Stiffen Sawyer Loon coaming?

The coaming on my 1996 Sawyer Loon and it’s attachment to the deck are very flimsy - out of character with the construction of the rest of the boat.



The coaming flexes when I am picking the boat up or setting it down by holding the coaming. A few rivets have pulled through the coaming where the epoxy glue had come unbonded between the coaming and deck. In some places at both ends, the coaming only overlaps the deck about .75"



I plan to redo the epoxy and put some new rivets in to hopefully keep the coaming from separating from the deck when it is subjected to more stress than me just picking the boat up or setting it down.



Even in the areas where the coaming is well attached to the deck, the lip of the coaming lip still flexes quite a bit when pressure is applied.



Any way to stiffen the lip of the coaming? Or do I just have to accept that characteristic of particular Loon’s coaming? Have other production years of Sawyer Loon also had flexy coaming lips? I’d prefer to have no give in the coaming when I’m picking the boat up or setting it down.



Thanks in advance for any useful suggestions.

Mick? Eric? Wildwater? Anybody?
Suggestions for stiffening the lip of the cockpit rim?



Or should I just start saving my pennies for a Sea Wind?

Add carbon
Sweet Composites sells a carbon braided tube that can be laminated in to reinforce that joint. The advantage of the tubing is that their will be no edges needing sanding.



I doubt Sawyer used epoxy resin, but you might do so to improve secondary bonding.

Carbon or maybe a wood strip
Carbon would do the trick. I wonder if you wouldn’t have to do a layer on the exterior and interior sides of the coaming to get the full benefit from it.



A stiff wood batten (strip) about 1/2" thick and at least 3/4" tall glued to the coaming would help and if you selected the right wood (or stain it with water-based stain) you could accent the boat nicely.

Thanks Charlie and Jem.
I’ll check into those two options.



Whichever solution I choose, it’ll have to be added in such a way that it doesn’t interfere with the spray skirt mounting.



One of the challenges, with whichever solution I try, will be to flatten out the wavy lip of the rim before I stiffen it up.



One option I’ve considered for reinforcing the rim/deck seam after I’ve reglued/epoxied it is to add a strip of fiberglass seam tape around both the outside and iside of that seam. I’ve never done any glass work, so that solution probably wouldn’t be too pretty. I suppose that if the seam tape were wide enough, it could be used to both stiffen the lip and reinforce the rim/deck seam.



Scott at Superior Canoes said that he could probably help me out if I could get the boat up to him, but that’s about a 600 mile round trip for me.



Should I use big head or small head rivets to replace the small head rivets that have pulled through the deck? Why aren’t big head rivets used on composites to start with?



Thanks again for your suggestions.

Large head or small head rivets to
replace the small head rivets that have pulled through the deck?



Should I use big head or small head rivets to replace the small head rivets that have pulled through the deck? Why aren’t big head rivets used on composites to start with?



Thanks.

Adding a Thwart seems to stiffen
the coaming well. I pop riveted a couple aluminum right angle brackets to the top of the rear seat hanger brackets about 1.5" below the coaming and screwed a pine 1"x2" to the aluminum brackets to serve as a thwart.



Now the coaming doesn’t expand much at all when I pick the boat up by the coaming on just one side to move it around or move it in or out of the water. It feels much more solid. I may do the same thing on the front seat hanger brackets so I can have something to tie things on to.



Adding the thwart spread the coaming open about another 1/2" to keep the seat hanger brackets parallel from the bottom to the top and I’m hoping that doesn’t interfere with the spray skirt fit.



I also epoxied and riveted the 12" section of the coaming that had separated from the hull rim. That section of the coaming/hull overlap hadn’t been epoxied together when the boat was built and the original rivets had pulled through and the lip of the coaming was flexy.



Now, if only the boat was 10 lbs lighter.