Bell Ocoee Royalex and Gunwhale Problems

[AJ]

Well, this is my first post on this forum. The Kanukid turned me on to this great site! I have also sent out an email to all of the Rocky Mountain Canoe Club members to make them aware of this site.

I have a Bell Ocoee that is starting it's second season. From what I understand, Bell acquired the rights to use the Dagger design, but Dagger still owns the design rights and can take it back at some point in the future?

Five of us out here in Colorado bought Bell Ocoees at the same time last year. Besides the Royalex issues, several of us had rivot/gunwhale issues, my boat as well as others, had rivots fall out in preseason pool sessions and pop out on the river, not good. We decided to not use Bell's airbag lacing eyes due to pulling rivots falling out.

I found Bell to be difficult to work with and not very responsive when dealing with the rivot problems. But our retailer, Canoe Colorado, helped with the issue and Bell somewhat stepped up after lots of wrangling over the issue. Overall, I was still very disappointed with Bell's responsiveness.

I would have liked to have ordered my Ocoee with wood gunwhales, but Bell would not warranty for cold cracks even if you loosen the gunwhales. I have never had a problem with my Outrage by losing the gunwhales, but Bell was very direct and to the point about cold cracking. Out here in Colorado, we can be paddling in 60 to 70 degrees in the day time and have to drive back over passes that are below freezing , as well as camping at night temps can fall below freezing.

In terms of the Royalex after one season, several of us are having stem problems and scratchs through the vinyl layer, especially on the stems. I will admit we are hard on the boats. However, the Royalex does seem thinner, easier scratched and not as tough as my 4 year old Outrage.

The Bell Ocoee end caps are light weight, but are also very cheap (short in coverage and thin plastic) and do not fit the front of the boat very well. We jammed foam in the front of the end cap to fill a 1/2 gap to keep water out while surfing.

In general, I think Dagger made a much higher quality Ocoee from materials to fit and finish, but if you like and want the Ocoee hull shape, Bell is the only game in town. To be fair to Bell, Dagger may have had the same Royalex issues in newer boats, if they kept manufacturing them?

So tonight the Kanukid and I are fixing stems and putting on skid plates. Kind of a bummer to add the weight in the ends, but not sure what else to do at this point. We are going to use the West System resin and their biaxial glass mat.

[ChrisKelly]

is that they are very helpful and responsive. I have had several interactions with them, usually about getting outfitting supplies and about outfitting questions and have found them easy to work with.

But, I agree with you about the quality of the Royalex. My Prodigy was way to easy to dent ad other have mentioned their dissatisfaction with the Ocoees. To be fair it may be that newer Royalex canoe layups are lighter for all the companies than they used to be because I have heard this about other boats also.

Chris Kelly

[yarnellboat]

If you're hard on boats, scratches through the vinyl layer at the stems is to be expected, at a minimum, but rivets shouldn't pop out in the pool. Good luck with it, I hope they hold up for you.

P.

[Mikey B]

I know on a friends Prodigy, it dented super easily at first, but after a couple years, the royalex has definitely seemed to have gotten much stronger.
I know I've been told that it seems to be a crap shoot for the manufacturers on the quality of royalex they now get.

MB

[Sandie_]

I love my ocoee but I too am very disssapointed by the materials.

Several of the rivets came out or were already missing on the first flat water tests. The gunwales are hollow and fill with water its a bit disheartening to see this pouring into you boat like a faucet.

The end caps are rubbish and don't fit well at all. The bell air bags that it came with were way too small. There was so much flex in the boat I had to add extra thwarts and a foam bulk head.

I would not say I am hard on my ocoee I don't bash down creaks but I get 3 or 4 scratches through to the white stuff on most trips. The vinyl is very soft. My freedom solo has been used 4 times as many times on the same rivers and it looks in better shape.

I don't think my next boat will be rayalex.

Sandie