bell wildfire black gold refurb

[dutchlennart]

Recently I did try to buy a wildfire. I failed. I guess I was to far from the unknown buyer and he could sell to someone more local. cahtting about it with a paddling buddy about it, he very generously offered his. I refused at firsth because i think he should paddle it more. After a week or 2 I called to say I was stupid and should take up his offer. A couple of weeks later the boat left England and is now in the Netherlands.





next is making a list to get the boat is shape for the next 2 decades. some stuff is straight forward:
Giving the woodwork a new coat of farnish (or 3 4....)
giving it a clean
getting up and ready for the travels I want to do take a bit more thinking:

1. -which sail and mast, leaboard ect).
2. how many airbags.
3. should i do a spraydeck if so how.
4. how to put a spare paddle secure and elegant

One question is how to varnish to outer part of the hull.
I think there wil be a clear coat of epifanes of some sort.

It helps to be 100 % sure abouut the resin that is used to build it. I presume it is vinylester. But a solid proof I could not find.
Does anyone have that proof or is contacting northstar the best way?

I what to get some more pictures when I make some progress.

 

[Halpc]

Recently I did try to buy a wildfire. I failed. I guess I was to far from the unknown buyer and he could sell to someone more local. cahtting about it with a paddling buddy about it, he very generously offered his. I refused at firsth because i think he should paddle it more. After a week or 2 I called to say I was stupid and should take up his offer. A couple of weeks later the boat left England and is now in the Netherlands.


View attachment 153642


next is making a list to get the boat is shape for the next 2 decades. some stuff is straight forward:
Giving the woodwork a new coat of farnish (or 3 4....)
giving it a clean
getting up and ready for the travels I want to do take a bit more thinking:

1. -which sail and mast, leaboard ect).
2. how many airbags.
3. should i do a spraydeck if so how.
4. how to put a spare paddle secure and elegant

One question is how to varnish to outer part of the hull.
I think there wil be a clear coat of epifanes of some sort.

It helps to be 100 % sure abouut the resin that is used to build it. I presume it is vinylester. But a solid proof I could not find.
Does anyone have that proof or is contacting northstar the best way?

I what to get some more pictures when I make some progress.

Congratulations on your purchase. I bought an older Bell Wildfire a couple of years ago which was in much rougher condition. I sanded the gunwales and decks and treated them with Watco Teak Oil. I think that Watco or hemp oil give the gunwales a nicer gel and look compared to varnish. I doubt if you need to do anything to the hull. More pictures would be helpful. Photos of mine, after rehab, are attached. It is one of my favorite boats now.

 

[dutchlennart]

The bottom is not pristine. The gunnels are aluminium.



Luckily it is not as bad as the first bell fire I owned and refurbed.

Song of the Paddle Forum-Tree v flashfire :(

Wow that's so amazing. I was so sad when it got squished, and no one could see how it could be save. I am really impressed. It must have taken you hou

www.songofthepaddle.co.uk

That boat is still paddled weekly my gf.

 

[gumpus]

Nice boat Lennert. Congrats! So you want to make it pretty so you can sail it in whitewater? Must be a European thing.

I would not use varnish; varnish turns things yellow. The bottom scratches look trivial, it looks like you don't need to do anything. If you want to freshen the outside I recommend that you ask Northstar what to use...some flavor of West System epoxy I'd guess. If the gelcoat is thick you can just sand out the scratches and polish the boat.. or much easier just polish it with an abrasive polish and that should help a lot.

To attach a spare paddle I suggest a bungee deely bob on the rear thwart or just a leather loop as shown. I'd epoxy 2 nylon d-rings on the inside flat edge of the gunwales to hold a loop of cord.

 

[dutchlennart]

"I would not use varnish; varnish turns things yellow. The bottom scratches look trivial, it looks like you don't need to do anything. If you want to freshen the outside I recommend"

On some parts the gelcoats has worn true. So the carbon fibres are not protected anymore.

 

[samb]

I fixed a damaged one up for Andy O. It had been squashed so many cracks and flaking gel coat. I can't remember what resin I used whether polyester or vinylester. I scraped out the cracks to V shapes, got rid of all the flaking and filled. Then it was sand down and repolish. I'll see if I can find which resin I used.

Sam.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

Congratulations on your Wildfire, Lennart, which I assume is hard to find in Europe.

I like varnished wood thwarts and gunwales rather than oiled, but I wouldn't varnish the hull. If you want to "paint" out the hull scratches with something clear, a coat of resin would likely be more durable than varnish. Bell used vinylester resin in its laminates, which you can confirm from their 1999 and 2004 online catalogs HERE and HERE. An alternative finish application would be clear gel coat, which is what Bell put as the outside layer of their black-gold canoe laminates. (Also stated in their catalogs.)

Before coating with anything, after you clean the hull, I would try wiping on and off some Flood Penetrol. This chemical doesn't remove scratches, but temporarily fills them in so they seem to disappear. You need to apply it maybe two or three times a season. Just wipe on, wait five minutes, and wipe off. You then can apply some 303 Protectant, which also makes scratches visually disappear.

I've never paddled my Wildfire in rapids, so airbags have never been necessary. Nor have I ever felt the need for a spray cover on any of my flat water or whitewater canoes. They make some sense to me for remote—life and death—Canadian wilderness tripping in rapids.

I don't sail, but I suppose any canoe can be outfitted with a sailing rig. I recall that Greg Spencer in England put some sort of sailing rig in a Bell Flashfire.

 

[dutchlennart]

I fixed a damaged one up for Andy O. It had been squashed so many cracks and flaking gel coat. I can't remember what resin I used whether polyester or vinylester. I scraped out the cracks to V shapes, got rid of all the flaking and filled. Then it was sand down and repolish. I'll see if I can find which resin I used.

Sam.

This is the boat.

rig

There are more wildfire's compared to hemlock boats and some other smaller brands. Still there are not that many and most owners seem to like them.

Greg is the inspiration for the sailing. I did sail his flash about a decade ago.

I live next to a lake of about 2 by 6 km and wind is on most days there anything between 2 and 6 bfrt.

There is a anual meeting about 80 kms from home. Main issue is the 'IJsselmeer'. Formerly known as the Zuiderzee' a lake where the crossing is about 40 km's..

 

[Robin]

I’d paint the canoe with a quart of Epifanes paint, (a quart will give you 3 coats, using a 6” foam roller and scuffing between coats) and I’m the type that would remove those aluminum gunnels and make ash gunnels, then varnish them with Epifanes varnish.