Rowing Canoe Rehab

[Paddlinhal]

I get to post this here because my wife was looking in craigslist and found a "rowing canoe". It was a peapod rowboat and I got it for a song. Seven million dollars later the mahogany brightwork is about 4 coats of varnish into glowing. You can just about fall into the grain, it's so nice and sparkly. The hull, on the other hand, is a mess of crazed gelcoat cracks. Don't even suggest I sand all the gelcoat off. Not gonna happen. I'm thinking a coat of enamel, that has a little stretch to it. Anyone tried this?

 

[dougd]

I know a few folks here have used an epoxy type paint on their hull rehabs with really good results. That Bell Flash Fire you helped me pick up was fixed up to look like new and the paint used was suggested by a boat builder/designer. Jamestown seems to be the go to place but you have to look through and see what's going to work for you. I'm guessing it's going to be used in Maine on salt water so the paint used by others for canoes might not work for your application. Here's a link:


https://www.jamestowndistributors.c...MIj6Gi5IvY3wIVE1mGCh0vzQ95EAAYASAAEgIrlPD_BwE

 

[Guest]

I know a few folks here have used an epoxy type paint on their hull rehabs with really good results. That Bell Flash Fire you helped me pick up was fixed up to look like new and the paint used was suggested by a boat builder/designer. Jamestown seems to be the go to place but you have to look through and see what's going to work for you. I'm guessing it's going to be used in Maine on salt water so the paint used by others for canoes might not work for your application.

The paint that was used on the Flashfire was Pettit EZPoxy topside paint

http://www.pettitpaint.com/products/...poxy-easypoxy/

It is, as the name implies, easy, and intended for sailboat use should be fine in a saltwater environment. But I’m not sure that even a couple coats of paint is going to hide gel coat spider cracks.

The Malecite had the very faint weave of the cloth exposed; it took a full coat of epoxy resin and two coats of EZPoxy to fill even that very faint weave.

http://www.canoetripping.net/forums/...oe-question-ii

EDIT: Correction, one coat of epoxy resin, three coats of EZPoxy to fill the exposed weave.

EDIT II: I am hesitant to even suggest this, and it is not a recommendation, but I have seen folks, skeezy sellers and boat flippers, cover horribly spider cracked and crazed canoes by using a coat of deck & porch paint.

It is $30 a gallon vs $40 a quart for something like EZPozy and it goes on thick. And heavy. But it does seem to fill and hide spider cracks.