How to repair old 17" green coleman cano

Bought an old Coleman 17" canoe with aluminum seats and frame. Plastic has large cracks near seats. Some till under the water line. Who has advise to fix this! Obviously this is a construction flaw and more need to have had this problem.



Thanks!

I think you mean 17 feet
I sincerely hope you didn’t pay much for it.

I am guessing that it will cost you more to get it fixed (with plastic welding) than you paid for it.



They do (or used to) sell a plastic stick that you melt and let it drip along the crack.



I had success on a poly canoe years ago using that method and even though it looks like hell it has held until this day.



Last year Wally World had 17 foot Coleman canoes for $350 in this neck of the woods.



Cheers,

JackL

Write it off…
…as a few dollars wasted and part of the learning curve. Your profile indicates that this canoe was cracked when you bought it so I imagine you paid a very low price. The best advice I can give you is to forget the Coleman & move on before you invest time, money and effort into a canoe that isn’t worth the aggravation to repair. Cut it up for the trash guy to haul away and begin a search for a better quality canoe.



Don’t let this get you down though – we all get stung occasionally. Just move on.

Let us review:
You have a canoe that is so old it doesn’t even have a hull identification number. It’s a Coleman. It has serious cracks down to the waterline that are both duct taped and have been smeared full of silicon. You want to use it to do mile wide sound crossings. To top it off now you say you want to put a motor on it. You only paid $60 for this piece of junk, but you want to “fix” it.



I was concerned I’d been overly negative with my first reply. Now that I read the added details I can see this thread has to be either a troll or you have some sort of death wish.



Cut it up for the trash guy.



Next question.

fixing up old coleman canoe
I have read the responces sofar with some sence of humor. Do not underestimate my common sence. Of course I will not take it out for a one mile crossing on my first trip. I have more sence then that. Truly this Coleman does not have a HIN#. I tried pushing on an undamaged part of the hull with my thumb and indeed could hear minor cracking going on. So the hull is bridle and that is why it cracked.



Ok I am giving in and have bought a piece of junk. Ok, last piece of advice what would be a reasonable price for a second hand canoe (coleman type) and where to look for it.

Reasonable Price, Coleman Type

– Last Updated: Dec-26-05 11:35 PM EST –

What's a reasonable price? That $60 you spent on a cracked boat was probably not too far out of line for something so badly damaged. You'll need to pay quite a bit more for a boat in decent condition. How much more? It's going to depend on the boat model and condition, as well as the mindset of the seller, but I would guess $200 to $400 on average, maybe less for something pretty beat up.

Regarding choices among "Coleman type" canoes, I'd go stronger on the "type" and weaker on the "Coleman". My first suggestion for something cheap would be the more basic Old Town models, but you won't get one for $60. The Old Town Discovery canoes are very popular with rental outfits, because they are cheap and almost indestructable. They are also true to your "Coleman type" requirement in that a Discovery's hull will always become extremely warped with advanced age! I've not heard of any durability problems with these boats, though, and canoe-rental places generally sell them off pretty cheap once they become too ratty to keep around. If you do find a Coleman that you like, you already know what not to accept. If you get one, you'll have plenty of company (lots of people have them), but if you can find something else for the same price, chances are you'd be better off getting it instead.

Keep your eyes on the classified ads (on this site too) for a good deal on something a little or a lot better. If I were limited to something near the bottom of the price scale, I'd rather pick up an old aluminum canoe (preferably a Grumman) than a Discovery, and I'd take virtually ANYTHING over a Coleman. You can sometimes get a pretty nice, used aluminum canoe for less than 350 bucks if you are patient. If you find an aluminum boat, check it out for minor damage (dents, missing rivets), serious damage (cracks and tears, broken ribs, broken or badly bent gunwale, broken keel, a keel line that warps upward in the center), and ask questions again as needed.

The aluminum canoe suggestion is a good
one. If in good condition, you should be able to get one for $300 to $400. But, if you really want to motor rather than paddle, I’d suggest you look for an aluminum 12-14 semi-vee. It’ll take the water well and you can put a 5 to 9.9 horse motor on the boat, larger if you want and are fool enough. I’ve seen them for as little as $100. Of course, its more of a problem to carry. You can cartop, I used to do it with a 12 ft deep and wide jon boat, but they are heavy.