We received the following letter and photos from one of our outfitters recently:

​

Hi All,

 

I thought you may find these pics interesting.  It's one of our old Wilderness 18 fleet canoes we sold used about six years ago, so I would estimate this to be 12-ish years old. The owner (a retired science teacher) painted the hull white for more UV protection.  In the second picture onward, all that he’s done was push out the hull. No repairs have been done.  There are three light stress marks between two of the ribs and of course the damage on the sides. There is no rib separation. If this were to have happened in the bush, this boat would still get you home without leaking once you cover the holes from the torn-out rivets. If anyone questions your materials/construction methods, show them this.