This is from a while back when I was new to rebuilding canoes so there was a lot of learning going on, a lot of swearing going on and more than one can of liquid courage to get through the task. It's a long write up so will add sections at a time.
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July 24, 2011
I'm not quite sure why I did this but I found another canoe on Craigslist and I just couldn't help myself. While talking to the owner he said that it was about 15 years old and the last winter it got cold cracks in it in several places. Of course I neglected to ask what model it was but being a Mad River I decided to go for it. After rebuilding the Courier I am confident I can tackle a few cracks in the hull.
I make the drive north and to my surprise find a canoe in very good shape! I looked the cold cracks over and decided that they would be an easy fix. The gunwales though are dry rotted out and will need to be replaced but I have a set of vinyl gunwales that should fit. I paid the cash and racked it and headed home.
Double click on the picture above for the specs on this canoe and then get out your reading glasses cause the print it small.
The first step will be to clean the hull and then remove the gunwales to see what I'm up against. I do want to take it out on the river to see how it handles before I start the rebuild. It will be interesting to see the difference between the Malecite and this. I do like the Malecite due to being 36" wide and this is only 33" but shorter by, hmm, 5".
More to Come!
July 27, 2011
I hadn't planned on working on the boat but at the last minute got into it. First I took off the deck plates and man were they rotten. I took a hunk o' sandpaper to it and it looked like a pile of sawdust from termites. Any thought of using them besides a template was a foregone conclusion. I looked over the gunwales underneath the plates and stuck an awl in there and it just sunk in. Another bummer but expected.
The next step was to drill some holes in the cold cracks and that went pretty well. I used the same size drill bit as I did on the Courier. There was a lot of dirt on the hull so I dragged it out of the shed into the light and wiped it down and low and behold I found more cracks. I knew it was time! Bath Time!
I broke out the hose, a bucket and the scrubby and started cleaning up the hull inside and out. A half hour later I had a good look at the hull and the cracks. There are nine cracks in all, some where hidden by a layer of dirt. This is a good lesson to really clean the hull before you get started.
This hull must of been part of a painting party for there were lots of paint deposits on it. No big deal, they came right off with a little elbow grease. There were also black streaks from rubbing up against something, maybe a tire? Those came off with a little more scrubbing and goldang if the hull didn't look almost new except the expected scratches from use.
After cleaning I found 9 cracks in all. Four of them had some length but all fixable. Several were small. After the wash and scrub I'll be ready to take off the gunwales and start the repairs.
I finally got the HIN but it is either worn a bit or wasn't stamped in deep enough. I could get most of it but the bottom line this hull is a 1993 so it's a 18 year old hull that has been treated good and looks better for it's age than it should and a few years younger then the Courier.
More to Come.
July 28, 2011
Experimentation Day!
I wanted to get one crack filled with G-Flex today and see how I was going to make this all happen. The Courier was unique and needed some special attention and I learned a lot so it's time to apply some of those lessons to this project.
The very first thing I did was to mark all of the placements for the carry handles, seats and thwarts with tape for the future. I then took all of the screws out from the bow to the seat. For some reason I think I want to weasel the gunwales around while keeping them on the hull. I was waiting for the rotten wood to break off but there seems be a tad bit of life left in them and it went better then I thought it would. Now this may be unorthodox in method but I figured I didn't have much to lose trying it this way. I kept checking to see if the crack was going to uneven in anyway with the wood on but with that much space it was all good.
Now I might have a smart idea of bagging all of the screws with labeled bags and then to avoid losing them like I have in the past I am storing them with the F-You/Dipshit Gloves! Should work until I move them again!
After I got that part done I taped the inside of the crack and then applied resin in to the crack using my previous method of dribbling it in a little at a time. It took three passes with the resin to fill in the crack and holes as I made small batches. It did suck to cut through the decal! I waited in between passes so the resin could set up a tad and then added more until everything was filled nicely. Sweet!
July 29, 2011
With the threat of rain I decided to go for another crack. This one I cut a tad wider then the previous one and when I drizzled in my resin it filled much better and was easier to move around. Lesson learned. On the Courier I only had one crack to fill and it was pretty dang well established. Also, this time around I kept reciting my new mantra, "Small batches of resin Grasshopper, small batches!" I didn't waste one drop of it and had nothing to add to my resin log!
