C-Forum

My son was given an old glass "kayak" for a boathenge project at the raft company where he works. When the boat was delivered it turned out to be an Ultramax C1. It turns out that the first C1 I owned was also an ultramax (which I eventually was able to paddle okay, but never could roll), so I've decided to hang onto it for a while. It was stored way under a porch, so it hasn't seen sunlight too much. The boat was apparently used at the 82 Ocoee Nationals (it has that stenciled on the back deck). It looks like someone put a layer of cloth on the deck from about a foot or so of the cockpit out to either end and also put on a heavy coat of resin on the bottom. Both of these are brittle and cracking away, but what's underneath looks like its in good shape (although its hard to tell for sure).
Was/is this a normal thing to do to an old race boat to protect it or allow it to be paddled recreationally?
Any suggestions on what would be needed to restore it?
If anyone is interested, I can get and send pictures.
Thanks for any help.

Just guessing, but that might have been a potato chip race boat with an ultra (pun intended) thin layup. Such craft were built to be used for a single race or two. They were pretty much disposable boats, and began to flex badly if used for an extended period.

Such hulls often had pinholes (resin-starvation) in one or more layers. The decks seldom had more than two layers of cloth. That might explain the resin coat on the hull and the "supplemental" layer on the deck.

You could sand and paint your boat with more resin, but I doubt you will have much more than you have now when the work has been done. "Restore" is an optimistic word. "Patch it up" is a more operative phrase.

Old composite boats are not vintage wines, and do not improve with age. There are no "Antique" boat shops run by collectors that take annual buying trips to "find" discarded vessels in old barns...or under porches!

Why not paddle it as is? Work on that roll! Use it in moving flatwater to see if it handles like you remember. Some things, including your body, have changed a bit in 25 years!

Then if the boat is relatively true and fair, and you really want to do more, use it as a paddlable plug to design a new boat.

An Ultramax hull about 10 feet long and with a little more rocker or volume in the bow (anti-perling devices) would make a fine cruising boat for the dotage years of boomer C-1 paddlers.