Algonquin Adventures / Canoe repair

**Posted by mikey5290** 10/04/2017 7:31 am

Good morning folks

I recently purchased a used Novacraft 17' canoe fro what I think was a very good price.

It does have some wear and tear but the price reflected. But I do have a couple questions before I tackle the repairs...

1-the front kevlar skid plate has some damage and there is a chunk missing. Is there a way to remove these so I can put a new one on, or should I just fill in the chunk with more kevlar?

2-I believe it is royal ex, I would like to fill in and refinish/paint the exterior of the canoe. what would I use to fill in the gouges and what paint? Nova craft website sells gelcoat but would this fill in the deeper gouges?

I know it is an older boat but I just want to clean it up a bit with out spending a fortune.

Thanks
Mike

**Posted by RobW** 10/04/2017 8:59 am

First suggestion is to call Novacraft and get their input. Among other things you can ask what epoxy/resin they used for the skid plates. The importance of that is to match the resin when doing your repair to ensure it bonds properly. Different epoxies or other adhesives don't always get along well together.

If it is a Royalex boat then I wouldn't be trying to fill gouges, at least not unless they are through to the foam core. Then the general approach to patching is fibreglass and epoxy. That will give you a functional patch but won't make the boat look any prettier. The good news is that royalex is expected to take that kind of abuse and as long as the gouges aren't through to the foam core then there is no functional need to fill or patch them.

If you could post pictures it would let folks provide some better feedback.

**Posted by mikey5290** 10/04/2017 12:41 pm

Thanks Rob, I will try calling Novacraft directly to see what they recommend.

Here are couple pics of the canoe (thunderstorm right now so not the best lighting