I have an old royalex MR Guide that I keep for a backup. It is in the garage in some pretty serious cold (not heated). Perhaps its too late, but does unscrewing the screws on the gunwales really help with the splitting of plastic hulls? Thanks.
Gunnels
– Last Updated: Dec-17-05 9:23 AM EST –
Wha Ho, Pilgrim;
If your Guide has wooden gunwales, I would recommend that you unscrew the first 3-4 feet of the gunwales from the hull from both ends to prevent potential cold cracking of the Royalex. If you have vinyl/aluminium gunwales, no need to - they are riveted on anyway.
Fat Elmo
Agree with Elmo
I’ve seen Royalex hulls with wood rails split – it aint pretty. It would take all of perhaps 10 minutes to do and would certainly be easy. No special skill required to loosen a few screws. I know of a paddle shop that used to have a split out Royalex canoe with wood rails as a flower planter outside the shop.
serious cold
does anyone have any insight or experience as to what degree of cold causes the damage?
Is it 40-degrees? 30-degrees? 20-degrees? 10-degrees? zero? -273 degrees?
I know my Bell handbook just says “winter”.
read this
Loosen all the INSIDE SCREWS ABOUT 6 turns.
On the OUTSIDE TAKE OFF ALL THE SCREWS FORE AND AFT to about 4 feet of each end etc.
The more the better. Take em all out if its not convient for you.
Yes they will crack and UNFORTNATLY MAD RIVER WILL NOT WARREnty EVEN IF YOU DO UNSCREW THE GUNNELS ACCOUDING TO THE OWNERS MANUAL. i FOUND THIS OUT AND FELT IS WAS DESCEPTIVE AND LAME OF THEM TO OFFER A GURANTEE EVEN WHEN YOU FOLLOW THEIR STEPS AND IT STILL CRACKS. THEREFORE I NO LONGER SUPPORT OF PURCHASE THEIR PRODUCTS.
more information please
getting back on topic …
what were the temperature and conditions that caused the problem?
While I can understand your desire to release your pent-up anger, you could really help us by describing what happened BEFORE you got mad at your canoe manufacturer.
I live in a temperate climate where it snows about once a decade and the temperature will occasionally drop below freezing a few times each winter.
As this is the first winter for my wood-trimmed royalex canoe I’m tryinig to determine what my exposure is and I think you can help me.
Thanx
Here’s What Happened to My Boat
I had a used Caper and didn’t back the screws out. Got cracks that I fixed once and the second time the cracks went under the saddle and that was it! I live in NH and had the boat under shelter but unheated and it was a cold winter, in the 20’s to well below 0.
http://community.webshots.com/album/525208563HSBAzg
Lots of good advice already listed. Might be in your best interest to go find a screwdriver! BTW, we turned half the canoe into a worm farm! 
dougd
hard freeze
would i be correct in assuming you had what around here is called a “hard” freeze? – that’s where the expansion plugs pop out of the engine blocks if you’re not using antifreeze?