Looking for Ideas on Plastic Canoe Re-Enforcement & Repair.

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jtice

jtice

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I am looking for some ideas on how to re-enforce at least the front hull of a plastic (polyethylene I think) canoe I purchased.
It seems to handle impacts well, and bouces right back, but its getting some fairly deep gouges and scrapes already.

I know they make some kits for this, but all they are, are some epoxy and a bit of material, and they are $50+ kits !

I am just looking for alternative ideas.
Doesnt have to be real pretty, just something to give the front hull a bit more toughness, and thickness.

I was thinking of using some PVC glue, or some 5 minute epoxy, which I will be testing tonight, just to see if it sticks well.
But I am not sure what to use as a material.

Are there any epoxies that are good with plastics, that arent real expensive, and come in larger cans?

What about "gaffer" ? tape, would it stand up to any of this?

Thanks for the ideas guys,
~John
 
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Fiberglass would work great, on a fiberglass canoe.
Problem is, the plastic ones, like mine, are very flexible, which is great for bouncing off rocks.
But, fiberglass hardens, and doesnt allow much flex at all.
I think that would lead to it cracking, and separating from the flexible plastic hull.

~John
 
o dang that stinks me my self am looking for a small light canoe that i can carry like 1/4 mile .bet plastic would serve that purpose.
 
Do you have a ****s Sporting Goods near you?
They have a Pelican (Coleman) Colorado Canoe for under $300.
Its about 78 lbs
Best bang for the buck I found, if you are wanting a new one.

~John
 
i get there add so im sure we have one.id love to have a canoe i live so closeto lake lanier.i walk down there every night wishing i had a canoe.i dont drive so it may even have to be lighter then 78 lbs.guess it maters how well they balance on sholder.maybe i need a kayak i bet there lighter?
 
yea, for one person it would kinda suck, it can be awkward, being that long.

Sure Kayaks can be very very light, and much much smaller,
they are just harder to keep upright in the water :green:

~John
 
forgot to mention if i understand corectly im like 2 miles from where the 96 olympics kayak races was.i still see people raceing thease long kayaks with lots a people in em http://www.lckc.org/
 
have you considered wire mesh and duct tape?

fiberglass repair kits are indeed expensive...but unless your at risk of hull breach I suppose duct tape might work, but the color wont look right:popcorn:
 
Yea, suppose that would help. :ironic:
How about a few? :p

IMG_5338.sized.jpg
IMG_5342.sized.jpg
IMG_5376.sized.jpg

Right now I am testing some rubberized truck undercoating.
It would be perfect, but I dont think its going to stick. :(

Some other good options mentioned here, thanks guys.
~John
 
sweet canoe dude.bet its a blast to explore in it. hey i like the rhino liner sugestion the best.i wonder also about useing rope or bungy to strap some streofoam to it will work. i know it will break of but it should protect ya canoe i guess
 
Ah, a square-back canoe. Ummm, I think you have a little too much weight in the stern. :nana:

Plastic is not just plastic, there are many many different plastics. And they behave differently, to varing degrees.

If it polyethylene, not much will stick to that plastic. Short of some expensive industrial epoxy, and even that is iffy. That's one of the trade-offs for a plastic hull, repair is iffy. The fiber-composite hulls (fiberglass or Kevlar) are more repairable because the fiber materials and resins/adhesives work together to make the hull in the first place.

Skip the 'attempts' and just get the hull repair/reinforcement kit. For that you usually get an attempt at the proper adhesive and some kevlar cloth (for keel or bow wear-strips or gouge/hole repair)).
 
That second photo does make it look extremely stern heavy.
But with two people in the boat it actually sits in the water quite well.
We didnt have any issues with the edge of the boat going below water level.

I tested some 2 part 5 minute epoxy that I use alot,
it seems to stick just fine, but then it sticks to everything.
So it should be fine for repairs at least.
The rubberized truck undercoating I tried doesnt seem to want to dry for some reason, and is not sticking very well at all.

We may end up biting the bullet and getting some of the kevlar stuff, it has to help some I would think.

~John
 
Most of the canoes/kayaks are made of some type of proprietary material, even differing materials in different models of the same brand. I would check with the manufacturer and use what they recommend. Even tho pricey, it may be cheaper in the long run.

There are several different grades of utility (duct) tape. You get what you pay for. The best seems to be the black that comes from a pro air/heating supply house. I helps to clean and heat the material before applying the tape.

Silver tape and nylon wire ties -- the urban equivalent of baleing wire. Don't leave home without them.

edit BTW - we have a Coleman squareback canoe that we run most of the time with an electric motor. I put the batt under the front seat and run 8ga lines (an old jumper cable) to the motor. Helps with the 100lb weight differential between wife/me.
 
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BIGIRON,

We may still try some kinda of industrial tape.
I was thinking of trying Gorilla tape first, and as you said, heating things up nice before applying it.

At any rate, some good tape, some epoxy, and some zip ties are definately going to be in the "tool" kit.

Good idea about placing the battery up front.
We even thought about that with our gas can.
But the hose was not really long enough, and I was not all that happy with the idea of a pressurized gas tank up front, spraying fuel back on me and the motor as I was heading down river. :green:

~John
 
Cool thread! Now I can give suggestions for your canoe here as well as in the other thread about what light to use. :)

How about creating some sort of bumper for it out of PVC pipe? Perhaps JB Weld (I've used the JB "Stik") or Duracoat would do something. JB Weld is basically steel epoxy, so it doesn't flex like the plastic, but if you roughen your surface, you can push the stuff in and it'll grab on pretty well. Duracoat is used to coat firearms, but I've never used it, so I don't know how well it would work (if at all) for this.

http://jbweld.net/products/index.php
http://www.lauerweaponry.com/
 
Hello again Tiger :waves:

We are also thinking about the Duracoat type stuff, bed liners, etc.
But we are worried they are too thin, and too brittle.
Though I am not sure what bed liner is like, maybe it isnt as brittle as I think.

For some reason, the rubber undercoating I am testing STILL isnt totally cured.
I have a small fan blowing on it now also.
Not sure if its an old can, or what.
I dont have much faith in it though. :ironic:
Shame, it goes on nice and thick, and would protect it very well.

~John
 
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