With the news that Esquif is back in business, I feel I should qualify this statement. All our Preludes were made the first year that Esquif was making them--2008. Even the boat I bought from Appomattox in October 2014 was a 2008 and the warranty boat Esquif sent me in January 2015 was a 2008 hull.My wife and I have 5 Preludes, 4 of which have cracked in the last 6 months and two of which have cracked twice now in that time period. Only one of the cracks was legitimate in my mind--a bad eddy move in which I ended up sitting on a very sharp rock. As a result, my confidence in the boat as manufactured by Esquif has suffered.
Compared to Blackfly Option, the 2008 Prelude plastic is softer and thinner. Remarkably though the first 2008 Prelude I had lasted 5 years before cracking and my wife's 3 years. So I did had a lot of confidence in them for a while. Enough to buy a third and fourth Prelude.
I'd be interested in the experiences of anyone with a Prelude hull that is newer than 2008. My hope is that their manufacturing improved. I'm pretty sure they had production runs in subsequent years. I once saw a 2011 hull advertised for sale by a dealer.
I hope the best for Esquif in introducing T-Formex and helping other canoe manufacturers keep producing their former Royalex hulls. And for those of us who love the Prelude and L'edge, I hope Esquif perfects its PE manufacturing. Both are excellent designs.
Go Esquif!