Aluminum Canoe

[Wayne SW/MO]

I agree that AL isn't the end of the world, but the fact that it won't slide over anything is. You can put Gluvit on the bottom and cure that. I'm wondering if a 17' canoe has 4 seats if it is a square stean, or one of the old Grumman half canoe, half rowboat configurations? I think the called them Sport canoes.

As for cost, buy an Old Town Guide and add the seats to it. Seats are easy to make and add to most canoes and a Guide, the 160 model, will handle 3 people and shouldn't cost an arm and a leg.

[tjulianc]

c

[woodman]

You could build you're own for $300-$400...depending on type of wood...

[junkman]

Hay guys, I appreciate so much your wisdom and input, but I have to say there is a canoe in the yard. My nephew brought one home from KC today that he picked up for $125. It was just a cheep Colman 17 footer but figured for the price it will work till I can save a few bucks and then keep my eyes pealed for a good one. Also figured for that price I can always make my money back on it. Now to plan my trip in a few weeks to Niangua river. Again thanks for all your input guys.

[gotmuddy]

glad you found a canoe.

Al, how do you repair the royalex?

junkman, your thread is now hijacked

[junkman]

Gotmuddy, it is a good hijacking for I would like to know the answer to that question as well.

[Wayne SW/MO]

Hay guys, I appreciate so much your wisdom and input, but I have to say there is a canoe in the yard. My nephew brought one home from KC today that he picked up for $125. It was just a cheep Colman 17 footer but figured for the price it will work till I can save a few bucks and then keep my eyes pealed for a good one. Also figured for that price I can always make my money back on it. Now to plan my trip in a few weeks to Niangua river. Again thanks for all your input guys.

It should work fine for you. One of the biggest drawbacks to a Coleman/Pelican is that they don't maneuver or track well, but that is something that is not really needed on the Niangua.

[Al Agnew]

Royalex repair...

Simplest way to do most repairs is to use a two part epoxy. Small scratches that don't go through the solid ABS sheet underneath the outer vinyl probably don't need to be repaired. Deeper scratches, or larger areas where the vinyl has been scraped away, can be easily repaired by first sanding rather lightly to roughen up the ABS and small margins of the vinyl surrounding it, then giving the area a shot of outdoor acrylic spray paint in whatever color you can find to somewhat match the canoe color, then giving it a coat of two part epoxy made for plastics. Note that there are two versions of the plastic epoxy that you can buy at the big box stores. I'm sorry I don't have the names of them in my head right now, but one of them goes on rather thick and milky and doesn't smooth out easily, while the other goes on thinner, clear, and smooths itself. You need that one. If you're wanting to do a repair right away, I'd buy the epoxy and try it on another surface first just to see if you've got the right one. The spray paint underneath is more for UV protection, rather than looks, by the way.

If you've got a gouge or scrape all the way down to the foam in the middle of the laminate, it needs to be repaired with the epoxy and paint right away. The foam is highly susceptible to UV damage and rots away pretty quickly.

If it's a small gouge or hole into the foam, you can also use a harder, opaque epoxy like JB Weld to fill it in. That will protect from UV and it's easy to sand smooth when you're done. Also, when I use JB Weld, I wait until it just starts to harden, and then wet a smooth rag with water and "buff" it a bit. The wet rag smooths the epoxy surface pretty well and saves having to sand it. However, don't use hard epoxies on larger areas, since they tend to crack as the rest of the canoe bottom flexes. The plastic epoxy stays flexible and doesn't crack.

You can also buy a Royalex repair kit from several places, including Piragis Northwoods, and just follow directions. But the repair kits are rather expensive. I've never used one.

Also, I've read on Paddling.net that some guys are buying the Leggos toys, and melting them down into a slurry, which they then smooth over the scrapes and gouges. Apparently Leggos are made of the same or at least a compatible material to the Royalex.

As for maintenance, I give my Royalex canoes a spraying of Formula 303 if I can find it, or Armor All if I don't have the 303, at least twice a year. It renews the color, protects from UV, and makes the bottom of the canoe exceedingly slick, so slick you have to watch it if you set it down on a sloping bank, because it will slide right off into the water and halfway across the river! I did that one time in the winter and had to retrieve the canoe down at the next riffle. It sure makes sliding the canoe over logs and gravel even easier.

[grizwilson]

glad you found a canoe.

Al, how do you repair the royalex?

junkman, your thread is now hijacked

Just to add to Al's post this is the Best Expoxy I have found, it dries slick but has some flex so does not break. The Video says it all and I have had good luck with Jamsetown Dist. if you watch every few weeks they will have a deal on shipping. G

http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/videoDisplay.do?videoId=939&title=Kayak+Destruction++

[Flysmallie]

Also, I've read on Paddling.net that some guys are buying the Leggos toys, and melting them down into a slurry, which they then smooth over the scrapes and gouges. Apparently Leggos are made of the same or at least a compatible material to the Royalex.

They make plastic welding rods that can be heated and applied lots of different ways. It would be better and a lot cheaper than Leggos. Even purchasing a small plastic welder (really just a soldering iron) isn't that expensive. There are also some two part repair materials in the automotive repair industry that are designed for plastics. They may be more expensive than JB Weld and others but they are very strong and remain flexible.