C-Forum

Finally picked up the Mad River ME from a guy up in Nethers, Va.
He said that it is from 1980-81. It needs a good bit of work, but is in really great shape considering it is 27 years old.
It needs new gunnels; the originals are pretty much rotted away.
And it has 4 good sized cracks on the outer hull around the chines, but none all the way through to the inside.
Im gonna try to use epoxy and s-glass to fix them, then cover the areas with 1/16th ABS to protect the areas. bothe ends have multiple skid plates and seem to bee firmly attached still.(the hull is actually cut away underneath, I'm guessingh from extreme damage)
As far as the gunnels go, I'm still up in the air on making new ones or buying vinyl for now. Being a carpenter by trade I'm really thinking of wood again, but want to get it on the water ASAP.

Since the cracks don't go all the way through, I recommend trying Plastic Weld found in the hardware store with the two part epoxys and such. Just v-notch out the cracks with a utility knife and fill. The stuff sets up very fast. After, you can sand it flat and smooth and paint it. If you really want to do a more structural repair using cloth, I recommend making patches using Kevlar with the ABS resin. When putting cloth patches on a canoe, I always try to convince people to put the patch on the inside of the canoe as exterior patches may affect performance (and looks like a$$). With the structural patch on the inside, you can do cosmetic work on the outside as described above with Plastic Weld or ABS resin. By the way, are the cracks amidships or in the ends? Amidships would definately present more stuctural concern, especially if broached.

I have wood rails for the ME if you're in the Northeast. I assume that the original ABS decks are still okay.

Just some thoughts.

openboater

Make wood gunwales! Finding some good ash stock may be the hardest part. I've been able to get it from cabinet shop / suppliers. Heck, I've done it to ME's three times. You don't have to make them as oversized as I did this last time, though...

openboater wrote: If you really want to do a more structural repair using cloth, I recommend making patches using Kevlar with the ABS resin. openboater

Think I'm gonna go with the ABS paste and Sglass. the maybe put some armor out of 1/16 ABS over it if need be

openboater wrote:
By the way, are the cracks amidships or in the ends? Amidships would definately present more stuctural concern, especially if broached.
I have wood rails for the ME if you're in the Northeast. I assume that the original ABS decks are still okay.
openboater

The cracks are mid-ship and about 2ft long, It has wood decks on either end and I will probably make new ones from Ash and Walnut pieces.

I have wood gunwales all milled up (just finished my ME) in Sherburne, NY 13460

Just finished my third ME. This one is outfitted for 1.5 with wood gunnels and kneeling thwarts to keep it lite.

madmike wrote:I have wood gunwales all milled up (just finished my ME) in Sherburne, NY 13460

Hmmm, are they for sale???

Yes they are for sale, don't know how to ship them though. I also have SS screws, thwarts, seats etc. I even have some glue in knee pads, all for sale.

You could stop wasting your time and energy by just buying a Salsa.
Jkaz

kaz wrote:You could stop wasting your time and energy by just buying a Salsa.
Jkaz

LOL!! Oh, so yo have an OC-2 Salsa?? I'll take it,
How many gold soverigns will that be please....

squeakyknee wrote:How many gold soverigns will that be please....

twice as many as a Shaggy Designs boat.

MY 2 CENTS

I REPLACED THE WOOD GUNWALES ON A 1987? MR "ME" 10 YRS AGO, AND THEY HAVE SERVED ME WELL. BOAT H/B PROPERLY STORED DURING OFF SEASON.THE ONE THING DONE DIFFERENT THAT SEEMED TO HELP W/ THE ROTT/MILDEW UNDER THE GUNWALES, WAS A COLORED MARINE PAINT. THIS WAS COVERED BY A QUALITY VARNISH THAT HAS STOOD THE TEST OF TIME. THIS WAS DONE ONLY ON THE UNDERSIDE TO MANAIN THE BEAUTY OF THE WOOD TOPSIDE. GOOD LUCK, HARD PART W/B FINDING A SOLID PC OF ASH.

WHET DREAMS...HH


note: a long winter means a HIGH spring :)

OK, I have gotten the Goop mixed just right I believe. I've started with one layer of glass and goo and will prolly put one more.
The neat thing with this stuff is it seems to harden even at cold temps vs. epoxy which would never harden as cold as it has been.

I wonder if that concoction would be good for protecting the high wear spots on a composite boat.

OK, I have finally gotten most of the patches done. I just need to put a couple more coats on.
I've decided to try using some nice tight grained Fir for the 1st set of rails and see how that goes befofe I invest in some nice Ash ones. Here are some pics of before I cleaned it up, and after I got most of the patches almost finished.