Spectra canoe

[Robin]

I have a lead on this canoe the owner says it's made of Spectra but doesn't know the manufacturer. He used it to race down the Allagash more than once and says it's banged up a bit but not damaged. He has used it in big salt water bays the last few years exclusively. He says the canoe is lightweight.
Sometimes getting alot of info is hard from folks and the price is right for a restore/resell so I don't want to pass it up right away
.
My question is: Is Spectra something that I need to avoid? Is there something about old Spectra that would make the canoe non sea worthy?
Any thoughts on this hull shape?

 

[yellowcanoe]

Nova Craft used or use it. Google Nova Craft and Spectra.

http://www.myccr.com/phpbbforum/viewtopic.php?f=49&t=23355

there are more references. It seems who made the canoe and their particular layup schedule is very important

That hull looks skewed and the woodwork clunky. Looks like once it was wrapped and someone tried to splice the rails. Badly. If it were a HIN that corresponded to Nova Craft it could be a good buy. I bet you could rip the woodwork off in ten minutes.

 

[Robin]

I had googled Spectra and saw that but was hoping for some 1st hand experience. The picture is not the greatest, hope it wasn't wrapped and yes, that gunnel system is strange.
Oh well, it's not that far out of my way in Maine when I go to my daughters, so if it's a stinker I can just opt out.
Just not sure about Spectra?

 

[pblanc]

I have one canoe that was constructed with a Spectra interior and S glass exterior with Airex foam bottom core and side ribs (a Mad River Twister slalom whitewater canoe). Spectra is and was a lightweight fabric with a high strength to weight ratio that some makers use and used as an alternative to aramid.

I have read that Spectra fibers tend to "creep" over time and the fabric requires the use of a resin with a lot of potential for elongation to take full advantage of the fiber's strength. On my particular canoe, the portions of the sidewalls between the vertical Airex ribs are slightly indented. This looks too consistent and symmetrical to be the result of any damage so I suspect it resulted from Spectra "creep". Since it only involves the sidewalls, it doesn't affect the performance of the boat in any significant way. I suspect an all fabric boat without core and ribs would not be affected in this way.

This particular boat had a number of cracks along the stress riser at the edges of the bottom foam core that required repair and I used a belt of Kevlar overlapping the ribs, bottom core, and sidewalls running the entire length of the hull. I had some concerns whether I could get a satisfactory bond to the Spectra interior but I had no problems with the repair using West System epoxy (105/206). This was probably more a factor of the resin that MRC used rather than the properties of the Spectra, however.

I don't think you can make any judgement about the shape of a canoe hull with broken gunwales. There is usually going to be some apparent asymmetry of the hull along the sheer line at the point of the break, especially in a lightweight hull. If there is no visible evidence of hull damage in the form of cracks or white stress lines, I suspect the hull will return to a symmetrical shape soon after the gunwales are removed.

 

[Robin]

"I don't think you can make any judgement about the shape of a canoe hull with broken gunwales. There is usually going to be some apparent asymmetry of the hull along the sheer line at the point of the break, especially in a lightweight hull. If there is no visible evidence of hull damage in the form of cracks or white stress lines, I suspect the hull will return to a symmetrical shape soon after the gunwales are removed."


Thanks, good information. The price is low enough to take a chance, but first hand knowledge about this material is very helpful. I'll give the canoe a good once over and baring any major obvious damage, I will go ahead and buy it.
Thanks