“Ol’ Mukmukwum”. Been stored out of de direct sun all it’s life, but used alot. Hull be in good shape yet.
Questoon be… wood yer still trust de 30 year old Royalex hull on a long expedition in moderate WW?
Fat Elmo
I would give it a full inspection and …
– Last Updated: Jul-31-08 2:01 PM EST –
......... and decide from there . The main thing I would look at is it's flexability ,,
Does it flex and return well without any cracking or creaking sounds in the skin ??
Does it have any serious thin spots from abrassion wear ??
Can you see any delamination in the skin layers (swollen areas) ??
Are the thwarts in good shape and tight at connection to gunnels ?? Same with seats ??
I would have a good patch kit along for back up too ...
If you thump around it with a rubber mallet , that may give you an idea of the flex and integrity left in the Rolalex@ . If it cracks , it's gone too brittle ..
I would sress it every which way I could think of , and make a decision from there . In short , twist , bend , press , thump and see how well it takes it ..
It's probably built like a tank and still tough as ever ..
you bet your ass I would
just sold my '83 old town tripper last summer—and have regreted it ever since—built about as tough as they come—check the thwarts to make sure they are still solid(the wood can rot—old town carries and will sell you replacement thwarts) make sure there are no obvious cracks then go and enjoy your trip.
Absolutely
I have no doubt your canoe will last.
As a failsafe, bring a bit of epoxy and cloth. That will fix any sort of damage you might do. For instance, the old royalex might be more likely to tear if wrapped. Try to avoid wrapping it.
In the event your query was pointed at buying a new canoe, then I change my answer-you need another canoe, as your tripper should only be used as a spare (it is a safety issue, so go buy another one immediately!)
Define moderate whitewater. Examples.
de Yes
de NM
depends if its been used by a mainer
– Last Updated: Aug-01-08 10:34 PM EST –
in de Kenduskkeeg race which has not gone on for thirty years.. dose boats get drug down Valley ave for de portage.
If its been used in the river no problem!
Ive seen them so patched deys ugly but deys don leek.
If you have paddled the Penobscotscotscot infron of the factery youze knows howz tough eys gotta be.
de problem on de allagash is the owners smaaaart and asks me to portage de beest becaue deys patched it wid the tar from the roads during construction season.
Us Mainers ..we bee cheep.