I have 25-year-old Explorer that had in Storage for the last eight years in Montana. Didn’t know about loosening the gunnel screws. Have four cracks on both sides of canoe 12 to 15 inch long from the Gunnell downward. Are these cracks too severe to repair
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Mad River cold crack repair
- Thread starter Bigfish
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I don't recall off hand any repairs of cracks quite that long, but I don't see why a repair could not be done. I hope those with more actual experience will chime in.
Meanwhile, our most recent detailed thread on cold crack repair is this one by our member @Jmharrick :
The repair procedures in that thread were in large part informed by the two YouTube videos, made by member @dcloots, embedded in this specific post:
I don't recall off hand any repairs of cracks quite that long, but I don't see why a repair could not be done. I hope those with more actual experience will chime in.
Meanwhile, our most recent detailed thread on cold crack repair is this one by our member @Jmharrick :
Royalex MR Explorer Cold Cracks - Advice & Repair
Hello everyone! My wife and I have been on the hunt for a used general purpose/tripping boat that we can abuse while we learn to run whitewater, and also use on small bony creeks. I came across this royalex Mad River Explorer and plan to take a look at it this weekend...
www.canoetripping.net
The repair procedures in that thread were in large part informed by the two YouTube videos, made by member @dcloots, embedded in this specific post:
Royalex MR Explorer Cold Cracks - Advice & Repair
I was able to get the seller to remove the wooden decks (which seem to be original, because the serial number was written underneath) and send me pictures of the cracks. He was unaware they were cold cracks and is talking price reduction now. Asked me to pick a price I thought was fair. Original...
www.canoetripping.net
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Welcome to the forum. I've not tried to repair any cold cracks myself but wish you the best of luck with the project.
I had a foot long crack in my Explorer, not a cold crack but in the typical location for cold cracks. The crack was through both inner and outer layer. I had broken both gunnels so had someone experienced repair/replace the gunnels. All they did for the crack was to fill it with epoxy. This adventure prompted me to get my first solo boat so I have only used the Explorer a few times and only for easy type trips since then. No issues with the repair although if I had done it myself I would have covered the crack (inner &outer) with a layer of 4oz s-glass.
I picked up an explore with a cold crack. I temporarily blue taped the outside, then layed the canoe on its side and filled the crack with GFlex. I then installed new robust (1” from top to bottom) gunnels/inwales with screws on either side of the crack. I feel these thick gunnels really help keep the crack from opening up again. I sold the canoe to a young couple and received a note from them two canoe seasons later and the crack was fine.
There are a few videos on YouTube that go into detail on repairing cracks in Royalex.
There are a few videos on YouTube that go into detail on repairing cracks in Royalex.
My son has a Mad River ME which developed serious cold cracks - some clear down into the bilge. It was one day away from being thrown in a dumpster by my son in law, who had stored it outside over the winter for several years. We repaired it with Gflex and tape and it survived. The photos are following repair of about 10 cracks, some at least 15” long. It is “seaworthy” again. Very satisfying to rescue a canoe which holds a lot of memories. The blue tape shows how long the worst cracks were. 
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