Mad River Slipper Solo - Should I buy it?

[Fritz]

MR Slipper Solo: listed for $700, 38 lbs. Pictures seem to show it's in good condition, though the wood gunnels and trim look a bit discolored and no pictures of the bottom. I'd go look at it immediately, but it's almost 300 mile away.

I'm looking for a boat that I can easily car top, use mostly for day trips, but perhaps for solo multi-day tripping. Lakes and rivers, limited to class I+ rivers.

 

[stevet]

Depends on your size/weight and that of your gear. Not particularly nimble in moving water but yes, it’s a fine boat for your intended use if you don’t overload it. Someone here will have the suggested capacity I am sure.
I would ask for pics of the bottom and particularly the bottom of the stems where people tend to run their boats on shore. And a phone call to the owner to set up your visit would be wise so you don’t arrive to find it gone.
If it’s in decent shape I think it’s a fine price to get on the water with a quality boat.

 

[Alan Gage]

You're probably asking the wrong group if you want to be discouraged. Or perhaps you're looking to be encouraged.

If you don't mind driving, have the money to spend, and won't be terribly disappointed if it doesn't work out it seems like a good deal. I bought lots of canoes that involved similar drives. Some I used and loved for years. Others I resold the following season. I got a bit out of control there for a while but it was really fun and I learned a lot about different canoes as well as a lot about my preferred paddling style.

Unless it was a specific hull I was looking for that I already knew I'd like I only bought canoes at what I thought was under market value so I knew that if I had to resell the boat I wasn't likely to lose any money. Fall was a great time to buy because people wanted to sell before putting them in storage and not many people were looking to buy at that time either. If I decided the boat wasn't for me I could sell it the next summer.

I live an area where the only canoes are seemingly aluminum tandems so if I wanted to try different hulls about the only choice I had was to buy them. Later I found out I could build them as well but that's another obsession for another time.

Alan

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

Here's an ad for one from our classifieds from Feb. 2021 that contains some info and pictures.

For Sale a Mad River Canoe Slipper Solo Canoe-SOLD

For sale is a 1988 Mad River Canoe Slipper in a custom fiberglass layup. I worked for MRC in the late 1980s and this canoe was built for me as an employee purchase. The layup is fiberglass/S glass, Kevlar®, and Coremat® providing a very rigid, lightweight hull. The weight is in the low 40s but I...

www.canoetripping.net

I would think it would be a good day paddling canoe. As for tripping, that would depend on the size and weight of the paddler and gear. It's not a big solo canoe, but not small either.

 

[Fritz]

You're probably asking the wrong group if you want to be discouraged. Or perhaps you're looking to be encouraged.

No encouragement needed! Just wanted to make sure my desires were not leading me astray.

My wife and I are headed to Detroit tomorrow with cash in my pocket, my roof racks, and my straps. Photos look great including ones the owner texted me of the bottom, which looks great. She told me someone tried to out bid me, but that because I asked for it first, it was mine.

Her husband, whose boat it is, is 80 years olds, broke a hip last year and is not allowed to paddle alone anymore, though apparently they are keeping a tandem.

 

[Woodpuppy]

Good luck! And a rare case as a seller these days. I have the feeling many would take the faster money.

 

[carpenter]

There are some of those folk out here too. Just picked up a Curtis Vagabond for $200 Canadian and a 45 min. drive. Hull in great condition but woodwork is shot. They were happy to be reassured that it was going to a good home.

Opposite experience to a friend who sold a 17.5 Sawyer to someone who "had always dreamed of paddling with his daughter" only to have the same canoe posted for sale the next day for $1000 more than purchase price.

I am very curious to paddle the Vagabond it once it is seaworthy but will likely pass it on to some young folk locally who are spending a lot time on the water.

 

[Fritz]

We picked up the MR Solo north of Detroit yesterday. The hull is in excellent shape inside and out. Very minor scratching on the bottom, only visible on careful inspection. He said he used it almost entirely on lakes. Some hair line cracks close to the gunnels near the stern.

