Royalex 16' Mad River Explorer with Hybrid Gunwales?

[kari13]

We bought a 1989 16’ Mad River Explorer today and I’m confused about the gunwales. They appear to be wood on the inside but plastic or vinyl “faux wood” on the exterior trim. Additionally the Royalex edge is completely exposed - you can see the foam core sandwiched between the vinyl sheeting sandwiched between the exterior and interior gunwales - and I don’t know if that matters or not. The decks are also a piece of Royalex with an exposed edge. I’m most familiar with boats that have vinyl gunwales that completely cover the top edge of the canoe so this design is a new for me.

So anyway…

1. Is this something Mad River did? Or is this a common way to repair for damaged wood gunwales?
2. Does anyone know (or have an educated guess about) what the exterior gunwale material on this boat actually is?
3. Does this reduce the risk of cold cracks and need to store indoors in winter? Or otherwise impact the care of the boat significantly?
4. Is the Royalex core exposed in this way a problem at all?

Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

[castoff]

Looks to me like the exterior wood gunwales and decks were probably replaced by a previous owner possibly due to wood rot. I think there is a good chance of cold cracks if the screws aren’t backed out. There is a good chance that the replacement gunwales are plastic decking or trim. I seem to remember that the exposed ABS and foam core can deteriorate when exposed to UV and absorb water in the foam core which can lead to delamination. Small holes and cracks can be filled with epoxy putty designed for ABS or a similar adhesive like G-flex epoxy. I have done skid plates of G-flex mixed with black carbon powder to protect exposed ABS core from UV.

[Jyak]

Looks a little like Trex decking.

[kari13]

It looks exactly like Trex decking. Creative problem solving by a previous owner?

[Jyak]

At least it has built in UV resistance.