Newbie Royalex repair questions/Anyone OC1 near Cincy?

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First, Hello. I've been lurking for a while. I'm glad I've stumbled across this site; others like paddling.net are good, but as a (budding) canoer, I feel like the distinct minority over there. Even the local web/paddling group (Cincinnati) seems almost exclusively pro-kayak.

I started out in a Dagger Blackwater kayak (which I'll keep and still enjoy), but the used tandem Mohawk Blazer RX I purchased to introduce my son to paddling pulled me back into canoing. I picked up a well cared for but battle worn Mohawk Challenger (14 ft. solo river tripper) this past summer and figure it could use a little TLC while in dry dock for the winter.

The Challenger has the normal stem/stern/keel wear from run-ins with gravel bars and rocks, with a single small pea sized spot where the vinyl and ABS wore down to the foam core. There's no indication of rot, so I figured I'd build up the lost area with J.B. Weld. From there however, I'm not sure if a light coat of J.B. over the rest of the abraded area will hold up or weather I should step up to West Systems epoxy, with possibly a sheet of glass cloth thrown in for good measure. My current and foreseeable paddling future doesn't really neccessitate full blown (thick) kevlar skid plates and quite frankly, I don't want to rob the boat of any of it's meager speed. The Challenger is my learning vessel and will certainly kiss rocks with me at the helm however, so I may want a little extra protection if J.B. or similar epoxy isn't up to task.

There's also an almost imperceptible 3/4 inch wide "fracture" perpendicular to the interior keel line in the stern of the boat where heavy strain broke a D-ring patch loose shortly after it was installed. The previous owner said the D-ring popped out years ago and was unaware of the crack. I suspect it's only a fracture in the inner vinyl layer, but I'd like to bolster it for good measure. Would drilling tiny stress relief holes and filling with thin epoxy suffice?

Finally, what kind of OC1/C1 paddling resources are around the SW Ohio area? I've been kayaking for about 2 years and was thinking about taking a skills/roll training class at the public pool this winter, but I'm ignorant of any canoe technique classes, resources, etc. in this area. When things "click", I can make the Challenger move out, but other times my technique is a frustrating mess.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts or ideas you share,

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[ghetto johnny]

pheron,
what area are you in?
i'm in cincy area too (Fairfield) , also
there's a few open boaters and c1'ers in this area
besides dayton, lebanon and the rest of ohio

there's pool session startin in Feb. and there should be a few open boaters there.

welcome aboard
john c.

[phreon]

I live on the West side, about 5-10 minutes from Downtown.

Are you talking about the CRC pool session or other? I know there's another one available, but it was advertised as "no instruction provided". In any case, I should learn to roll the kayak first, since currently my canoe is not outfitted for that (cane seat, no bags yet).

I started out thinking I'd only enjoy flatwater, but a trip down the L.M. at the end of my first season ruined that. Been down the L.M. plenty of times and the G.M. once during low water (all in kayak). The L.M. @ 3500 cfs between Kelly Nature preserve and Bass Island had a few interesting spots.

I'm chomping at the bit to get the Challenger out on "fun" water. Need to fix 'er up though. The previous owner traveled hundreds, if not thousands of miles in it. Hopefully I'll recieve some good advice on the hull repair.

Thanks,

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[ghetto johnny]

pheron
i was talking about the pool in dayton, put on by the Whitewater Warehouse
great miami is good about 11,000 cfs
and there's always the Mad River in Dayton,
during the spring and summer there is a wed. night paddle where they shuttle you to the put in and you take out behind the shop
also when they release paint creek, and rocky fork is always a option
anyways, welcome aboard
john c.
cincy

[Rumplestiltskin]

The best Royalex repair information is found by using the C-Forum search feature. There is a wealth of repair know-how to be found here. Anything on the subject posted by ClassFive Boats or Dixie_Boater is pretty much considered the last word in my book.

The Mohawk website has a good set of illustrated instructions on their website.

http://mohawkcanoes.com/care.htm

[phreon]

Thanks for the info. In actuality, the problem I'm having isn't a lack of information, but rather too much. Use kevlar skid plates/don't use them. JB Weld works great/it sucks. Use fiberglass/it's overkill. Acetone-ABS slurry works well/it'll melt your boat.

I'll filter my searches for the usernames you provided.

Thanks,

Phreon

[KathySines]

Phreon,

There are quite a few OC/C1 boaters in southwest Ohio. We're just quiet and shy

Talk to Bernie at Whitewater Warehouse in Dayton. The Warehouse will be closed in January, so be patient.

And as GhettoJohnny mentioned, roll sessions start in February. There is usually a pretty good turn out there.

Kathy
Lebanon, OH

[phreon]

Thanks for the information.

I filled in and sanded out the stem wear with JB Weld; turned out better than I had imagined. We'll see how it holds up before adding skid plates.

Now the Challenger sits quietly in my basement, beckoning to be on the water.

Phreon

[creek1r]

In my experience, the JB Weld will crack out with the first good hit. If you add a skid plate now you will have a better repair. I use S-glass, putting down a center strip, then 2 strips overlapping in a "V", then another center strip. Center strips 3" wide, overlap strips 4' wide. On WW boats I also put carbon fiber strip first. For me, this has proven to be thin and durable plus easily maintained.

[phreon]

I've debating weather I need skidplates or not, but I've been thinking about getting a quart kit of Raka 350 epoxy and either Dynel or Xynole (both polyester cloth) to apply as skid plates. Both Dynel and Xynole "give" more than fiberglass, so in theory would flex with the hull rather than cracking out. My understanding is that both have superior abrasion resistance to fiberglass too. Since I have to perform repair work in the basement of my apartment (2 family house), not having to worry about getting fiberglass on my neighbor's laundry is a plus.

BTW, is the pool session at W. Warehouse just an open session or is instruction available? I want a strong kayak roll foundation to build on and then move to better canoe handling.

Thanks,

Phreon

[ghetto johnny]

pheron,
the Dayton pool sessions are for both an open pool and instruction sessions, give Jeryll a call at the warehouse about session.
if your intrested i go down to lexington on friday night for the Blugrass Wildwater Association pool sessions.
ther're plenty of open, and C1ers down there
let me know
john c.

[phreon]

The weather warmed up and I finally installed a home brew version of skid plates. I thought I'd post my final solution for posterity. I used Raka epoxy with Xynole cloth, graphite powder and fumed silica (cabosil) as a thickener.

After preparing the stems by cleaning them with alcohol and sanding them, I laid down a roughly keyhole shaped cloth layer with straight epoxy, leaving it to cure overnight with plastic wrap stretched tightly over. I then lightly sanded and applied 2 more layers of epoxy containing roughly 10% graphite powder and enough silica to help prevent runs. I attempted to sand the graphite epoxy to smooth it out, but the mixture turned out so hard that 20 minutes of heavy hand sanding did almost nothing. I left the third and final layer epoxy slightly thin and let gravity help it spread. The final coat is glassy smooth, but is a little wavy in spots. Overall, though, I believe the final results are much smoother than your average Kevlar mat skid plate.




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