ever repaired a foam core boat?
ever repaired a wood and canvas or dacron canoe?
Can you split spruce and cedar for a repair and lash gunwales?
I cant do either.
Sure I can patch up a Kevlar boat messily to get me through.
But otherwise I am lacking in repair talent.
My RapidFire now has several extended trips. Its not just the material but how it is placed.
And no, I am not talking of a walk in the park. RF may not be the perfect boat but its the product of some intelligent thinking outside of the box that lighter is always better.
different ways to build with wood
Wood and canvas isn’t the only type of wooden canoe.
But even a wood and canvas can be repaired with a quick-fix.
agree mine are wood and dacron
and they are tough(wood has lots of resilience) but if I had to do a field repair of a ripped canoe its not that easy unless you are Ray Rietze.
I have had lots of road rash or rock rash and paint took care of it but a splintered gunwale and multiple plank breaks would be the better of me for sure… I am still learning as a member of the Wooden Canoe Heritage Assn of the myriad of construction details that affect a repair.
Bart Hauthaway kayak
I bought my first kayak/decked canoe, a 12’Sugar Island from Bart in 1975 that weighed around 30 lbs and he called it the barge of his line because it was the heaviest kayak he built. He wanted me to buy his Greenland kayak instead and offered to teach me to roll if I bought it. I bought the Sugar Island instead and have always regretted years passing up the offer to learn to roll from a former Olympic kayaker and Olympic kayak coach. Sadly Bart died a few years ago.
In a sense I agree but
I’m sure glad the new Boeing Dreamliner won’t be made of wood!!!
I volunteer
to cannonball into anyone’s superlight hull as a test.
(have done so into my Black Gold Magic w/no damage to outfitting or hull)
Jim
or
your back?
And:
why?
Well, not so much a cannonball
as an uncontrolled slip and fall into my boat on a steep, muddy shoreline. Probably about a two foot vertical fall onto the seat I had just fabricated and installed. My first thought was “OK, no need to worry about durability!”
Jim
again
your back? I mean, was your first thought really about the durability of your boat, rather than your bones? Didn’t that hurt?
I’ve crashed my bike and looked it over for scratches before noticing blood running down my leg, but that’s skidding rather than thumping so I was sure nothing major had cracked. After falling vertically I like to test my structural integrity as far as possible without actually moving, in case something needs traction to prevent further damage. If your first consideration was for what you fell ON, well, I think that’s love.
Boat first, body second
Bodies heal, boats and outfitting have to be repaired.
Jim
uh uh body first
Of course when my UL got pinned and I heard crack crack I wasn’t exactly thinking sanely …I hurtled over the chute after it thinking I was done for…many dozens of miles from any town.
I’m done with UL… I will pay more attention to not only weight but construction.
But I was saved by St. Duct Tape!
Instincts, Love or Value
More than once I have fallen while carrying my canoe. Each time I have instinctively sacrificed my body for the protection of the composite hull. I can remember lying on my back, canoe stiff-armed over my chest, listening to the applauds of onlookers celebrating that no part of the boat touched the ground, while I waited for feeling to return in my legs. I have often wondered how my instincts would react if I paddled a Coleman Ram-X.
another reason to ditch UL
So thankful I took the tank to northern Quebec. I had three falls and no one would have found me for a week (its a used route but rarely).
When you are alone and there is nobody to help you and your ankle gets wedged between two rocks in a foot of looncrap, you better throw the boat.
What good is the boat if you are DEAD?
You can throw an UL farther than a tank.
My "tank " is relative
its 40 lbs. I can throw it well and it bounces well. Kevlar, s glass and gel coat.
The UL throws well and with less than a lb of material punctures well. Not up for discussion… I have the pincushion…well the boat hospital has it.
You dont pick a tack hammer for a roofing job and you dont pick flimsy construction for real wilderness.