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Agreed. Swift has been using 12 digits as long as I can remember. Should be good in any state. Is it possible the SWI prefix was not included in the correspondence?

FYI, I did find the Swift video in question, titled 'Video Owner's Manual - Solo Canoes'. In the video, owners are cautioned to lift the canoe with hands on the gunnels AND yoke (not just the yoke), to avoid transporting the canoe yoke attached, and to remove the detachable seats. It seemed as...

And why I thought it interesting. I've always wondered why, other than the Dagger Tupelo, no one ever offered a true sit-on-the-floor Royalex Pack canoe. Is that a Northstar seat on your Echo?

Be advised, there are smaller threaded inserts that secure the seats to the composite side pods in many of the late model solos. Best to be careful with those as well.

This is an example of a damaged insert and the hole that might be left after extraction. It would be interesting to see Black Fly's current state as well.

The problem is that the epoxy casting would still be surrounded by the foam core of the gunnel and dependent on that bond for strength. I think if this happened to me, I would push the insert down below the surface of the gunnel, cover it with a small patch and forget about it, as I'm not sure...

Yes, I am sure you are correct. If Swift would manufacture under the same standards as NASA or MILSPEC this threaded insert would not have failed under any circumstance, foreseen or unforeseen. But geez, I can no longer afford a new Swift now!

Well, in Swift's defense, no one has ever had an issue with the inserts if guidelines were followed (or at least no one has ever posted about it). 'Sloppy work' seems a bit harsh. I recall one issue when the boat was dropped and struck the insert, forcing it down into the gunnel; another when...

Both Swift and Placid Boatworks have odd-shaped composite gunnels that make yoke clamps a challenge. The inserts were supposed to offer an alternative to the fabric yokes, but neither ever appealed to me. Northstar's E6 gunnels have a shape that allows for conventional clamps, but that would...

Some folks over on the Swift FB Group have come up with some novel ideas (but not very pretty)

You converted an Esquif Echo into a pack canoe with whitewater outfitting? Interesting......

I remembered seeing this come up once before:

I am glad my Kee 14 came without the inserts, as they always seemed to catch my thumb mid-stroke when I had them on my Cruiser. When you look at the cross section of the Swift gunnels, it all seems so delicate; I really hope I never experience a solid impact. I don't know what the repair...

Well, if you are determined to give this a try, the Wenonah Fusion is available with a rudder, because it tracked so poorly without. You could mount a rudder in much the same way (readily available aftermarket) and disable the steering function, thus making it a drop down skeg. All mounting...

Great for smaller dogs, mine preferred the front hatch. I had the Mini Canak, it was a novel boat, but cumbersome to portage and transport.

Literally just doing this a couple of days ago. If you don't address sharp scratches in the gelcoat, it tends to propagate, as shown in this pic. When I have a color that's very hard to match, like this seafoam green, I will use Gflex and then mix automotive paint or Krylon to cover with an...

I have never paddled one, but I went to look at one a few years ago and noticed how much flex there was in the hull and passed on it. In the 80's and 90's the Katahdin line of fiberglass canoes were offered by Old Town (displacing the earlier Carleton line), and then the Stillwater line...

I had a 1985 Whisper (Gen1) in FG for a while. I still maintain, although I have no proof, I could paddle faster in it than my 1997 Advantage. The 50 pounds eventually got the best of me though. She was fast, but a bear to turn.

Sold my last Royalex boat last year, the venerable Old Town Pack. Getting old sucks when you can't lift 35 pounds over your head anymore. Both remaining boats now Kevlar, 28 pounds max.

I wish them luck, I do. I would have thought someplace like Florida would have been a better choice, though, given the demographics and year-round paddling opportunity.