hey…
…does anyone think it (oil-canning) would have an adverse effect on speed and/or tracking?
my boat veers ever so slightly to starboard when gliding and I was wondering if this had to do with the oil-can dent in hull.
don’t care so much about the speed factor- just wondering!!
Z
Could be the political climate.
g2d…
…I said it veers SLIGHTLY …
…anything too far right scares me as much as those far left wackos!!! lol
New Pungo 140
Did the same thing. All it took was about 20 minutes driving in the sun and I had a perm dent just in front of the cockpit. I layed it on it’s side and, oh golly, ended up going to the hospital for the week end. Couldnt take the stress of knowing I couldnt paddle. When I got home today the dent had popped back out.
Travel plastic on edge
Plastic boats are strongest (usually) along the sides, so if you can transport them on stackers (vertical bars or upside-down U’ shaped bars). That’ll put the weight-bearing on the part of the boat that s the strongest. You see composite boats traveling hull down because the hull is their strongest part.
You can still get a little denting from the stackers if the plastic gets hot enough, but not nearly of the scale you see from traveling pastic boats on their hulls.
Not always Celia
"Usually" composite and plastic boats have stronger decks due to the shape, hatches, coaming etc. I always transport boats upside down on padded bars, as manufacturers do. Been doing so for twenty years. What concerns me about plastic boats on edge is the possibility of bending, or the ends sagging in the heat etc. I’d prefer minor oilcanning to a warped boat. Poly kayaks are crude craft at best. Every boat out of a given tool is unique. No two are the same, just by virtue of material and manufacturing methodology. Lots of BS in the industry about this or that blend of polyethylene, and most is marketing hype. I’ve never seen one hold it’s shape over time and hard use. I’ve tested many, and paddled many miles in them and I think most avid sea paddlers would do well to go composite. Composite does not mean weak! My boats have lasted through many years of abuse. Looksha’s have that multi-edged chine profile, which Neckar originally did to try to stiffen rental boat hulls. In reality edges can create hinge points. Unfortunately, all poly boats are subject to deformation, and need special care in storage and transport. Manufacturers are competing in a saturated market with thin margins. A hull stiffening system is very feasable and practical, but I’d guess not cost effective in this Walmart climate. More powder in the tool means a very heavy boat.
It was just our experience
We started out with two plastic boats, a CD Squall and a Necky skegged Elaho (the original one). I should note that we double strap rather than use tie-downs too, though someone will surely reply that is foolish. Our experience was that the older upside-down U-shaped stackers worked best for our situation, but I’ve never seen a problem with deformation from traveling these boats on their decks.
We saw a horridly deformed Prijon on the top of a sedan coming back from Maine this year. It was a long boat on not much roof, and it was so deformed that the hull of the boat at the nose was at least 2-3 inches lower at the bow than at the most forward bar of the rack. Couldn’t tell if it went up on the roof that way or someone had gotten over-enthusiastic with the front tie-down, but it was a good example of what is possible.
My fix
I have a WS Cape Lookout 145. My rack is a pair of Thule rails with foam Noodles over the rails. My boat always seems to dent under strap pressure sun or not. I would leave it out in the sun and the dent would go away. Then I made a simple support to install in the boat while travelling. It pretty much is shaped to the inside of the deck and to the inside bottom of the boat. I have medium density foam on the ends to enable it to be pushed into place and to keep it there. Plywood makes up the forms and the vertical support. That did the trick.
I also recently purchased a pair of Malone Auto Rails or whatever they are called. I use them when I have two boats to go on the roof or if I will have the one boat on the roof for a longer ride. Transporting the boat on it’s side makes a huge difference.
I learned to love the Malones once I sorted out some simple issues. But nothing is easier than strapping the boat to the Noodles.
You are both wrong
The ideal way to carry the yaks is right side up in cradles with the bars spaced so that they are directly under the bulkheads.
In this manner it is absolutely imposssible for the plastic to “oil can” since the bulkheads keep it in shape.
You can also crank down to your hearts content on your tie down straps.
Cheers,
JackL
That only works if your boat has
bulkheads and if the vehicle roof line is long enough to space the load bars to the same spacing as the bulkheads.
With respect Jack I disagree
I have hauled HUNDREDS of yaks over the years, not dozens. I think for the most part cradles are not required, and as another pointed out, may not match your particular configuration. I’m speaking from commercial experience, and can honestly recommend deck side down on padded bars. Manufacturers haul boats in this manner. I really dislike all those rack attachements and believe them to be a waste of money. Put that $ on a nice carbon paddle!
Agreed,
Cheers,
jackL
And I respectifully will stand by…
what I said above.
Talk to some of the manufacturers and when you do make sure to tell them word for word what I wrote above and see if they agree with you more or with me.
As far as spending bucks on a good rack system, I think any one who can afford a good kayak or canoe and then puts their trust in junk to carry it with is making a big mistake.
Just my take on the racks though !
Cheers,
jackL
No big deal
It happens to poly boats. My wife’s Looksha Sport oil canned by we just use it anyway. Doesn’t hurt its handling all that much. So relax and just have fun with it.
Nope - it didn’t work
The Squall, like many plastic boats of its era, had bulkheads of minicell foam. (The current CD boats have a plastic insert that also has flex in it.) The Elaho had somewhat stiffer bulkheads, but still with some give in them. It was intentional in a lot of the RM boats so that, as/if the boat hull slightly changed shape, the bulkhead would be able to move with it and stay relatively dry. (Though between seasons the Squall did require a fresh run of Lexan around the edges of each.)
We did travel the plastic boats briefly on rollers and saddles, when we had gotten the new racks up but our composite boats ran late, and endeavored to get at least one of the bulkheads over one of the mounts. With a full length station wagon we were usually able to do that. But after the first trip like that, happily a short one, we found that the boats had benn more impacted than they ever had with the stackers. We took 'em down, got them into the water and everything popped out, but had there been any long drives to paddle in that couple of weeks we probably would have put the stackers back up.
Dent in hull
For this “Oilcan” or “dent in hull”, I can’t see where it couldn’t have an adverse effect on the performance of the craft. One thing I feel sure about is the loss of forward motion when up to any speed. Seems to want to forcefully drift off course and need extreme correction.
Girlfriend disagrees with me.
But she doesn’t have a mechanically technical mind.
I want to make a few/couple of “ribs” at the effected area, by gluing with silicone adhesive, aluminum stock, the exact (supposed) shape of the hull.
I just think a hull should be shaped like a hull and not like a square block of wood. (for lack of better explanations).
Any comments?
Thanks,
Gary