It weighed in at almost exactly 38 lbs. The inside is also in great shape with a superficial scratch a couple of inches long in the Kevlar with some fibers sticking out. The football in the bottom inside is grey and is perhaps a 1/4 to a half inch thick. Since there is no other flotation, I assume this is the flotation, while perhaps adding some stiffness to the hull bottom.

The one problem is that at both ends the gunnels show some rot, with the inwales being the worst. Some sort of soft putty was pressed into where the wood is missing, but no more than about a .75 inch diameter area at both ends. If someone has a photo showing what wood gunnels should look like in those locations that would be helpful in my deciding what to do. I really don't want to take the gunnels off to repair them. I'll post pictures in the next couple of days after I've had a chance to clean out the putty.

The seller and his wife were lovely folks. He and I traded tripping stories with the usual challenging experiences included. The wife created a very professional bill of sale that I will need to get the boat registered in Ohio.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

We picked up the MR Solo north of Detroit yesterday.

Congratulations, Fritz.

The one problem is that at both ends the gunnels show some rot, with the inwales being the worst. Some sort of soft putty was pressed into where the wood is missing . . . . If someone has a photo showing what wood gunnels should look like in those locations that would be helpful in my deciding what to do. I really don't want to take the gunnels off to repair them.

Here is a MR Slipper photo from the thread I linked above:

If you want to squeeze a compound into the rotted areas after you clean them out, you may want to try Git-Rot. It's what the top wood-canvas canoe restorers use. Rollin Thurlow has decent prices for it on this page of his website:

Basic Materials - Northwoods Canoe Co.

Rollin Thurlow's Northwoods Canoe Company constructs, repairs and restores wooden and canvas canoes, offers wood canoe building classes, cedar and plywoodstrip plans, paddle kits, books, videos, and canoe building materials.

www.wooden-canoes.com

I'll post pictures in the next couple of days

Yes, you have to, because it doesn't really exist unless and until we can see pictures of it.

 

[stevet]

Congrats on your new boat! Pics and first paddle report anxiously awaited.

 

[Fritz]

This Slipper was built in 1993. Unfortunately, if MR ever had any information on their website on Slippers built that year, it's gone. The previous owner told me years ago he had written away to MR and gotten some info on the boat, he has promised to mail it to me next week. The measurements are very close to those listed in a couple of for sale ads here and elsewhere on the web, though the width at the gunnels of mine is 28.25" is a bit wider than the 27" to 27.5" listed in those ads. It weighs a nice light 38 lbs.

Did my first paddle yesterday. The initial stability is less than on my MR Explorer, but I adapted to it. There are kneeling pads glued in, but between me being being old and stiff and it feeling like my feet might become entrapped, I don't think I can kneel in it. With the seat right up against the rails, I felt like I was sitting pretty high up.

I do have three issues of concern. The first I mentioned above - the ends of the gunnels, both bow and stern have small areas of rot. I haven't had time to clean out the soft putty put in the holes by the previous owner, but I suspect that this problem can be repaired fairly easily. I'm thinking something that will penetrate and harden the soft areas of the wood, Glen suggested Git-Rot. I'd then fill the remaining voids with a putty that will harden made from GFlex and a filler or something like that. I'd welcome comments and suggestions, however.


My second concern is that there is no flotation in the ends and it is clear from the condition of the interior of the hull, there never was. There is a raised grey area perhaps a 1/4 in. thick where the painted football is on my MR Explorer. I wonder if this is a combined flotation and hull stiffener. You can see it in the picture above. I don't think it was original to the boat as it shows no wear. For my test paddle yesterday, in an abundance of caution, I attached two PFD's to each of the thwarts.

