OUR HULL, OUR HERITAGE
HERITAGE:
The name “Winnipeg Yawl” defines our boats’ heritage. The term “yawl” historically refers to any small general-purpose working boat. Similar boats have been used across the world for centuries.
The Winnipeg Yawl is an Icelandic design, and was likely brought to the Lake Winnipeg, Manitoba area by settlers in the late 1800s. Commercial fishermen on Lake Winnipeg began fishing in wood “fishing yawls” powered by oars, and gradually transitioned to outboard motors and fiberglass hulls from the 1950s to the 1970s.
SAFETY AND VERSATILITY:
Fishing families in the Gimli, Manitoba area relied on the “yawl” for years for their livelihood in the unforgiving waters of Lake Winnipeg, the 11th largest freshwater lake in the world. They required a reliable, durable boat that could haul heavy loads of fish and return safely home to their families day-after-day.
The Winnipeg Yawl’s semi-displacement hull has a very low center of gravity, it has a significant bow flare to “knife” through rough water, and its high gunnels all combine to provide a versatile, stable, safe boat.
Today, its rough-water capability makes for a versatile boat for fishing and families, comfortable cruising, and efficient fuel usage at a variety of speeds and loads.
THE WINNIPEG YAWL TODAY:
Our president, Mitchell Johnson, first saw the “Gimli Yawl” – as it was then known – in the early 1990s. While on a fishing trip on Reindeer Lake in Saskatchewan, Canada, Mitchell and his fishing party were unable fish because of terrible weather.
Then, he and his companions saw three boats making their way across the lake. They couldn’t believe it. Not only were these mystery boats out in the terrible weather, they were making very good time. The boat drivers said they were “Gimli Yawls,” and that they had to get across the lake in that weather to attend a funeral.
Mitchell stopped in at Gimli, Manitoba – on the shores of Lake Winnipeg – and met the shop foreman at Star North Marine – Mark Hjorleifson. Mark not only built the boats for the commercial gill-netters on Lake Winnipeg, but he was a fisherman himself. He began working at Star North Marine at 19 years old, and helped to bring “the Yawl” from a wooden boat to the modern era of fiberglass in the 1970s.
Mitchell bought a boat. Hence was born a decades-long love of “the yawl.” Lake of the Woods Boatworks prides itself on a unique 40-year friendship and partnership with Star North Marine. They partner together to exclusively build the tried-and- true rough water Winnipeg Yawl for the boating public.
