Souris River Canoes - Beneath the Kevlar
What makes these canoes tick - right from Wayne Docking - factory sales rep!

1. All of the canoes Souris River builds are constructed using Epoxy Resin. Epoxy is unquestionably superior to all other resins used in the canoe building industry. Most manufacturers use a Vinylester or Polyester type resin, both of which are much less expensive and much easier to work with. Epoxy is about double the price of those other resins. Because epoxy is difficult to work with, it doesn't lend itself to production line techniques preferred by high volume canoe builders. A canoe lay-up with epoxy resin give you a canoe that is much more durable and resilient to the rough treatment in a wilderness environment where most of our canoe end up. Not only are our canoes more resistant to impact damage but the incredible bonding quality of Epoxy makes delamination (cloth layer separation) virtually non-existent. In addition, an epoxy resin canoe, even in clear finish will not only look good years from now but it will also retain its resilience and impact absorbing qualities as well. A clear-coated Vinylester or Polyester resin canoe becomes brittle after extended exposure to sunlight as both have inferior UV resistance when compared to Epoxy.

2. All Souris River Canoes are hand-crafted, not production-lined with semi-automated processing. Epoxy resin is very unforgiving of careless handling, which is why most manufacturers avoid it. Our builders have learned the secrets of Epoxy and take the time to thoroughly soak the fabrics and remove the entrapped air to insure a flaw-free hull.

We are so confident in our building methods that we dare to build most of our canoes in clear finish. Almost 80% of our canoes are either clear Kevlar, Duralite, or Carbon finish. If you build a clear finish canoe and make a mistake, the consumer can see it. That's a pretty scary thought, but take a look at our finishes and you see extremely few mistakes. One thing is for sure, no other manufacturer builds a regular production clear finish canoe that consistently meets Souris River's standards. Why do you think so most other canoe manufacturers gel coat their canoes inside and out?

4. Regarding gel coat, the finish choice for most manufacturers, one would have to acknowledge that it does produce a beautiful showroom finish and it certainly hides the imperfections and mistakes, but does it add anything else to the quality of the canoe? The answer is no!! Gel coat (available in colors and clear) adds extra weight and if the manufacturer wants to be competitive in overall canoe weight they have to reduce the number of layers of fabric and thus sacrifice strength. Gel coat on impact will star crack, Epoxy resin won't. Gel coat does have pretty good abrasion resistance but it's more susceptible to color fade from UV exposure than our painted canoes. All canoes will retain their original finishes longer if stored out of the sun when not in use, especially clear finished canoes. This is not critical but certainly advised.

5. Souris River doesn't even use gel coat on colored canoes. We have opted instead to use a high quality automotive-type, paint finish. We have found it offers better UV resistance and will retain its original brilliance for several years. Yes, it does show scratches, as all colored surfaces do! For some paddlers, a well-scratched canoe is like a piece of antique furniture - it gets better with age. If you want to renew the finish it can be color-matched and touched up or repainted without problem.

6. Our Flexible Rib System design has been an unqualified success, especially in the rugged canoe tripping environments of Minnesota's Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and Ontario's Quetico Park where paddling down shallow creeks and trying to glide into sloppy portage entrances means riding over submerged logs and boulders. A Souris River Canoe bottom simply flexes over the obstacle encountered and pops back into shape again, day in and day out, year after year without damage as long as it's not stressed beyond reason. Out on the lake, this same flexible bottom provides more than ample support in any wave action one would ever reasonably paddle into. Flexible, YES! Strong, YOU BET! Our canoes have been fine-tuned to offer an excellent balance between stiffness and flexibility.

7. Souris River Canoe hull designs have evolved over several years of experimentation. We believe that with our present design we have achieved the ultimate balance between stability and glide characteristics. Our canoes not only look like they are a dream to paddle, they actually are! Stability and "Paddleablilty" are always a trade-off canoe builders have struggled with from day one. We think we've found the best balance between the two.

8. Souris River Canoes builds the best looking canoes available. Our customers not only get good looks in their canoe, however; they also receive a canoe with superior-handling qualities, ultra-light weight, and Epoxy resin construction to boot - all at competitive pricing. Dollar for dollar, they're miles ahead with a Souris River Canoe.