Souris River Canoes combined our designing knowledge with that of Gary McGuffin, renowned adventure photographer, and Skip Izon, a world class canoe and rowing shell designer. The result of this collaboration is the Skeena, an innovative whitewater tripping model, that performs extremely well in whitewater and, surprisingly for a river profile, is pretty passable on lakes.

​

As Souris River has the well deserved reputation as builder of the most resilient canoe hulls in the ultra-light market, the next logical step was to test our expertise in the world of whitewater canoes. Our whitewater expedition layup consists of our tough epoxy resin combined with KEVLAR®, polyester cloth and other fabrics. The Skeena has finally emerged and results have proven to be quite amazing. Those who believed that no composite canoe could stand up to wild river conditions now need to rethink that premise.

​

Not only will it survive whitewater abuse, but it will prove to be a much better paddling canoe on the rest of the river and out across the lakes as well. In fact, the Skeena is not just a river canoe. Its high volume design makes this an excellent canoe for big lakes like Superior. And don’t let the size of this canoe fool you – she’s faster than she looks. Note that while she glides well on lakes, she tracks like a river canoe; that is she turns on a dime, but will take some effort to paddle in a straight line.

​

The Skeena will be especially appreciated when you have to pick it up on the portages and place it on your shoulders. The Skeena may be just a shade over 16½ feet but it is a hefty hull in many ways except in weight. At 52 pounds (in the whitewater layup), it is upwards of 30 pounds lighter than a comparable plastic hull. This canoe is raising some eyebrows and generating interest among whitewater enthusiasts.