I picked up this Explorer today, needs new ash gunnels and has a small crack repair patch, otherwise will make for a nice restoration. Special Edition plack, a knelling thwart and nice curved seats.
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Back Yard Find- 92 Mad River Explorer kevlar
- Thread starter Robin
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Nice find Robin! How the heck do you keep coming upon these boats? Not that I need anymore to work on but....
I run an ad in Craigslist in the boat section. "Looking for old restoreable canoes, Mad River, Old Towns, no aluminium or Colemans." I have 4 canoes waiting, 2 Mad Rivers, a Mohawk and a IDK Fiberglass. All will get new ash trim and a coat of Interlux Briteside. It's fun and it payed for lots of expensive Canadian gas, fishing gear and permits. I get emails from dreamers telling me how much the canoe is worth bla bla. It's worth what someone will pay you for it, sorry if you didn't take care of it.
I don't do wood canvas canoes for re sale much, my neighbor down the road is Schuyler Thomson and that's his living. I refer most all wood canvas canoes to him. Most people have already spoken to him and where shocked by the cost of re-storing a wood canvas canoe by a pro and are looking for a deal. If I find a good deal, I'll restore it and sell it cheap but wood canvas is a ton of work and I have gotten burned for my labor
I don't do wood canvas canoes for re sale much, my neighbor down the road is Schuyler Thomson and that's his living. I refer most all wood canvas canoes to him. Most people have already spoken to him and where shocked by the cost of re-storing a wood canvas canoe by a pro and are looking for a deal. If I find a good deal, I'll restore it and sell it cheap but wood canvas is a ton of work and I have gotten burned for my labor
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Oh geeze yes Robin...wood canvas is a losing proposition if you want to make money on it. They are more a labour of love. We have our labour rate figured at @ $3/hr. No that is not a typo...lol. We tend to send people down the road to Doug Ingram as well.
I thought you had stopped wheeling and dealing in the canoe market? You big fat liar. I " only " have two deals in the works right now and that is because I am not looking and these have come to me on their own. Not bad for someone who said no more until these ones are all done. I am branching out into the glass canoe wasteland also...it promises to be fun.
Right now the shop is full of broken lawn tractor.
Christy
I thought you had stopped wheeling and dealing in the canoe market? You big fat liar. I " only " have two deals in the works right now and that is because I am not looking and these have come to me on their own. Not bad for someone who said no more until these ones are all done. I am branching out into the glass canoe wasteland also...it promises to be fun.
Right now the shop is full of broken lawn tractor.
Christy
I really really like that canoe.
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Ha, I'm not sure why I said that then, I went through some tough times this past year and said some things I really didn't mean, but that's all behind me now. Thanks to some wonderful people at the VA
Wow, great find! Any idea what it's final weight might be?
Thanks, he gave me an old catalog with the canoe and it states 54 lbs for a Kevlar Explorer. I need to weigh it on my scale and see what it comes up with.
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The explorer is far from being my favorite boat, at least the RX version, I don't really care for the "v" bottom, but I heard that it is a great boat for polling!! And I can't wait to see the restored photos!!
Was there a story behind those newer looking seats and thwarts? Or maybe they just weathered better.
This where I found it http://www.quintanna.com/mtnsports/madrivercanoe/2002/explorer.html
Mercury Blue sounds nice. It will be nice to see those decks shine again, out from under all that grime.
This where I found it http://www.quintanna.com/mtnsports/madrivercanoe/2002/explorer.html
Mercury Blue sounds nice. It will be nice to see those decks shine again, out from under all that grime.
Back then Mad River offered one or two "Special Edition" canoes each year. In 1992 they were the Kevlar Explorer and Royalex Revelation offered with cherry-stained wood trim and Royal Blue gel coat. The Special Edition Kevlar Explorer had the scuppered inwales, contoured seat frames, kneeling thwart, contoured center yoke, and a Special Edition brass medallion on the front deck plate.
The advertised weight of 54 lbs was for the standard Kevlar Explorer. Back in the 1980s and early 1990s, MRC Kevlar Explorers were all cloth, all Kevlar construction, although in 1992 MRC also offered a Kevlar/Airex Explorer which was vacuum bagged and had an outer layer of S fiberglass with a PVC Airex bottom core and side ribs. That version was only a pound lighter than the Kevlar Explorer.
