Hi all, I am new to the community and am so excited to get on the water this summer!
I bought a beat up blue hole canoe, and I want to know how to best take care of it and repair the damage currently present.
I figure I will need to patch some areas, fill with epoxy etc. there are not any cracks I can find, but there is damage going below the blue paint layer into the beige middle area. I’m currently storing it under a tarp on sawhorses, as it’s 32*F in Montana this morning.
I may have an option for indoor storage this summer, but I want to see if you all have some advice.
What repairs do you suggest for this bad boy? I’m willing to sink some decent money into it as I only got it for 200$. It has no leaks, but I would like to repair, refinish, and buff it out to give her a makeover.
Welcome and congratulation, it looks great! I hope some experts can help you. I have done some repairs but only with paddle boards. I wash then wait until it is fully dry, then put the epoxy, then sand it before adding some gel coat and the paint. I had the impact at the bow and so far it is working well. The sanding bit was painful if you want it smooth.
You need to determine what the canoe is made with. Is it fiberglass or royalex? Googling Blue Hole Canoe suggests it is known for royalex canoes. You can go to YouTube and do a search of royalex canoe repair and refurbishment and find a number of informative videos.
Good luck and congrats on being the new owner of a nice usable canoe!
I think it’s royalex, photos of wear on royalex reveal a similar foamy material inside. It’s very light. I will start with flame/alcohol and epoxy to fill gashes and cracks. I think I should replace the skid plates because one is peeling off really badly, but I’m not sure how to best do that. I think 303 protectant is a good bet as well, I will research dip coating and see if that would be a good application. For the areas where it’s rubbing down, would dip coating add protection against friction?
