Fiberglass canoe repairs

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BearInTheWoods

BearInTheWoods

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 18, 2013
Messages
273
Hey all,

Can anyone recommend the best solution for repairing a fiberglass canoe based on past experience?

It has been suggested to try Flex Seal, Bondo or GelCoat. The canoe was dirt cheap and is functioning as it is now but I'm looking to strengthen it cost efficiently before giving it a repaint.

It has 3 previous repairs which I want to toughen, done with the fiberglass cloth and resin (Bondo or something of the sort I think?)

Flex seal looks good but based on a lot of reviews online I've been poring over... it is just that, looks good on infomercials but not necessarily as good in real life. Though in all fairness one guy who bashed it tried to repair an inflatable. It clearly needs a solid base to adhere to.

Any and all opinions appreciated,

Bear in a canoe
 
They are just wearing thin from age, nothing really wrong with them, the guy who did it before knew his shit... better than I do at least lol.

Like I said though, just looking to strengthen, is it okay to put fiberglass patch right on top of the previous ones? Or is one of the other options (Flex seal, etc..) better?
 
I've also just used fiberglass cloth and resin. Just go overtop the old repair. I generally would do multiple applications for the repair. Start with a small patch then progressively go bigger until the last one has gone past the old repair by a couple inches. Be sure to scratch and clean the area before applying the fiberglass.

Let it dry, a quick sand and throw some paint on it and no ones the wiser. If you need more info feel free to pm me, I've fixed quite a lot of stuff with fiberglass, it's nasty/messy to work with but in the end it's a great product.
 
you can't go wrong with fiberglass cloth and 2 part epoxy = fiberglass. sand the area that you need to repair to get maximum adhesion. and if possible. patch both sides. I you're looking to apply a layer of fiberglass to your canoe, i'm not sure if you can buy just a short amount of cloth. And don't use waterbase epoxy. it has to be resin based.
 
Dilli you just answered a question I never asked lol, good stuff. The previous owner repaired both inside and out, I was wondering if that was normal lol.

Really the inside repairs look immaculate still, just the outside ones could use some touchups and all 3 repairs are on the front within a foot of each other.

I am sanding the outside, almost done, before applying the patches - It seems I'm on the right course!

My goal is to have it in the water next weekend and all in should cost me less than $175... now I just need some paddles LOL, kijiji here I come
 
I highly recommend the Redtail Beavertail poplar canoe paddle at Mountain Equipment coop. $24, and it's a really nice paddle. Some of the ones at other stores seemed a little rough on the finish to me.
 
Did the fiberglass on the one spot where it looked the thinnest/weakest and I also picked up a can of flex seal which I'm going to use on the rest. Now I just need to wait it out until it looks like we'll have a couple sunny days in a row to give it a new coat of paint.

To be honest paddles don't mean much, just a temporary solution. Going to check some garage sales first, saw a few for Saturday which had fishing/boating gear but I'm putting a motor mount for a small trolling motor in the long run.

Has anyone ever built outriggers? I'm cheap, as evidenced above by my $100 canoe and garage sale paddle hunting. So I really don't care about looks, just functionality. If it came down to it I'd duct tape some 5 gallon water jugs to a 2x4 lol. Just wondering if anyone else has ever built them and what they used? Another reason I'd like to build my own is so I can attach rod holders to the top of the outrigger crossbeam. 16 ft with solid outriggers 3 guys standing to fish should be no problem.

Thanks for the advice so far
 
My friend made a homemade outrigger out of 16' long 4" diameter pvc for his kayak. I'm planning on doing the same for mine. will work on canoe i believe.
 
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1434758317.256592.jpg

That's my friend and my set up. Send me a pm or whatever if you want any info on any of it. Too much to try to write up on my little phone lol. Outriggers out of pvc (about 100), trolling motor mount (about 30), seats (60 mec), rod holders (30 each)
 
That is incredible chasing, awesome setup... mine should look like a ghetto version of that when done.

Ideally the canoe is just to hold me over until I get can get a Sportsman. The 8.5 foot will fit neatly in the bed of my truck. Only $600 new with tax, once the wife approves or I find a good used one on the web I will be stashing the canoe permanently at one of my regular spots.
 
BearInTheWoods said:
once the wife approves
Click to expand...
What? Are you a man or a mouse?! I told my wife I was getting a boat, and there was to be no arguing!

The doctor says he may be able to re-attach them... :wacko:
 
BearInTheWoods said:
Has anyone ever built outriggers? I'
Click to expand...
Yes, I have. I have tried them just off the beach by leaning out over the canoe to check that they work but have not paddled with them yet. If they work well once I try them I'll let you know and provide pix.
 
Dave Bailey said:
What? Are you a man or a mouse?! I told my wife I was getting a boat, and there was to be no arguing!

The doctor says he may be able to re-attach them... :wacko:
Click to expand...
Lol. When I bought my Kayak it was brand new...I hid it in the garage. went to home depot and bought a couple of mouse traps...making sure she sees them as i'm "rigging" the mouse traps with bait (cheese) told her i'm suspecting some mouse activities in the garage...you bet that kayak was safe for a couple of weeks. sneaked it to lynde shores about 3x...just enough for it to look "used" and pass as a "kijiji item".
 
DILLIGAF?! said:
Lol. When I bought my Kayak it was brand new...I hid it in the garage. went to home depot and bought a couple of mouse traps...making sure she sees them as i'm "rigging" the mouse traps with bait (cheese) told her i'm suspecting some mouse activities in the garage...you bet that kayak was safe for a couple of weeks. sneaked it to lynde shores about 3x...just enough for it to look "used" and pass as a "kijiji item".
Click to expand...
Lmao that's a good one [emoji41]
 
Hey Dave, I'm only 30, I know its probably been since the moon landing since you got laid but I enjoy relations with my wife too much to tell her that her opinion doesn't matter.

Also technically she's not my wife for another 30 days, so ya even more important.
 
DILLIGAF?! said:
Lol. When I bought my Kayak it was brand new...I hid it in the garage. went to home depot and bought a couple of mouse traps...making sure she sees them as i'm "rigging" the mouse traps with bait (cheese) told her i'm suspecting some mouse activities in the garage...you bet that kayak was safe for a couple of weeks. sneaked it to lynde shores about 3x...just enough for it to look "used" and pass as a "kijiji item".
Click to expand...
Lmao good one.
 
DILLIGAF?! said:
Lol. When I bought my Kayak it was brand new...I hid it in the garage. went to home depot and bought a couple of mouse traps...making sure she sees them as i'm "rigging" the mouse traps with bait (cheese) told her i'm suspecting some mouse activities in the garage...you bet that kayak was safe for a couple of weeks. sneaked it to lynde shores about 3x...just enough for it to look "used" and pass as a "kijiji item".
Click to expand...
Lmao good one.
 

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