C-Forum

Furtrapper Phil is saddened by the untimely breaking of his Spanish Fly at McCoy Falls, Virginia. The bow clipped a rock in the play feature when deeply engaged, causing a long, spriraling crack running from the bottom of the bow across the front deck and ending near the left chine. The boat was purchased new in 2009 and has mostly been used for play and big water, with very little creeking and no pitons. Anybody had any luck with Esquif in breakages under similar circumstances? It's not brand new, but I would not have expected a plastic boat to get massively split in a small- to moderate-sized play feature. Either way, the duct tape repair is only going to last so long and I am hesitant to run anything with it now. The play spot, as well as the duct tape, are in this video that I sent to Esquif:

http://vimeo.com/23666932

I can't exactly invest in a totally new vessel right now, and I wish the breakage could have occurred in a more "blaze of glory" situtation. Here's hoping Esquif will work with folks...

Also, the following vid is exceedingly dull, but it shows a lot of "rolling during playboating" if the work day has gotten really slow. Not the best perspective, but several looks at setting up while you're flipping and using the water to aid rolling.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKC5LtWPL6s

For anybody in VA, come out to McCoy (it's on AW) if the water level is 2.8 ft or higher. Great play, great eddy service, good rocks for taking a rest. We are trying to get the "Big Falls Rodeo" of the past re-started here.

Random thoughts...
1 Esquif is a good company that, based on what I know, have always tried to do the right thing by their customers. Contact them, be nice , give them some time and try to work out a solution.
2 Be prepared to not be completely satisfied... the boat is a couple years old. Its just a fact that the Mfg has no way of knowing what really happened... (but see above)!
3 The solution from the mfg might be for you to look around for someone you know or in your area that knows how to weld plastic. Or search the forum for thoughts and ideas.
4 Welds hold up pretty darn well if done right and even if they fail again they can be redone.
5 Keep on boat'n with some duct tape on board just in case.
6 Spin the boat around and re-outfit... okay Sfly's are asymetrical . But with some tweaking it might work for a while... Hopefully someone with more experience might be able to help out on if this would work.
Hope it goes well for you and keep us posted. Unfortunately "it" happens!

nice playboatin phil.

one big - agree with
and one not as much

PAC wrote:Random thoughts...

4 Welds hold up pretty darn well if done right and even if they fail again they can be redone.

6 Spin the boat around and re-outfit... okay Sfly's are asymetrical . !

Weld it - if done right, it'll go round and round, for quite a while.

I believe S'Fly is symmetrical. When un-outfitted you can decide which end to make bow or stern. During the manufacturing -or- cooling -or popping -or something else, one end will often be higher than the other. I chose high end up to be bow for myself, Eli tell's me he like's his bow end down (to initiate easier).

philcanoe wrote:I believe S'Fly is symmetrical. When un-outfitted you can decide which end to make bow or stern. During the manufacturing -or- cooling -or popping -or something else, one end will often be higher than the other. I chose high end up to be bow for myself, Eli tell's me he like's his bow end down (to initiate easier).

Totally symetrical based on all of the ones I've ever seen.

I prefer setting them up nuetral initially---checked in the water while in the boat with a long level. If you're planning on using it more for play than river running or creeking I'm with Eli on getting them just a tad bow heavier. With the rocker profile as it is you can still toss the bow up on a big lean back on the end of a forward stroke.

If you want to trim it forward later on... you can always carve into the thighhooks and move yourself further forward.

fwiw

Nice playboat'n the fly. Solely saw these old style moves thrown in a fly with such an apparent ease and looseness.

Me says dude who treats a boat like this in all his glory shall be supplied with an endless float of renewed hulls.

And he shall make the mfg looks nice. Oh but wait I just saw the mustache again no no scratch that.

So you're back at plan B:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bos4lfOA3k

I like better jobs done with a different color of plastic; the scarface look is badass!

phil you need an ion.

I agree with ...

Totally symetrical based on all of the ones I've ever seen.

....but since Esquif's web site says asymetrical .. who am I to disagree....

Just hope it all works out! Maybe other options can be added too!

Thanks for the thoughts-looks like it may be staying duct taped for a while now.

Come visit McCoy-it's a great place to paddle.

PAC wrote:I agree with ...

Totally symetrical based on all of the ones I've ever seen.

....but since Esquif's web site says asymetrical .. who am I to disagree....

Based on the one I cut up, I'd say they're "nominally symmetrical." That's to say they're supposed to be symmetrical, but they're not. The one I cut up and welded back together (a Pyranha sfly) was slightly smaller and significantly heavier in the stern.

RodeoClown wrote:

PAC wrote:I agree with ...

Totally symetrical based on all of the ones I've ever seen.

....but since Esquif's web site says asymetrical .. who am I to disagree....

Based on the one I cut up, I'd say they're "nominally symmetrical." That's to say they're supposed to be symmetrical, but they're not. The one I cut up and welded back together (a Pyranha sfly) was slightly smaller and significantly heavier in the stern.

with two different colors of plastic as Pyranha used and a different shrink/weight ratio for each might do that... but the aluminum mold is totally symetrical

the blue/green Pyranha one I have I took a lot of measurements from and they were all within less 5% varience from front to back

Wasn't symmetry covered, like 6-7-8 posts ago...

(that's a two post count penalty for both of you)

From one Phil to another ...

(just click) http://www.liquidlogickayaks.com/liquidTV/welding.swf

... you might just do it yourself.

What type of heat gun is used in the video? Also, are welds more brittle than the original molded plastic? Is there any way to anneal/heat treat/slow cool a weld to cut down on brittleness?

I think if done properly it doesn't become brittle. With that said, I've seen foot wide sections of boats become super crisp after being overheated with torches or too-hot heat guns. I do ok with my soldering iron style welder, never used a heat gun for welding.