Canoe Repair Guidance

[erikclarsen]

Hello All:

I have a project Dagger Ocoee I picked up cheap, outfitted. There is a good size patch of the vinyl layer in front of the saddle that has cracks in it (6 or more), I assume from poor storage/exposure. The cracks are compromising the integrity of the anchors. I have poked around cboats and elsewhere for a clue on how to repair, and think I have a decent idea. I plan to use Gflex, and understand that it is desirable to remove the vinyl layer and adhere to the ABS directly.

Here's the question: is it ok to remove a largish patch of the vinyl, say 12" by 12" or larger, and fill in with the Gflex? Or should I try to go after each individual crack (which would be a huge pain the arse)? Also, what is the recommended manner to remove the vinyl layer - sanding? Chipping out carefully with a chisel? Other?

Thanks.

Erik
Ashland, Oregon

[pblanc]

Are the cracks all the way through, or just visible on the inside? Cracks right in front of the pedestal are pretty common. The paddler's weight on the pedestal creates a stress riser near the front edge of the pedestal. The front of the boat flexes up and down but the paddler's weight immobilizes the area under the pedestal resulting in the cracks.

If you remove the inner vinyl layer I suspect you will see that the inner solid stratum of ABS in the Royalex has cracked through and you will probably see a bit of exposed foam core. If there are multiple cracks within a 1 square foot area, I would fill in the cracks with G Flex thickened with silica powder, sand the surface smooth, and cover the entire area with a piece of aramid (Kevlar) or fiberglass fabric. Either 5 ounce/sq. yd. Kevlar or 6 ounce/sq. yd. S or E fiberglass will work. Ideally, I would lift the saddle and carry the cloth repair under the front couple of inches of the pedestal rather than ending the cloth right at the front edge of the pedestal.

You can try removing the inner vinyl layer from the Royalex by shaving it off with a wood chisel or putty knife with a thin blade and sharpened edge. Sometimes this is easy and other times it is not. If you find yourself gouging the ABS too much you can sand off the vinyl but it takes quite a while to do so and it can be hard to do on a concave surface like the interior of a canoe hull. I would definitely try to expose the ABS around the cracks by removing the vinyl, but I have bonded cloth over the vinyl layer of ABS with G Flex (after throughly sanding the vinyl) when it was difficult to remove it entirely and it has worked just fine.

After exposing all cracks in the solid layer of ABS I would gutter them out by making a V shaped furrow with a triangular cabinet scraper or old "church key" can opener. Clean well with denatured alcohol before filling in the cracks with thickened G Flex. You may have to apply some more G Flex to the cracks to completely fill them because the epoxy will settle into the foam core somewhat. Sand the epoxy-filled cracks flush with the adjacent hull then cover with your cloth. You might want to paint over any cloth that will not be covered by knee pads, anchors, or the saddle to protect it from UV exposure.

[hazardharry]

don't gorget to mgorilla glue the gaps.