My third concern is a crack in the hull that goes from the gel coat through to the interior of the canoe, though I noticed no leaks when I paddled for a couple of hours yesterday:



I plan to patch the inside with a piece of Dynel and GFlex resin. I believe I have some of both left over from repairs to other canoes.
I'm less clear on what I should do about the crack in the gel coat and could use some advice. I'm thinking about carefully chipping away any loose pieces and filling the void with putty made from Gflex and filleting powder and then painting with a marine paint that is close to the sand color of the gel coat.

Any comments, thoughts, or suggestions would be very welcome.

 

[stevet]

If you intend to sit primarily, lowering the seat will certainly give you a more stable feel. I’m sure you know that. I will leave hull repair advice to the experts here. Have fun!

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

the ends of the gunnels, both bow and stern have small areas of rot.

I suspect that, for some period, the canoe was left on the ground upside-down with the nose touching the ground. I've never used Git-Rot, but it may be the thing to stop further rot. You may then be able to fill the rest of the cavity in the ends of the gunwales with G/Flex. I repaired a rotted mid-section of gunwale with G/Flex and documented the entire process in this unedited and too-long video:

there is no flotation in the ends

That is very odd. You could put in some shaped foam blocks or lightweight bags. Or do nothing.

There is a raised grey area perhaps a 1/4 in. thick where the painted football is on my MR Explorer. I wonder if this is a combined flotation and hull stiffener.

The football is surely a foam bottom stiffener. Whether it provides sufficient flotation can only be determined empirically. Submerge the canoe and see if it floats.

I plan to patch the inside with a piece of Dynel and GFlex resin.

I'm no composite repair expert, but why Dynel? It does have very good abrasion resistance for applications like skid plates on the outside of a hull, but what you want for cracks on the inside is high tensile strength. I leave it to you to search for the tensile strength of fiberglass vs. Dynel.

 

[Fritz]

Is there anyone on this forum who can also weigh in on the issues I've raised in my previous post? In particular, I'm interested in the question of whether the foam bottom stiffener is also flotation and what is the best fabric to use to repair the crack on the inside of the hull.

I will take the boat to a nearby lake in the next couple of days and capsize it to see what happens and report back, but I'm also curious if this particular version of the Slipper was always designed without flotation in the ends.

Thanks

 

[Alan Gage]

I have no specific information about MR and flotation but I've seen other canoes with no flotation. The bottom probably has foam in it for a hull stiffener. I doubt your canoe will sink but it's probably not going to float very high either. If I was worried about it I'd just lash in a couple end bags.

As for the hull repair I agree with Glenn that Dynel seems like an odd choice in this situation. It's more difficult to work with than other fibers in terms of getting it to blend in. I'd personally use fiberglass both inside and out. It should be plenty strong and I'm assuming you won't be taking this on remote expeditions or running serious whitewater.

On the outside I'd chip away any gel coat that wanted to pop off easily, fill it flush with thickened epoxy, and then cover with fiberglass.

I'd replace the gunwales just because I like working with wood and have the materials and equipment to make it a pretty easy task. But your gunwales, where they show signs of rot, aren't really providing anything structural so you can get as worked up about it as you want. You could clean out as much rotten wood as possible and drizzle some epoxy or varnish in there to seal it. You could try to use some sort of good wood filler (or thickened epoxy) to rebuild them, or you can just leave them be and worry about it when it gets bad enough to be a problem, which might be a really long time if you're not going to be using in constantly and store it properly.

Alan

 

[Fritz]

Alan. I thought of using Dynel because I have some, but I also have pieces of fiberglass that will work well, so I'll use that instead.

Except for the ends, the gunnels seem in good shape, so I'll stick with some sort of repair at the ends unless more serious problems reveal themselves. I'm also going to store the boat inside, so any problems with the gunnels shouldn't get worse.

Charlie Wilson and Nancy Henry on the FB solo canoe page confirmed that the hull stiffener is airex foam meant to provide some flotation. That page has a 1990 Mad River catalog that indicates it was used in several MR kevlar canoes of that era.