Canoe Colorado
Performance Canoes and Sea Kayaks

Canoe Colorado's  Canoe Tips:
Modifying the Royalex Wenonah Rendezvous

Modifying the Royalex We-no-nah Rendezvous?

Until 2004, there were a couple of quirks with the Royalex version of the Rendezvous. The problems manifested in several ways. Paddlers would complain about the boat not tracking properly, how it would wander and move off course. In whitewater several people found that waves would crash over the sides of the boat, even though it is 15" deep.

These problems were caused by the wrong sized thwarts and improper seat placement. The thwarts were not wide enough to create the flare that the composite Rendezvous has. The Royalex version was actually 3" narrower at the front thwart than the composite, and reducing 3" of flare made a huge difference in how the boat performs. The tracking problems are the result of the hung web seat being mounted 5" too far forward (for sitting), which made the Royalex Rendezvous too bow heavy to track properly.

We-no-nah is aware of these problems, and has changed their production process to eliminate the problems in future boats. However there are thousands of older Royalex Rendezvous out there, and so we created this page to help people fix their boats.

If you bought your Royalex Rendezvous from Canoe Colorado, we have already tried to contact you in regards to these modifications. If you have not heard from us, please Contact Us. We want you to have a boat that performs the way it was designed to. We will not charge our customers for the repair, although at this time We-no-nah does not consider it a warranty issue.

How to tell if your boat is bad

The most effective way is to measure it, with the measurements listed below. But if you are buying a Rendezvous from a dealer, there are some easier ways to tell.

If the boat has the 4 way adjustable seat, it is good. Those are the newest Rendezvous and have been solved by the factory.

If the boat has a fixed seat, that cannot raise and lower, it probably needs to be modified. Some 04 Rendezvous were fixed by We-no-nah, all 03 and earlier Rendezvous need this modification.

Comparing the old Royalex Rendezvous with a Kevlar Rendezvous

On the left is a picture of the bow section of an unimproved Royalex Rendezvous, and on the right is a Kevlar Rendezvous. Notice the radical difference in flare between the two boats? Without the flare, the Royalex version does not run dry in large waves. By adding flare, we make the boat an awesome river runner.

Specifications

Old Style Royalex Rendezvous

Length 15'10"

Rocker  2" bow  2 1/2" stern

Depth
17" at front grab handle
15" at front thwart
14 1/2" at seat
14 1/2" at rear thwart
17" at rear grab handle

Front Grab Handle
16" from bow
10" Outside width
6 1/2" Inside width

Front Thwart
65 1/2" from bow
24" Outside width
20 3/4" Inside Width

Seat
98" from bow
9" foot clearance
27 1/2" width at gunwales
24" Inside width at gunwales
8" from rear thwart

Rear Thwart
73 1/2" from stern
26" Outside width
22 3/4" Inside width

Rear Grab Handle
16" from stern
9 1/2" Outside width
5 3/4" Inside width

Composite Rendezvous

Length 15'10"

Rocker  2 1/2" bow  3 1/2" stern

Depth
17" at front grab handle
14" at front thwart
14" at seat
14" at rear thwart
15 1/2" at rear grab handle

Front Grab Handle
16" from bow
12" Outside width
9 3/4" Inside width

Front Thwart
64 1/2" from bow
26" Outside width
24" Inside width

Seat
89" from bow with 10 1/2" slide
Sliding pedestal
28 1/2" width at gunwales
26" inside width at gunwales
6 1/2" from rear thwart

Rear Thwart
72 1/2" from stern
27" Outside width
25" Inside width

Rear Grab Handle
16" from stern
10 1/2" Outside width
8" Inside width

Improved Royalex Rendezvous

Length 15'10"

Front Thwart
26 1/2" Outside width
22 3/4" Inside width

Seat
103" from bow

Rear Thwart
27 1/2" Outside width
23" Inside width

No Other Changes

Measurements of thwarts are from the middle of the thwart to the end of the boat.

Measurements of seats are from the front of the seat to the front of the boat, and from the rear of the seat to the rear thwart.

Inside and Outside widths are due to the width of the gunwales. On the Composite Rendezvous, the gunwale lip is to the outside of the boat. On the Royalex Rendezvous the gunwale lip in on the inside of the boar.

Rocker was measured by placing the boat on the floor of the shop, and measuring from the floor to a point just before the curve in the stem. The variation between bow and stern rocker is due to the asymmetric hull, and is an error with our measuring system, not the boat.

Modifying the boat

Equipment

Drill with 3/16" bit
Phillips head screwdriver
Crescent wrench
Pop Rivet Gun
8 3/16" Extra Long Black Pop Rivets
Ruler or tape measure
Pencil
Replacement Thwart
Saw

The Replacement Thwart and Pop Rivets are available from your We-no-nah dealer.

Time

About 2 hours

Process

This process describes modifying both the thwarts and moving the seat back 5" to better accommodate a sit down paddling position.

If you only kneel, then you do not need to move the seat. If the end of the seat is 103" from the bow, it is already in the right position.

The thwarts on Wenonah's Royalex canoes are held in place by a Phillips head bolt with a nylock nut. Remove the black bolt cover on the underside of the thwart by twisting it off. Put the wrench on the nut and unscrew both sides. The thwart can then be pushed down and off. Remove both thwarts this way. You will end up putting the rear thwart in place of the front, and cutting a new rear thwart for the boat.

Note: Some paddlers have commented that they did not get the proper performance from their boat by moving the seat. Those paddlers did not change out the thwarts. Changing out the thwarts is a critical step, it influences the rocker, flare, and overall performance of the boat. Failure to change the thwarts will not produce the desired changes to the boat!

Remove the seat by drilling out the three pop rivets on each side that hold the seat in place. These rivets hold the aluminum bracket from which the seat is suspended. In order to slide the seat back, it is necessary to remove the rivet just to the rear of the three holding the seat in place. This rivet is 4" behind the seat, and since we want to move the seat back 5" it may interfere with the mounting bracket, so we will remove it and possibly use it as one of the end mounting holes.

The three rivets you need to remove

The 3/16" bit in action

The seat just pushes out. Notice the holes in the far bracket.

With the thwarts and seat removed, it is now time to reassemble your Rendezvous.

Turn the rear thwart around and install it in place of the front thwart. This will increase the flare in the bow by 2 1/2". The rear thwart can be seen above next to the old front thwart. Wrapped around the rear, now new front thwart it the We-no-nah Owners Manual (the photographed modification was done on a new Rendezvous).

Installing the thwart is the reverse of removing it. Just screw it back in, tighten the nut, and slide the little plastic protector over the end.

With the front thwart installed, it is time to reinstall the seat. Place the seat brackets back under the gunwales. You want to slide the seat back 2" - 5" from where it was originally mounted. It should be 103" from the bow. Once the seat is tight against the gunwales, and in the proper location, use a 3/16" bit and drill through the existing holes in the gunwale. You will be putting new holes in the mounting plate. With the pop rivet gun, re-rivet the 8 rivets you removed with the seat.

Take the new uncut thwart (seen above with the old front thwart) and set it next to the rear thwart mounting holes. You will need to mark the new thwart, so that you can cut it to size, drill the mounting holes, and remount it in place of the old thwart. The old front thwart is a handy template. The new thwart will be 1 1/2" wider than the old front thwart, or 3/4" wider on each side. Use the old thwart to test the drill hole location, and then transfer that location on the new thwart.

Notice how the flare is increased? This new Rendezvous will outperform the old, and it only took a few minor modifications.

Suggestions

While you have the seat removed, you can also change the height and pitch of the seat. To make the seat higher, for more legroom, trim the top off the mounting bracket.