YOU BAIT US WITH THIS WONDERFUL DESCRIPTION AND THEN...no pics? Some people!Kept my eye on Craigslist and got an Old Towne Tripper 17' red in excellent physical shape but showing sun fading and scratches. It has Kevlar skid plates on either end. Got that one for $350 which is a bargain for a Royalex canoe which are unobtainium on the new market. A year later I got an identical red Tripper with Kevlar skids in the exact condition. They look like they were purchased together new and had the same use. On my FJ62 with Yakima 78" cross bars on A1 towers the fronts are too low and block vision of street lights etc. On my Excursion this is not a problem but putting them up there is tougher. I have a full length Wilderness rack and looking at pics in this thread, I should be fine on vision with the extra height of that rack vs the Yakima.