The usual taping, wax paper, more taping and a wait until tomorrow will bring me one crack closer to being done. It is a relief to know this job will be such a short and fairly easy one and will hopefully be taking a test ride next week! That goldang Courier dang near killed me!
More to Come!
August 6, 2011
Finally got to work some more on the canoe. The ol' Honey Do List managed to get in the way. Now here is the strange thing that happened on the last batch of resin applying. I drizzled my resin in like I have been doing but when I went back later the cracks had large gaps where the resin seemed to have disappeared! It happened on both of the cracks and I ended up putting more resin in to make it a solid bond.
This got me wondering and I called the Guru and we discussed it some. The only thing that we could come up with was that the foam core was mighty thirsty and was sucking in the resin. I don't know if that is a good thing or a bad thing but it happened.
Today I ended up using my hack saw blade and widened two of the cracks and this time, I did neglect this on the previous cracks, stuffed some sandpaper in and smoothed all the edges and burrs off from the cut. I was working with three cracks with the middle one being fairly long. Sorry, no pics this time around due to lack of batteries. I clamped it at the top and worked on the two outside cracks.
The first crack was short and the resin seemed to be ok but I waited it out for about an hour before returning and found the same results, gaps as if the resin had been soaked into the foam. I applied another layer and waited and dang if it didn't come out ok. On the second crack I tried to use a small paint brush to lay a thin coat into and over the crack but the resin was thick enough that the brush became useless and I had to clean the whole thing and start over. Good idea but didn't work that well.
I did resort back to my popsicle stick and toothpick method of getting the resin in the crack but it was several applications to make a good bond.
This truly has me stumped. I don't know if it is the build of the boat, the age of the boat, the foam core? Who the heck knows?
So what I thought would be a short job is now turning into a longer job. Only 5 more cracks to patch but that goldang Honey Do List is a pain in my backside and is holding me up from getting this hull on the water!
More to Come.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
July 24, 2011
I'm not quite sure why I did this but I found another canoe on Craigslist and I just couldn't help myself. While talking to the owner he said that it was about 15 years old and the last winter it got cold cracks in it in several places. Of course I neglected to ask what model it was but being a Mad River I decided to go for it. After rebuilding the Courier I am confident I can tackle a few cracks in the hull.
I make the drive north and to my surprise find a canoe in very good shape! I looked the cold cracks over and decided that they would be an easy fix. The gunwales though are dry rotted out and will need to be replaced but I have a set of vinyl gunwales that should fit. I paid the cash and racked it and headed home.
Double click on the picture above for the specs on this canoe and then get out your reading glasses cause the print it small.
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| Respectable looking canoe! |
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| I need to get the HIN off it yet |
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| I'll probably add web seats as the cane look brittle |
 |
| A tad dried out |
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| More dried out wood |
The first step will be to clean the hull and then remove the gunwales to see what I'm up against. I do want to take it out on the river to see how it handles before I start the rebuild. It will be interesting to see the difference between the Malecite and this. I do like the Malecite due to being 36" wide and this is only 33" but shorter by, hmm, 5".
More to Come!
July 27, 2011
I hadn't planned on working on the boat but at the last minute got into it. First I took off the deck plates and man were they rotten. I took a hunk o' sandpaper to it and it looked like a pile of sawdust from termites. Any thought of using them besides a template was a foregone conclusion. I looked over the gunwales underneath the plates and stuck an awl in there and it just sunk in. Another bummer but expected.
 |
| A nice layer of crud on the underside |
 |
| Very Rotten Gunwales |
The next step was to drill some holes in the cold cracks and that went pretty well. I used the same size drill bit as I did on the Courier. There was a lot of dirt on the hull so I dragged it out of the shed into the light and wiped it down and low and behold I found more cracks. I knew it was time! Bath Time!
