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Lend me your eyes... a few q's on new to me Great Canadian 14

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nychan

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Location
Westchester NY
Scooped up this Great Canadian for $100 on FBMP. Advertised as a 12' (pics show 13'11''/ 40.75 beam). Seller threw in 2 wood paddles, a Wenonah Cormorant and no-name basic.

Not sure what model this is, as info is difficult to find with Co no longer in business. HIN: ZEF01845K999
Intended use: battle wagon to follow kids in their fishing kyack around Westchester NY. So far we've done the Great swamp, Croton river, and some of the local ponds.

Appreciate any input!
Thanks!

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Sorry for the potato pic, it reads 13'11"
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How concerned should I be with these cracks?
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Looks like a little mini tank, which is probably a good thing for your use! Nice and stable as a support/recovery for younger paddlers. Glad you're getting some use out of it.


No clue about the model - others may chime in.

Those cracks are splits in the gelcoat, which serves to provide a smooth surface and keeps water away from the glass and (probably polyester) resin layup, which isn't truly waterproof. Is the stuff still firmly adhered to the underlying glass, or are bits of it peeling up? There will probably be others dropping by soon enough, but you can get an overview of some options by searching "gelcoat repair" here on the forums.
 
sailsman63 said:
Those cracks are splits in the gelcoat, which serves to provide a smooth surface and keeps water away from the glass and (probably polyester) resin layup, which isn't truly waterproof. Is the stuff still firmly adhered to the underlying glass, or are bits of it peeling up? There will probably be others dropping by soon enough, but you can get an overview of some options by searching "gelcoat repair" here on the forums.
Click to expand...
As far as I can tell, it's not peeling up, just cracks/splits. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction for repair.
 
When I started paddling (2005), the Great Canadian Canoe Company was located on Route 146 in Sutton, MA. It was probably located in Worcester, MA at some time before that. They were a distributor, not a manufacturer - importing canoes and kayaks from Canada and reselling them under the Great Canadian name. They have been out of business for years. Look up the HIN and it comes up as manufactured by DBR Sports, Inc. out of Quebec:

D.B.R. SPORTS INC VIN Lookup | Hull Id Number Decoder | Boat History Report

Lookup and Decode D.B.R. SPORTS INC VINs / Hull ID Numbers to get information on a boat you want to buy. Sample HINs and company contact information for D.B.R. SPORTS INC.
boathistoryreport.com boathistoryreport.com

The canoes were pretty popular around here (southern New England) with the fishing crowd. I still have a Great Canadian kayak in my basement (Rainbow) that I bought for my daughter.
 
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Consider Captain Tolley’s crack cure. I’ve used it on gel coat spider cracks. I don’t know if it is appropriate for the cracks in that Great Canadian, which look wider than spider cracks. But if the gel coat is hanging on tough, maybe all that is needed is a sealer to separate the inside of the hull from water. Tolley’s might do that and it is wicked easy to apply.

As to what it is, canoe-knowledgeable friend says the only candidate that approximate length and width is the Great Canadian Adirondack Sport. 14’ long, 42”max width, 14” deep, 65lbs, $549 MSRP in the 1990’s.
 
I think it's hard to tell how much you should worry about those cracks...so if you want to keep the boat for a while I'd do something. It looks like the boat had a good long bake in the sun and that eventually caused the gelcoat to crack. Can't tell if water can get into the fabric but if it does the damage could get nasty. There's a product called Captain Tolley's that's made to seep into cracks and seal them. I'd at least do that...should be easy. Best thing might be to give it a quick sanding and paint it since paint will make it waterproof. Gelcoat repairs would work fine too but take longer.
 
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