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Who doesnt love an old chopper gun glass canoe? This is the stuff we grew up with before all the kevlar and cedar strip ones came along. Before we had the money to buy brand name boats. Our first canoes were usually aluminum, maybe a Sportspal or one like this old chopper gun boat that I came across last winter for a measly $100.
It took two of us to lift it and I was so curious about that I had to buy it so I could find out why it was so heavy. Turns out they tore the stems out of it and the water got inside the bouyancy tanks. It then got soaked up into the foam which proceeded to freeze and expand. Cute. Soooo I cut a hole in the top of the tanks with a holesaw, then expanded it with a handsaw until I could slice the foam into chunks and remove it. I glassed up the stems and the huge holes in the top of the tanks. Sanded everything in sight. Twice, maybe three times. Filled the savagely dented aluminum rails with some JB Weld and applied liberal amounts of rust paint the the hull inside and out. The grey inside was a bit dark for my liking so I sprinkled it with white specks and streaks for an artsy look. The intent is to paint the rails satin black and install a leftover yoke I have and make a basic solo seat anchored in with
cleats screwed and epoxied to the hull.
Estimated cost of purhcase and materials @ $200. Add in about 40 hours of labour and we have something resembling a canoe again. What fun. They dont all have to be super classy antiques or composite works of art. Sometimes you just feel like making one live again.
It took two of us to lift it and I was so curious about that I had to buy it so I could find out why it was so heavy. Turns out they tore the stems out of it and the water got inside the bouyancy tanks. It then got soaked up into the foam which proceeded to freeze and expand. Cute. Soooo I cut a hole in the top of the tanks with a holesaw, then expanded it with a handsaw until I could slice the foam into chunks and remove it. I glassed up the stems and the huge holes in the top of the tanks. Sanded everything in sight. Twice, maybe three times. Filled the savagely dented aluminum rails with some JB Weld and applied liberal amounts of rust paint the the hull inside and out. The grey inside was a bit dark for my liking so I sprinkled it with white specks and streaks for an artsy look. The intent is to paint the rails satin black and install a leftover yoke I have and make a basic solo seat anchored in with
Estimated cost of purhcase and materials @ $200. Add in about 40 hours of labour and we have something resembling a canoe again. What fun. They dont all have to be super classy antiques or composite works of art. Sometimes you just feel like making one live again.