I broke out the hose, a bucket and the scrubby and started cleaning up the hull inside and out. A half hour later I had a good look at the hull and the cracks. There are nine cracks in all, some where hidden by a layer of dirt. This is a good lesson to really clean the hull before you get started.
 |
| Cleaned up outside... |
 |
| and inside. I did cheat with these pics, the hull has just been hosed down |
This hull must of been part of a painting party for there were lots of paint deposits on it. No big deal, they came right off with a little elbow grease. There were also black streaks from rubbing up against something, maybe a tire? Those came off with a little more scrubbing and goldang if the hull didn't look almost new except the expected scratches from use.
 |
| Holes drilled at the bottom of the cracks |
 |
| The worst of the crack |
After cleaning I found 9 cracks in all. Four of them had some length but all fixable. Several were small. After the wash and scrub I'll be ready to take off the gunwales and start the repairs.
I finally got the HIN but it is either worn a bit or wasn't stamped in deep enough. I could get most of it but the bottom line this hull is a 1993 so it's a 18 year old hull that has been treated good and looks better for it's age than it should and a few years younger then the Courier.
More to Come.
July 28, 2011
Experimentation Day!
I wanted to get one crack filled with G-Flex today and see how I was going to make this all happen. The Courier was unique and needed some special attention and I learned a lot so it's time to apply some of those lessons to this project.
The very first thing I did was to mark all of the placements for the carry handles, seats and thwarts with tape for the future. I then took all of the screws out from the bow to the seat. For some reason I think I want to weasel the gunwales around while keeping them on the hull. I was waiting for the rotten wood to break off but there seems be a tad bit of life left in them and it went better then I thought it would. Now this may be unorthodox in method but I figured I didn't have much to lose trying it this way. I kept checking to see if the crack was going to uneven in anyway with the wood on but with that much space it was all good.
Now I might have a smart idea of bagging all of the screws with labeled bags and then to avoid losing them like I have in the past I am storing them with the F-You/Dipshit Gloves! Should work until I move them again!
 |
| Gunwales unleashed |
 |
| Sawing down the Crack |
After I got that part done I taped the inside of the crack and then applied resin in to the crack using my previous method of dribbling it in a little at a time. It took three passes with the resin to fill in the crack and holes as I made small batches. It did suck to cut through the decal! I waited in between passes so the resin could set up a tad and then added more until everything was filled nicely. Sweet!
July 29, 2011
With the threat of rain I decided to go for another crack. This one I cut a tad wider then the previous one and when I drizzled in my resin it filled much better and was easier to move around. Lesson learned. On the Courier I only had one crack to fill and it was pretty dang well established. Also, this time around I kept reciting my new mantra, "Small batches of resin Grasshopper, small batches!" I didn't waste one drop of it and had nothing to add to my resin log!
The usual taping, wax paper, more taping and a wait until tomorrow will bring me one crack closer to being done. It is a relief to know this job will be such a short and fairly easy one and will hopefully be taking a test ride next week! That goldang Courier dang near killed me!
More to Come!
August 6, 2011
Finally got to work some more on the canoe. The ol' Honey Do List managed to get in the way. Now here is the strange thing that happened on the last batch of resin applying. I drizzled my resin in like I have been doing but when I went back later the cracks had large gaps where the resin seemed to have disappeared! It happened on both of the cracks and I ended up putting more resin in to make it a solid bond.
This got me wondering and I called the Guru and we discussed it some. The only thing that we could come up with was that the foam core was mighty thirsty and was sucking in the resin. I don't know if that is a good thing or a bad thing but it happened.
Today I ended up using my hack saw blade and widened two of the cracks and this time, I did neglect this on the previous cracks, stuffed some sandpaper in and smoothed all the edges and burrs off from the cut. I was working with three cracks with the middle one being fairly long. Sorry, no pics this time around due to lack of batteries. I clamped it at the top and worked on the two outside cracks.
The first crack was short and the resin seemed to be ok but I waited it out for about an hour before returning and found the same results, gaps as if the resin had been soaked into the foam. I applied another layer and waited and dang if it didn't come out ok. On the second crack I tried to use a small paint brush to lay a thin coat into and over the crack but the resin was thick enough that the brush became useless and I had to clean the whole thing and start over. Good idea but didn't work that well.
I did resort back to my popsicle stick and toothpick method of getting the resin in the crack but it was several applications to make a good bond.
This truly has me stumped. I don't know if it is the build of the boat, the age of the boat, the foam core? Who the heck knows?
So what I thought would be a short job is now turning into a longer job. Only 5 more cracks to patch but that goldang Honey Do List is a pain in my backside and is holding me up from getting this hull on the water!
More to Come.
