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Colden Dragonfly Repair
- Thread starter Erica
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I think you will have no choice but to fill the holes with a kind of epoxy filler. Once this has hardened, you can then sand them down, smooth them out and then paint them the appropriate color.
There is such filler (EPOXY BASE FILLER) especially for boat building and it is ready to use.
or you applay a skid-plate:
northwestcanoe.com
northwestcanoe.com
There is such filler (EPOXY BASE FILLER) especially for boat building and it is ready to use.
or you applay a skid-plate:
Northwest Canoe Company, Inc.
Whether you like to Do It Yourself or prefer professionals do the work, WE ARE HERE TO HELP?
northwestcanoe.com
SKID PLATE KIT - SOLO / COMPOSITE
Finally, right-sized felts for the knife-like entry of your fiberglass, Kevlar or carbon composite canoe. Sleek 32 x 3 inch Kevlar felts packaged with a two-part marine epoxy resin system will protect your canoe, solo or tandem. NWC how-to instructions help you make a smooth job of it...
northwestcanoe.com
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Looks like gel coat? A gel coat repair kit is shockingly easy to use with very nice outcomes. If it were mine I’d use clear gel, which would show the carbon through but still can be built up to preserve the original shape.
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There's a lot of people on here that have done more extensive repairs than I so perhaps they'll chime in but I agree that I'd fill the gouged-out areas with something. I'd probably use epoxy thickened with microballoons but I already have that stuff (they sell small quantities of G-flex and microballoons just be careful with the balloons- they're extremely mobile and breathable so wear a GOOD dust mask).
If I had to wing it on my own, I'd probably mix a very small quantity un-thickened G-flex and paint that onto the damaged areas with a small paint brush. When that's tacky, mix enough G-flex to fill the gouges and add microballoons until it was thickened enough to plaster it onto the damaged areas without it running off the hull (probably creamy peanut butter consistency). After dried, you could sand it out, feather it in and paint it (if you wish). I'd probably also put a strip of s-glass on as a skid plate for added protection in the future but I'm not sure who sells s-glass tape. All that I'm aware of is e-glass which has less abrasion resistance (but still more than an unprotected hull)
Using peel ply might help keep the epoxy in place until cured and make feathering the edges easier but I'm not sure... I've never used peel ply.
Colden might have colored touch-up kits available also- it sure looks like the original wasn't just paint but I thought they vacuum bagged. No idea how they achieved two-tone.
If you'd like, I can conduct an experiment adding some blue & white Unicorn Shpit to some thickened epoxy and see if it sets up ok.
If I had to wing it on my own, I'd probably mix a very small quantity un-thickened G-flex and paint that onto the damaged areas with a small paint brush. When that's tacky, mix enough G-flex to fill the gouges and add microballoons until it was thickened enough to plaster it onto the damaged areas without it running off the hull (probably creamy peanut butter consistency). After dried, you could sand it out, feather it in and paint it (if you wish). I'd probably also put a strip of s-glass on as a skid plate for added protection in the future but I'm not sure who sells s-glass tape. All that I'm aware of is e-glass which has less abrasion resistance (but still more than an unprotected hull)
Using peel ply might help keep the epoxy in place until cured and make feathering the edges easier but I'm not sure... I've never used peel ply.
Colden might have colored touch-up kits available also- it sure looks like the original wasn't just paint but I thought they vacuum bagged. No idea how they achieved two-tone.
If you'd like, I can conduct an experiment adding some blue & white Unicorn Shpit to some thickened epoxy and see if it sets up ok.
I also think filling the chipped out areas with thickened epoxy would be good enough.
If you thought you might expose the hull to similar abuse in the future then some sort of skid plate would be warranted.
Alan
If you thought you might expose the hull to similar abuse in the future then some sort of skid plate would be warranted.
Alan
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I'm no expert. I think you want to first remove any loose chunks. I think epoxy will be easier than gelcoat. I'd suggest that you do it in 2 steps since it's almost impossible to use just the right amount the first time.
When I fixed a boo boo on my bow I used gelcoat and saran wrap (might have been glad wrap). The saran wrap forces the gelcoat or epoxy to take the shape of the boat...just hold it in place with tape. I've never used peel ply but it's made to do the same thing. The saran wrap does not stick to gelcoat but in your case I'd first try mixing a little epoxy on a scrap piece of wood and applying saran wrap and letting the epoxy cure to make sure the saran wrap comes right off.
When I fixed a boo boo on my bow I used gelcoat and saran wrap (might have been glad wrap). The saran wrap forces the gelcoat or epoxy to take the shape of the boat...just hold it in place with tape. I've never used peel ply but it's made to do the same thing. The saran wrap does not stick to gelcoat but in your case I'd first try mixing a little epoxy on a scrap piece of wood and applying saran wrap and letting the epoxy cure to make sure the saran wrap comes right off.
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Thank you all for your informative replies. I'm not entirely sure what they all mean, but I get the gist of it. I used to repair other stuff with epoxy glue and this seems much the same. Mix up the two parts, apply, hold in place, dry, sand.
What do you think about this kit from amazon? It has epoxy, gel coat and can mix in color, one of which looks exactly like the color of my boat.
Repair Kit
I like the idea of using the saran wrap to hold it in place.
Question about the sanding. Won't sanding in the area also put little sanding scratches in the undamaged but adjacent parts of the canoe?
