In the paper yesterday was an ad that said 15ft figerglass canoe, needs minor repair $75.
I’ve been thinking of adding a canoe to the kayak fleet. So I went to see it.
The canoe was red and made by coleman. It had an aluminum top frame. I don’t know the difference between plastic and fiberglass, but I thought it was plastic.
on the keel, front and back, there’s a 3 inch crash/gash that has seperated open about 1/4 of a inch.
I know you can repair fiberglass with fiberglass, but I wasn’t not sure if you can repair plastic canoes with fiberglass mat.
now after looking on ebay, I believe the canoe to be a coleman ram-x 15 which is plastic. and at $75 and needing to be fixed, I’m not sure it’s such a great deal.
Also, part of the aluminum frame along the top side edge is bent(but not kinked) so it makes a couple waves. I don’t believe the current owner ever used it. I think he inherited it and it floated onto his property when the delaware flodded twice in the last few years.
So anyway, I passed on it this morning and told him I’d have to research it a bit.
Anyone have any input.
Thanks,
Nick
smart choice
If it was fibreglass, it would have been obvious, and repairable, plastic would be a waste of $75.
yeah, good move
passing on that. Crack sounds too big to repair with a melted milk jug, and rest of canoe is probably fatigued as well.
offer him about 25 or 40 bucks
I have repaired colemans by melting plastic into them and it could well work there, but on the keel front and back is where it will scrape on landings and takeoffs. On the other hand it may last for a long time, and you’ll have a canoe that you won’t mind bouncing off rocks with. If it doesn’t last, you will have lots of patch material for your next one, or a lovely planter for your front yard.
If you really want to try to fix this,
you could use a couple pieces of sheet aluminum layered together, about 8" x 10". Drill a series of about 20 3/16" holes around the aluminum patch, smear a lot of freshly mixed epoxy glue on the front of the patch and between the 2 sheets of aluminum, and then rivet the double layered patch to the gashed area of the canoe from the outside. Use washers on the inside for the 3/16" rivets. Use more epoxy around the patch after it has dried. Won’t be pretty. No guarantee, either.
The canoe is worthless as it is, so the $25 mentioned earlier is more than generous. You really could do much better in the used canoe market, for just a little more money. Many fewer headaches, though.
Old Coleman
I’ve owned a Coleman for a long time, and have defended Coleman canoes when they are put down by canoe snobs.
That said, I think it’s time to let that particular Coleman you are talking about find it’s way to the aluminum and plastic recycling bins. If I found it on the curb, I’d salvage the seats and strip off the gunwales and the keelson and the seat supports and sell them for aluminum scrap.
I STILL haven’t seen an epoxy or glue that will stick to polyethylene, and the milk-jug melting repair is a labor of love, necessity, dire economic straits or foolishness, IMHO.
Look elsewhere.
Oh, tell the seller I might be interested in the seats…one of mine cracked. Still usable, but I’m looking for a replacement.
after reading
After doing some reserach about it. I decided I had enough projects in the house and this wasn’t worth it. If it was a fibergalss canoe, I’d be all ove it. But just not worth the effort.
Thanks,
Nick
You can also rake leaves and trash
into a Coleman, and then drag it to the dumping spot.