used royalex canoe

I am considering buying a used royalex canoe. In the desription it states that the canoe is in very good condition, but on the pictures listed the bottom hull has a scrape that shows white on the green body. Does this comprimise the royalex stucture or the or the boat itself? Does this need to be fixed, and how much will it cost? The scatch does not appear that deep. Thanks for your help

Talk about ego…

– Last Updated: Mar-02-04 10:36 AM EST –

...here I sit in WA state, telling you how to buy a boat in Texas! Scratches happen to any boat that's used, so you're right, it depends. I don't know central TX. Is there a paddle club on the website for the American Canoe Assn. listed for your area? There might be someone with more experience who'd help you decide. Some of us addicts would drive an hour to help, just to have an excuse to look at a canoe.

At worst, the scratch might go through
the green vinyl layer and into the outer layer of the ABS-foam-ABS sandwich. On my ABS boats, when the ABS is exposed, it is a pale milky aqua. Not sure how it would look in a photo.



I have filled narrow scratches with 3M Structural Adhesive, an often-used 2-part urethane. For a wider scrape, one might get some matching green “ABS” paint and just paint the scrape over to keep the UV rays off the ABS.



It is also possible that the “scratch” is just some white stuff scraped off a dock or something which stuck to the vinyl. Ask the seller. By the way, most ABS boats, after long use, will lose the vinyl covering over the ABS at the lower part of the bow and stern. Some people put Kevlar grunch pads on to prevent this. Some people like me wait until the vinyl is beginning to scrape through, and then use fiberglass and epoxy, which makes a neater and smoother patch.

It might only be wax
if the owner waxed the boat with car wax every small scratch will show white after the wax is left in the scratch and dries. Something to ask about. I agree with g2d on other details.

some information

– Last Updated: Mar-02-04 8:44 AM EST –

I hope this helps you. But first, is it a great deal? A low price will be the incentive to buy it and fix it up...
Old Town sells repair supplies for Rolalex so if you decide to buy it, you have an easy resource for the repair stuff. The old town part is is a 2-part epoxy putty. Part #1332.2300
I am told it comes with instructions for use and surface preparation. Make sure the gouge is scrubbed out, cleaned out. An old toothbrush will work for scrubbing the gouge out with dish washing detergent for the first step in the cleaning process. Follow the instructions for further prep and application.
Even deep gouges, if relatively short in length, will not compromise the hull's rigidity. You just want to fill in and cover the gouge permanently to protect those currently exposed laminate layers with a "skin graft" if you will.
Old Town has appropriate spray paint for painting over repairs too. Ought to be a close match to this boats green...
Oltanar Spray Paint part #1331.1870
Here is the Old town link:
http://www.oldtowncanoe.com/

Epoxy Putty
I am able to buy 2-part epoxy putty at my local hardware store. It has worked great on my roylex boat. Once mixed it is grey. I don’t bother to paint it. I just have a boat with grey measels. :slight_smile:

Shoo Goo
Two seasons ago I applied ShooGoo (NOT ShooGoop)to our Roylex canoe and it has held up well. Had a couple of deeper scrapes and the stuff has stayed put. We paddle rocky rivers and last fall did 6 miles of log crawling. I thought the Goo would be gone, but it is still holding tight. We store our boats inside, out of the sun and keep them clean. We also paddle fresh water, not saltwater.

if it wasn’t scratched it soon would be
At least if it was Mine. I have a royalex mohawk odessey and the bottom looks like it was dragged behind the truck. I did have to put kevlar skid plates on the ends after the plastic wore out. If the price is right I would say go for it Paddleholic

thanks
Thank you for your input, if any one has any suggetions on the best way to go about protecting the hull (skid plates, epoxy?) I would be interested. thanks again.

Anthony

no worries
hey, it is a roylex canoe, they are tuff as nails and can take the most extreme beating of all the canoe materials. Of course we dont AIM for the rox all though some canoeist seem to aim for them, lol.

If you are that concerened, take clear epoxy and fill the gap. Place Saran Wrap over the epoxy, and then smooth out the resin layer. This is best accomplished on a warm sunny day, the hull will be warm.

Dont worry about skid plates unless you plan on hitting rocks, but even then the ends of roylex canoes are usually reinforced. Skid plates just add more weight to an already cumbersome material.

I say if the pric is rite, go for it!!

NemoX