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Hi all, I picked up a used kevlar canoe from Portage Outfitters last fall. It has some cracked ribs I need to repair. Although I understand the basics of doing this I am wondering about aesthetics. In a perfect world when I'm paddling an empty canoe I would likely prefer not to see the cracks in the ribs that I have patched. Does anyone have experience with this? Is fiberglass or kevlar going to be a better cover from a viewing standpoint (I appreciate kevlar is stronger); should I consider a double layer? Anyone other than www.rayplex.ca that I should consider for materials?
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I don’t Gord sorry but if you post this over at canoetripping.net someone will likely help you out. Lots of canoe builders over there.
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Ok, thank you for the link I'll give that a shot.
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Hey Gord,
I've patched the ribs on the Souris River 18" canoes. There is a small drilled vent hole in each rib, and that seems to be a weak point.
The repair was pretty easy - Just the West epoxy and the kevlar. You can definitely see the patch. Also, you can see the frayed fibres of. the kevlar patch. If you wanted to make it look nicer, you could put a piece of fiberglass or carbon on top, then sand it. But it's just more weight.
Lemme know if you have any questions
M
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Marko, An easy way to smooth out those patches is to put Peel-Ply or plastic wrap over the final layer, smooth it out with your fingers or a spreader to flatten any loose strands and remove any bubbles and bumps, tape it down well and let it harden, then strip off the plastic after curing and paint it- a word of warning though- some resins and plastic wraps really like each other and refuse to part ways- judicious use of a scrubber will remove the worst of the plastic.
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Yea, I put Glad Wrap on top of my kevlar felt keels, they came out nice and smooth.it worked well. good point about doing it on the ribs.
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Thank you for the input Scouter and Marko. Materials should be in this week for me to get started.
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