Everything was fine until…

[Black_Fly]

I was too busy fishing to notice the fast approaching rock garden. I was dead middle river when I should have been far left. Pin balled through in my new NC Prospector 15. Bogan was hugging the deck. I heard one crunch as the stern whipped against a mostly submerged boulder. The bow was bouncing back an forth, glancing off innumerable glaciated igneous debris. The result: Holes in both stems, time for skids. That’s ok, this is my rocky river boat. I intend to wear it out.

 

[Alan Gage]

Holes as in water leaking through the hull or holes as in cracks/chips in the outer layer/gel coat?

Alan

 

[Boatman53]

Too bad but it looks like you know how to handle the repair.
Jim

 

[Erica]

So sorry!

 

[Black_Fly]

Just big chips down to the fabric. It’s ok really. I bought it for highly variable rocky rivers. The blue Steel layup is NOT however, the new Royalex (as some have marketed it). I’ve owned several Royalex canoes and it was a far superior material for canoes. This carbon fiber/Kevlar canoe is a tad lighter (45 lbs), but more fragile than ideal for shallow streams. But who cares. At my age (without heirs), I’m not about protecting my boats - just using them up.

 

[yellowcanoe]

You got this.. Let the river do the sanding. Much less work for you in installing the skid plates.

 

[JohnSand]

Any wreck you can walk (or paddle) away from..

 

[memaquay]

I have seen similar things on nova craft tuff stuff. I just thickened epoxy and refilled the holes. So far it is holding up.

 

[Midwest Firecraft]

The blue Steel layup is NOT however, the new Royalex (as some have marketed it). I’ve owned several Royalex canoes and it was a far superior material for canoes.

I've never heard anyone compare Blue Steel or Northstar's Blacklite to Royalex. TuffStuff and IXP are the layups with Basalt that are the replacement for Royalex. Either way you knew what you bought it for and are getting the most out of it. That's what I love about kevlar/carbon layups. As long as you don't go through the foam core they are pretty simple to fix.

 

[Odyssey]

You know what they say about beauty. I think you have this figured out Blackfly.

 

[Black_Fly]

Well, with the skids in place, I won’t gnash my teeth quite as much when I screw up a line. I toyed with the idea that I’d take this canoe on a trip to lake country instead of my Magic. While the stability for fishing and extra room would be welcome, the extra portage weight is contrary to my whole aging/tripping plan.

 

[dtvburns]

That really sucks, but I am surprised just one run did that much damage.

 

[scoutergriz]

What's old is new again, until 1984 when Old town made the first 3- ply Royalex canoe, the standards were aluminium and fiberglass for WW, We ran my old "green Monster" fiberglass boat on local rivers on Saturdays, and reglassed it on Sundays...

 

[Black_Fly]

I fiiled and sanded the major cracks on the bottom with Flex 455. For the skids, one coat of epoxy to fill the low spots and she’ll be ready for the orbital sander and some manual touch up sanding afterwards. A season on the Totogatic - might not be so bad next year after I learn the river and where the seasonal changes are likely.

 

[Black_Fly]

Not sure what to do with this crack. Maybe grind out the epoxy and refill?