.
I’m expecting my skiff in November, and am gearing to purchase a Wenonah as a toss it on the roof solo paddle option. The L4 rig will be sold, its great, but with how it’s rigged I think it’s a stepping stone into a skiff where you can decide if you’re sticking with this or not. I’ll be selling my whole setup trailer and all for about 5-6k.
@FlatsHunter Welcome aboard!!
Thanks! 
Have you seen the “Swift” brand carbon canoes from Canada? They are beautiful n