I have a Kevlar Explorer that dates back to the early 1980s that has the squared outwales before MRC switched to radiused outwales in 1985. My boat also has short, molded fiberglass deck caps instead of the inlaid butternut deck plates. I recall weighing my boat one time and got an estimated weight a pound or two over the advertised weight, which was pretty much par for most canoe manufacturers. The Special Edition Kevlar Explorer with its extra kneeling thwart and inlaid wood deck plates would likely be a couple of pounds heavier.
Although MRC used oil on inwales, outwales, and deck plates, back then they usually bright finished the seat frames, yokes, and thwarts. That probably accounts for their better preservation.
The advertised weight of 54 lbs was for the standard Kevlar Explorer. Back in the 1980s and early 1990s, MRC Kevlar Explorers were all cloth, all Kevlar construction, although in 1992 MRC also offered a Kevlar/Airex Explorer which was vacuum bagged and had an outer layer of S fiberglass with a PVC Airex bottom core and side ribs. That version was only a pound lighter than the Kevlar Explorer.
I have a Kevlar Explorer that dates back to the early 1980s that has the squared outwales before MRC switched to radiused outwales in 1985. My boat also has short, molded fiberglass deck caps instead of the inlaid butternut deck plates. I recall weighing my boat one time and got an estimated weight a pound or two over the advertised weight, which was pretty much par for most canoe manufacturers. The Special Edition Kevlar Explorer with its extra kneeling thwart and inlaid wood deck plates would likely be a couple of pounds heavier.
Although MRC used oil on inwales, outwales, and deck plates, back then they usually bright finished the seat frames, yokes, and thwarts. That probably accounts for their better preservation.
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that's a great find! I'm scared to ask what you paid, bet you got a deal. is that an older one that was made in Vermont?
Robin could you post pictures of the Mohawk when you are done with it. Would like to see what you do with it. The Blazer is a much better hull than many think. With wood work by you it should be relatively nice.
Mad River Canoe and Wilderness Systems were "merged" with Confluence Holding Company in October 1988, so that 1992 Explorer is a Waitsfield, Vermont build.
Those beautiful seats are in very good condition, the cane looks good but I'll have to really give them a good once over to see if they will hold up. I usually just remove the cane and flip the seats over and install webbing, but not with these curved seats.
One of the side decals is scratched up pretty good, and the only replacements I can find are the old style. I know I'm going to paint the canoe so I might just go with new decals.
I paid $150. He didn't mention the patch in his description, but I'm still happy with the deal. Should fetch $800, maybe more if it looks good and the right person shows up. A kevlar Explorer with new trim, but it has a patch. Hard to say.
I think that Mohawk will look nice with wood trim and fresh paint.
One of the side decals is scratched up pretty good, and the only replacements I can find are the old style. I know I'm going to paint the canoe so I might just go with new decals.
I paid $150. He didn't mention the patch in his description, but I'm still happy with the deal. Should fetch $800, maybe more if it looks good and the right person shows up. A kevlar Explorer with new trim, but it has a patch. Hard to say.
I think that Mohawk will look nice with wood trim and fresh paint.
Robin, On one boat I rehabed it had the Ed's contour seats. No flipping like you said. I filled the gap from the cane seat, spline, with resin, let it cure and then put webbing on. I worked out well. Just food for thought. Where is the patch, can't see it in the pics! Nice project!
Seat frames are also easy enough to recane once you get the rout cleaned out. Pre-woven cane webbing and spline is widely available from on-line vendors like this one:
http://www.caneandbasket.com/default.asp
http://www.caneandbasket.com/default.asp
I've done plenty of Old Town pressed in cane seats, but I have found people who paddle non w/c canoes are not thrilled with cane and actually prefer webbed seats no matter what the canoe came with.
I like the idea Doug came up with, filling in the rout with resin and covering it with webbing. I will do that if the cane appears weak and ready to split.
Pics show from cane to webbed
I like the idea Doug came up with, filling in the rout with resin and covering it with webbing. I will do that if the cane appears weak and ready to split.
Pics show from cane to webbed
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Yes, I have done that too. You can also use wood putty to fill the rout which is usually somewhat cheaper than resin. You will of course see a portion of the rout at the corners that is not covered by the webbing, and a tiny bit between the straps, but it doesn't look too bad.
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