Elverson resident Dick Leone has a unique approach to the Schuylkill River Sojourn: he uses a different canoe each day, writes Evan Brandt for The Mercury. 

He owns 26 canoes in total, and some of them he helped to design, develop, and test, including the one he used recently. 

“We tested it against the fastest boat at the time and the fastest boats were made of Kevlar, so this boat had to be made light,” said Leone. “It’s only 24 pounds because each strip is balsa wood.” 

And while some might think that a new canoe for each day is a bit excessive, he disagrees. 

“You don’t play golf with just one club,” he explained. 

The 76-year-old Leone got interested in canoeing nearly half a century ago. 

“I got an aluminum canoe and started paddling,” he said. “I just wanted to be out in the wilderness. One thing led to another and here we are.” 

Over the years he has won a few 70- and 90-mile races, taken part in a national whitewater championship, and even paddled in a race between islands in Hawaii. 

Read more about Dick Leone in The Mercury. 

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