C-Forum

Checking the boats were secure ready to drive back from Corsica the the other day I noticed that my Ocoee (Dagger, crica 1996) has developed some soft spots, notably around the bilge in some areas and in the bottom in others. It was a hot, sunny, day, but the hull was not especially hot where the soft spots were and it was cool when we unloaded at Mat's house 2 days later so I'm pretty sure it wasn't just flexible in the heat. Seemed more like delamination, but worrying some of the areas have some scratches in the vinyl and it looked to me as though the ABS layer was flexing too.

I've seen stuff before about injecting with epoxy or peeling and epoxying over, but first how do I makes sure it is just delamination, and if so what is the best rememdy?

If the core has lost integrity is this repairable, or do I need to be thinking about replacing the Ocoee sooner rather than later?

If you can flip the boat and mash it you should be able to tell where the soft spots are. If the foam is delaminating from the plastic and crushed, IMO, you should probably start hunting for a new one. However, I successfully opened up a bad delam with crushed foam, cleaned out the bad foam and built some back with gorilla glue, then stripped some vinyl back to expose ABS around the hole and laid it up with ABS cement left open awhile to let it thicken into a slurry over S-glass, a couple of concentric rings of it in layers, overlapping the surrounding hull. After, topped off with more ABS and sanded fair. To protect the ABS from the sun, used some truck bed liner, then sanded that down gently to take the grittiness away without sanding through it. Plastic paint works too, but rubs off easier. This has held up 4 years so far. You can do the same thing with G-flex, but I like using the ABS on an ABS boat. Good luck.

If you love Ocoees, I'd recommend calling Nova Craft and seeing if they have any left in stock. If they do, snap a boat up.

As for the Ocoee that needs repair, I've seen great results by people buying the thin G/flex (versus thick) and injecting it in a series of holes in the delaminated areas. Drill only deep enough to reach the foam layer and inject in as many holes as you need to firm it up.

It's pretty easy to identify delamination. The delaminated areas on the hull will be softer than surrounding areas. I don't think it's always because of water penetration to the foam layer. I also think that poorly manufactured Royalex can be the cause. Or simply continued hits against rocks in certain key spots (chines, under the knees, under the pedestal).

I was pleased with the results of injection G Flex into a friends Zoom recently. There was an obvious blister to deal with so using a small drill bit I made two holes on each side of the blister drilling at a shallow angle. I used a small stainless steel wile (or anything similar) to explore the hole for size; no water came out.
I then injected Gflex thru both holes and used a wooden end of a spatula to "migrate" the Gflex into the corners of the cavity.

I then tipped the Zoom onto it's side so that the blister exterior sat on the floor and then I weighted the inside with weights to press the two layers together and then let it cure overnight.
In the morning the centre of the blister hadn't completely bonded so I injected some additional 102/105 West into the cavity and that did the trick. If anything the repair is too hard/inflexible compared to the surrounding area. I coverd the holes with some flexible Sika flex sealant.

What would I do differently? Over estimate the amount of GFlex needed. In spite of exploring the cavity with a stiff wire it appears that the blister was larger than appearances and the joint was starved on the initial injection.
So far the hull looks good and is wearing well.
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Thanks for the tips guys.

I do like the Ocoee, but my paddling is outgrowing it and I'll probably have to get a short PE boat at some point, although I also like the idea of a short composite boat.
If I can keep my Ocoee in service until Big Dog have finalised their new gunwale boat and got it into production I'll be happy because it will work out a lot cheaper than importing a blackfly. I don't think there is any point now in my getting a new Ocoee, I tried Mat's Option on the Lower Vecchio and took to it immediately (although I fell out when I capsized it because I wasn't used to the outfitting).

my old boat looks like a chewy pizza on the bottom. all soft where my knees crush rock in the river. it leaks so bad i have an auto-bilge so i don.t have to think about sinking waiting my turn in an eddy for a play wave. as long as the boat floats and holds its shape it should be fine. but when it goes it should be cool.

C'mon Harry, I can't believe you won't try and "rescue" it like you did with the coleman trailer.
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My boat has made an expert at repairs. third set of gunwales and a fortune in G-flex. i ordered a OCtane91.