… is going back to be replaced … bought it new 10-1-06 and by Jan.07 had concerns about some oilcanning starting so took it back to Bass Pro then , but they only had one floor modle that looked like it might end up with the same problem cause the botton was too flat (no slightly rounded curve) as ought to be , so made sure they gave me a letter stating I was in for replacement and could come back in future for another when they had more in stock … this year the oilcanning is getting worse so just finished talking to Old Town and Bass Pro … they say bring it back and take a new one home , I’ll be getting the Expedition 169 which is the Disco 169 (renamed for Bass Pro) … I’ve been eying up the Expedition and it DOES have a noticably rounded curve in the flat bottom which ought to resist oilcanning better … these boats aren’t suppose to oilcan and I figure mine was taken out of the mould too soon before complete curing ?? … it has been stored properly , and the oilcanning has progressed with time … already hate to part with it but it’s going back before I change my mind … and in case anyone might think I may have had something to do with problem from storage , use or whatever , all I can say is I’ve used OLd Town boats a long time , a number of rentals that were Tripper , Apalachian and Disco for river runs that had many a mile of hard use on them and never any oilcanning in them , but with a camp load it may have been difficult to tell really …
No problem with the swap …
… they wanted to give me the floor modle and that would have been fine but when set out on the floor it had a definate skew in the shape , not symetrical visually , so I opted to have them get one out from storage and unwrap it , that one looked absolutely symetrical so it’s home now … hope the water test proves OK … if this one starts to show signs of oilcanning , not sure what I’ll do , maybe reinforce or tuck the gunnels some creating some tumblehome , or both ?? … anyone experience simular oilcanning tendencies ?? … Old Town told me that it definately should not oilcan but sometimes they have a batch that tend to and are happy to replace …
My 178…
…which was bought when they only had one model
called DISCOVERY, is still going strong.
Have you ever experienced …
… any oilcanning with yours ?? … I thought a little minor oilcanning was acceptable , but the one I just exchanged started with none , progressed to very minor and then progressed to the intire floor area was pillowing up … something wasn’t right ??
My pop has a Discovery 139, and …
…it does not oilcan. It’s about 10 years old now. A nice boat for fishing and photography, he enjoys his very much.
Based on what you have expeirienced, including seen with the floor model, though, perhaps you should avoid rotomolded boats in the future. Some boats–mainly sea kayaks, though, which are sleeker and more tender–have blow molded plastic (e.g. Prijon, such as rroberts Barracuda), or triple layer poly, such as Valley Sea Kayaks. Of course you could go to fiberglass or carb/Kev, but repair issues become a concern then, and triple layer and blow molded plastics are making huge advances in rigidity and performance.
G’luck, original poster.
Disco 158
My disco, bought used, started oilcanning in the first year I had it. I’ve been using it like that for years now. My buddy has the newer version and hasn’t had any problems with this. Might be the year it was made??
dougd
We paddled in a rental 169
which oil-canned once on the water. The renter said they all did it.
I have an old FG canoe that oil-canned. Solution: put a minicell solo seat under the center thwart. End of problem.
My 158 is 19 years old
and it is just slightly showing signs of it. Recently I had my '89 next to a brand new model and there was a noticable difference in the thickness and the rigidity of the bottom. I am not sure that they are still using the same hull material that they used to.
Yea , you are probably …
… pretty much on to the answer about oilcanning in the OldTown plastic lam. hulls … it seems most all who have older modles have more resistent / stiffer bottoms which is what I prefer given a choice … I know mine (being a newer modle) is Superlink-3 lam. construction … I thought all Old Towns’ plastic boats have always been Polylink or Superlink (or most recent Royal-X)?? … I’ve always used and liked them for my purposes , but the oilcanning that was progressing with the one I exchanged was staring to get on my nerves … unfortunately didn’t get to christen the new exchange boat this week yet , but I’ll post it’s results and progress as time goes on … the funny part is , that because we were considering an exchange from early on , we decided to not add a personalized sticker here and there occassionally , but I’m going to add some to this one regardless , once you get a few stickers it gets even more sentimental , lol …