Canoe cover for epoxy canoe with no gelcoat?

[RBourg]

for theft deterrence just get a sticker for the canoe cover that says coleman

 

[yknpdlr]

When traveling a long distance with overnight hotel stays, I always park with the car parked as close as possible to view from my hotel room window, under street lights if possible. The hotel clerk was usually accommodating. And the bicycle lock has to be a cable type lock, looped around a firmly fixed roof rail, not the crossbar.

I had five belly webbing straps and stern and bow tie-down ropes on my C4 (which was not my own canoe) on my way through southern Canada to the Yukon, daunting enough for me to take the time to undo them to unload the boat, not something a thief would likely want to spend time doing.

 

[Alan Gage]

Unless the boat has integrated thwarts and the lock is attached to a roof rail, that will only stop an opportunistic thief. For many vehicles and canoes there really isn't a good way to lock it to a roof rack. Many racks are easy to remove by force (or an Allen wrench) and thwarts, yokes, and seats may only be attached to the canoe using Phillips head bolts.

I had five belly webbing straps and stern and bow tie-down ropes on my C4 (which was not my own canoe) on my way through southern Canada to the Yukon, daunting enough for me to take the time to undo them to unload the boat, not something a thief would likely want to spend time doing.

I'm pretty sure any self respecting thief would be using a knife and reciprocating saw in those situations rather than unscrewing thwarts and undoing 5 webbing straps.

Alan

 

[tketcham]

I'm pretty sure any self respecting thief would be using a knife and reciprocating saw in those situations rather than unscrewing thwarts and undoing 5 webbing straps.

Alan

That's my point, a Phillips head is easy to come by or overcome, thus, a crime of opportunity. Locks really only keep mostly honest people mostly honest.

 

[scoutergriz]

for theft deterrence just get a sticker for the canoe cover that says coleman

believe it or not, I've had a few people tell me that they're the best canoe ever made

 

[yknpdlr]

I'm pretty sure any self respecting thief would be using a knife and reciprocating saw in those situations rather than unscrewing thwarts and undoing 5 webbing straps.

Unless they have pre-planed to come ready equipped with an extra long trailer, a sturdy roof rack mount with their own roof straps, or another kind of sufficiently long transport vehicle, they are going to have a tough time loading and traveling unnoticed with a 23' C4 or a 34' 100+ pound cedar strip voyageur.

 

[tketcham]

Unless they have pre-planed to come ready equipped with an extra long trailer, a sturdy oof rack mount with their own roof straps, or another kind of sufficiently long transport vehicle, they are going to have a tough time loading and traveling unnoticed with a 23' C4 or a 34' 100+ pound cedar strip voyageur.

Didn't seem to stop this guy...

 

[Erica]

Didn't seem to stop this guy...

What happens when he stops?

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

Marc, last fall Savage River had one of your early comp Illusions for sale. It had a UV blocking clear coat on it, which is now a $500 option that adds a pound of weight. I passed on that option. I wonder if your current Illusion has that clear coat, which would be quite relevant to your experience of no UV damage.

My Illusion has clocked 25K maybe 35K miles on the roof of my truck and shows no indication of structural degradation.

Marc, I'm at Savage River right now. Ben Diller said all your comp canoes have had the UV blocking clear coat that I referenced above. Mine doesn't.

I looked at Savage River's canoe covers custom made for the Illusion both by RedLeaf and another source, which is $100 less expensive than the RedLeaf. Different materials. I didn't weigh them, but I'd guess 4 pounds or so. Too much for me after I've spent a fortune with light weight as a primary objective.

I'm not going to get a cover. I simply won't leave the canoe on my car when I'm not paddling, unlike in the past when I've had a dedicated canoe vehicle. I'll take it off and put it in the garage after every use. I may cartop on long trips four or five times a year. I doubt that's a big UV exposure risk, especially at my age.

An additional point, which results in a convincing (to me) reductio ad absurdum argument: The inside of the canoe is skin-coated Kevlar infused with the very same epoxy. I'm sure the inside of my canoe will spend a lot more time facing the sun than the bottom of the hull will. Should I worry about epoxy and Kevlar degradation on the inside of my hull — and hence always paddle with a full canoe cover. No, I won't.

 

[gumpus]

Marc, I'm at Savage River right now. Ben Diller said all your comp canoes have had the UV blocking clear coat that I referenced above. Mine doesn't.

I looked at Savage River's canoe covers custom made for the Illusion both by RedLeaf and another source, which is $100 less expensive than the RedLeaf. Different materials. I didn't weigh them, but I'd guess 4 pounds or so. Too much for me after I've spent a fortune with light weight as a primary objective.

I'm not going to get a cover. I simply won't leave the canoe on my car when I'm not paddling, unlike in the past when I've had a dedicated canoe vehicle. I'll take it off and put it in the garage after every use. I may cartop on long trips four or five times a year. I doubt that's a big UV exposure risk, especially at my age.

An additional point, which results in a convincing (to me) reductio ad absurdum argument: The inside of the canoe is skin-coated Kevlar infused with the very same epoxy. I'm sure the inside of my canoe will spend a lot more time facing the sun than the bottom of the hull will. Should I worry about epoxy and Kevlar degradation on the inside of my hull — and hence always paddle with a full canoe cover. No, I won't.

If you use Boatguard on the interior please ask someone to take a video the next time you step in the boat.