Again, thank you kind-hearted paddlers.
What do you think about this kit from amazon? It has epoxy, gel coat and can mix in color, one of which looks exactly like the color of my boat.
Repair Kit
I like the idea of using the saran wrap to hold it in place.
Question about the sanding. Won't sanding in the area also put little sanding scratches in the undamaged but adjacent parts of the canoe?
Again, thank you kind-hearted paddlers.
Erica, I'll echo Gamma and implore you to invest in a good mask. Even little repairs and sanding can ding your lungs up badly, and if you have one, you're more likely to invest the time in more involved (or multiple) repairs.
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Yes; yes it will.
I'm really not sure if it's the epoxy or the cloth that is damaged by UV light but I'd slap a couple of coats of spar varnish on when you're done. That should protect the epoxy (if it needs it) and remove the sanding scratches.
Hemlock Canoe (formerly Curtis Canoe) was the original manufacturer of the Dave Yost Dragonfly (before Colden which is now closed). Hemlock is still manufacturing beautiful canoes and is more than capable of doing expert repairs of your Dragonfly. They are located in Hemlock, NY south of Rochester. https://hemlockcanoe.com
Looks good to me. Most of us use thin epoxy and mix in a thickening agent to make it thick. But I once used some pre-thickened epoxy, similar to what's shown in your link, that came as part of a kit and it was really nice to use.
Alan
Looks like only the gel coat has been scraped off, leaving the fabric undamaged. I agree that you essentially need to remove any loose/loosening gel coat chips, then fill the gaps with some sort of thickened resin, and then smooth (sand) as best you can fair with the hull. The kit you found looks like a reasonable product, and you might be able to match both the white and blue gel coat with the tinted pastes.
As a final step if it ends up messy, you can cover up the entire stem with a composite skid plate of either S glass or Dynel, and then paint the skid plate. There are several threads here about installing skid plates.
As a final step if it ends up messy, you can cover up the entire stem with a composite skid plate of either S glass or Dynel, and then paint the skid plate. There are several threads here about installing skid plates.
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Can you show me a picture or link as to what it is? I still have a supply of N95 masks I was using during covid. Would those work?
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Unfortunately, I live in Florida. Otherwise, great idea.
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What is spar varnish? Are there different types and if so, what type. It seems whenever I go to buy something, it turns out there’s several choices and I don’t know which one to choose.
I have done an enormous amount of damage to my lungs in my work life, so I am apt to get passionate about lung protection. As always, your mileage may vary, but I sand in these masks. For involved repairs, or working with epoxy or serious sanding/fiberglass, I'd get a particle respirator with replaceable filters. They suck, they're hot and inconvenient, and it's hard to breathe in them, but with as much damage as I've done to my lungs I wish I'd worn one much more often. (If you have any heart issues, or breathing issues, do some homework - you have to suck air in pretty hard and you get less oxygen.)
I think the difference between a disposable n95 and reusable particle respirator is how they handle liquid- or oil-borne particles; your basic reusable particle respirator at a home supply store would be somewhere between 30 and 70 bucks.
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Erica, the reason I'd lean towards epoxy vs gelcoat is that gelcoat is much thinner so you may have a really hard time filling the damaged areas since gravity will make the gelcoat run.
For aesthetics I'd say if you use tinted gelcoat just leave it and don't try to make it perfect. If you use epoxy you could touch up the repaired areas with paint.
Or, if you are artistically inclined this might be a good time to paint a shark face on the bow or do some other cool decoration. If you're not artistically inclined you can look for a local artist to help.
For aesthetics I'd say if you use tinted gelcoat just leave it and don't try to make it perfect. If you use epoxy you could touch up the repaired areas with paint.
Or, if you are artistically inclined this might be a good time to paint a shark face on the bow or do some other cool decoration. If you're not artistically inclined you can look for a local artist to help.
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Erica, looking at the repair kit that you asked about above, it appears that it may be a pre-thickened epoxy (they talk about spreading it so it's not the thin viscosity liquid with which I am familiar) and it certainly looks like it should work.
I would think an N95 mask would work fine for sanding or working with microballoons (although you shouldn't need microballoons with the kit that you're considering). An N95 filters out 95% of 0.3 micron particles while the microballoons l that I use are 20 microns. No issues there.
As for the spar varnish: There are multiple manufacturers but IMO they're all about the same. The spar provides UV protection and I have no idea what the differences between spar and other urethanes are. "Spar blocks UV" was always enough for me.
I have heard that the high VOC spars were better than the low VOC. Unfortunately, all that's now available near me lately are the low VOC varieties.
PS: I like the shark face idea (maybe a trauma bandage would be more in keeping with your profession?).
I would think an N95 mask would work fine for sanding or working with microballoons (although you shouldn't need microballoons with the kit that you're considering). An N95 filters out 95% of 0.3 micron particles while the microballoons l that I use are 20 microns. No issues there.
As for the spar varnish: There are multiple manufacturers but IMO they're all about the same. The spar provides UV protection and I have no idea what the differences between spar and other urethanes are. "Spar blocks UV" was always enough for me.
I have heard that the high VOC spars were better than the low VOC. Unfortunately, all that's now available near me lately are the low VOC varieties.
PS: I like the shark face idea (maybe a trauma bandage would be more in keeping with your profession?).
