diff --git a/src/riak_kv_wterl_backend.erl b/src/riak_kv_wterl_backend.erl
index f4401c8..51a11cd 100644
--- a/src/riak_kv_wterl_backend.erl
+++ b/src/riak_kv_wterl_backend.erl
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@
 -record(state, {conn :: wterl:connection(),
                 table :: string(),
                 session :: wterl:session(),
-                cursors :: ets:tid(),
+                cursor :: wterl:cursor(),
                 partition :: integer()}).
 
 -type state() :: #state{}.
@@ -93,17 +93,17 @@ start(Partition, Config) ->
             AppStart = case application:start(wterl) of
                            ok ->
                                ok;
-                           {error, {already_started, _}} ->
+                           {error, {already_started, _Pid}}=_AppStartError ->
                                ok;
-                           {error, Reason} ->
+                           {error, Reason}=AppStartError ->
                                lager:error("Failed to start wterl: ~p", [Reason]),
-                               {error, Reason}
+                               AppStartError
                        end,
             case AppStart of
                 ok ->
                     ok = filelib:ensure_dir(filename:join(DataRoot, "x")),
                     SessionMax =
-                        case app_helper:get_env(riak_core, ring_creation_size) of
+                        case app_helper:get_prop_or_env(ring_creation_size, Config, riak_core) of
                             undefined -> 1024;
                             RingSize when RingSize < 512 -> 1024;
                             RingSize -> RingSize * 2
@@ -149,15 +149,12 @@ start(Partition, Config) ->
 
 %% @doc Stop the wterl backend
 -spec stop(state()) -> ok.
-stop(#state{conn=ConnRef, session=SRef, cursors=undefined}) ->
+stop(#state{conn=ConnRef, session=SRef, cursor=undefined}) ->
     ok = wterl:session_close(SRef),
     wterl_conn:close(ConnRef);
-stop(#state{cursors=Cursors}=State) ->
-    ets:foldl(fun({_Table, Cursor}, _) ->
-                      ok = wterl:cursor_close(Cursor)
-              end, true, Cursors),
-    ets:delete(Cursors),
-    stop(State#state{cursors=undefined}).
+stop(#state{cursor=Cursor}=State) ->
+    ok = wterl:cursor_close(Cursor),
+    stop(State#state{cursor=undefined}).
 
 %% @doc Retrieve an object from the wterl backend
 -spec get(riak_object:bucket(), riak_object:key(), state()) ->
@@ -166,13 +163,14 @@ stop(#state{cursors=Cursors}=State) ->
                  {error, term(), state()}.
 get(Bucket, Key, #state{session=SRef, table=Table}=State) ->
     WTKey = to_object_key(Bucket, Key),
-    case wterl:cursor_search(shared_cursor(SRef, Table, State), WTKey) of
+    Cursor = shared_cursor(SRef, Table, State),
+    case wterl:cursor_search(Cursor, WTKey) of
         {ok, Value} ->
-            {ok, Value, State};
+            {ok, Value, State#state{cursor=Cursor}};
         not_found  ->
-            {error, not_found, State};
+            {error, not_found, State#state{cursor=Cursor}};
         {error, Reason} ->
-            {error, Reason, State}
+            {error, Reason, State#state{cursor=Cursor}}
     end.
 
 %% @doc Insert an object into the wterl backend.
@@ -185,11 +183,12 @@ get(Bucket, Key, #state{session=SRef, table=Table}=State) ->
                  {error, term(), state()}.
 put(Bucket, PrimaryKey, _IndexSpecs, Val, #state{table=Table, session=SRef}=State) ->
     WTKey = to_object_key(Bucket, PrimaryKey),
-    case wterl:cursor_insert(shared_cursor(SRef, Table, State), WTKey, Val) of
+    Cursor = shared_cursor(SRef, Table, State),
+    case wterl:cursor_insert(Cursor, WTKey, Val) of
         ok ->
-            {ok, State};
+            {ok, State#state{cursor=Cursor}};
         {error, Reason} ->
-            {error, Reason, State}
+            {error, Reason, State#state{cursor=Cursor}}
     end.
 
 %% @doc Delete an object from the wterl backend
@@ -201,11 +200,12 @@ put(Bucket, PrimaryKey, _IndexSpecs, Val, #state{table=Table, session=SRef}=Stat
                     {error, term(), state()}.
 delete(Bucket, Key, _IndexSpecs, #state{table=Table, session=SRef}=State) ->
     WTKey = to_object_key(Bucket, Key),
-    case wterl:cursor_remove(shared_cursor(SRef, Table, State), WTKey) of
+    Cursor = shared_cursor(SRef, Table, State),
+    case wterl:cursor_remove(Cursor, WTKey) of
         ok ->
-            {ok, State};
+            {ok, State#state{cursor=Cursor}};
         {error, Reason} ->
-            {error, Reason, State}
+            {error, Reason, State#state{cursor=Cursor}}
     end.
 
 %% @doc Fold over all the buckets
@@ -350,18 +350,17 @@ callback(_Ref, _Msg, State) ->
 %% Internal functions
 %% ===================================================================
 
-shared_cursor(SRef, Table, #state{cursors=undefined}=State) ->
-    Cursors = ets:new(?MODULE, []),
-    shared_cursor(SRef, Table, State#state{cursors=Cursors});
-shared_cursor(SRef, Table, #state{cursors=Cursors}=State) ->
-    case ets:lookup(Cursors, Table) of
-        [{Table, Cursor}] ->
-            {Cursor, State};
-        _ ->
-            Cursor = wterl:cursor_open(SRef, Table),
-            ets:insert(Cursors, {Table, Cursor}),
-            {Cursor, State}
-    end.
+shared_cursor(SRef, Table, #state{cursor=undefined}=State) ->
+    case wterl:cursor_open(SRef, Table) of
+        {ok, Cursor} ->
+            Cursor;
+        {error, Reason} ->
+            lager:error("Failed to open WT cursor on ~p because: ~p", [Table, Reason]),
+            undefined
+    end;
+
+shared_cursor(_SRef, _Table, #state{cursor=Cursor}) ->
+    Cursor.
 
 
 %% @private
@@ -482,8 +481,6 @@ fetch_status(Cursor, {ok, Stat}, Acc) ->
 size_cache(Config) ->
     Size =
         case app_helper:get_prop_or_env(cache_size, Config, wterl) of
-            {ok, Value} ->
-                Value;
             undefined ->
                 RunningApps = application:which_applications(),
                 FinalGuess =
@@ -510,9 +507,11 @@ size_cache(Config) ->
                         false ->
                             "1GB"
                     end,
-                application:set_env(wt, cache_size, FinalGuess),
+                application:set_env(wterl, cache_size, FinalGuess),
                 lager:warning("Using best-guess cache size of ~p for WiredTiger storage backend.", [FinalGuess]),
-                FinalGuess
+                FinalGuess;
+            Value ->
+                Value
         end,
     Size.