OUR HULL, OUR HERITAGE

HERITAGE:

The name “Winnipeg Yawl” reflects our boats’ heritage. Historically, the term “yawl” referred to a small, general-purpose working boat. Similar boats have been used around the world for centuries. The Winnipeg Yawl is based on an Icelandic design that was likely brought to the Lake Winnipeg area of Manitoba by settlers in the late 1800s. Commercial fishermen on Lake Winnipeg initially used wooden fishing yawls powered by oars. From the 1950s through the 1970s, they gradually transitioned to outboard motors and fiberglass hulls.

SAFETY AND VERSATILITY:

For generations, fishing families in the Gimli area of Manitoba relied on the yawl for their livelihoods in the unforgiving waters of Lake Winnipeg, the 11th-largest freshwater lake in the world. They needed a reliable, durable boat that could carry heavy loads of fish and bring them safely home to their families day after day.

The Winnipeg Yawl’s semi-displacement hull has a very low center of gravity, significant bow flare that helps it cut through rough water, and high gunwales. Together, these characteristics create a versatile, stable, and safe boat.

Today, its rough-water capability makes the Winnipeg Yawl well suited to fishing, family outings, comfortable cruising, and carrying a variety of loads. Its semi-displacement hull also provides efficient fuel use across a wide range of speeds.

THE WINNIPEG YAWL TODAY:

Our president, Mitchell Johnson, first saw the “Gimli Yawl”—as it was then known—in the early 1990s. During a fishing trip on Reindeer Lake in Saskatchewan, Canada, Mitchell and his fishing party were unable to fish because of severe weather.
Then they saw three boats making their way across the lake. They could hardly believe it. Not only were these unfamiliar boats operating in the severe weather, but they were also making remarkably good time. The operators explained that the boats were “Gimli Yawls” and that they had to cross the lake in those conditions to attend a funeral.

Mitchell later stopped in Gimli, Manitoba, on the shores of Lake Winnipeg, where he met Mark Hjorleifson, the shop foreman at Star North Marine. Mark built boats for commercial gillnetters on Lake Winnipeg and was also a fisherman himself. He began working at Star North Marine at age 19 and helped transition the Yawl from its traditional wooden construction into the modern era of fiberglass during the 1970s.

Mitchell bought a boat, beginning a decades-long appreciation for the Yawl. Lake of the Woods Boatworks is proud of its longstanding friendship and partnership with Star North Marine—a relationship spanning more than 40 years. Today, Lake of the Woods Boatworks is the exclusive manufacturer of the proven, rough-water-ready Winnipeg Yawl.

For pricing, availability, and purchasing information, contact our authorized dealer, 7 Flags Outdoors in International Falls, Minnesota.