dona-boat

Apologies if y’all are bored with my kayak-y postin’,,,

I’m digging over the photos of the boat I have yet to pick up, (waiting on word back from current owner,,,  May fall through but its early yet,,,) and thinking more and more that this poor boat is cursed for the trash-heap of history,,,   Now, I know that I may get hands on with it and see potentials I am not seeing currently,,,   Dunno, but I look at the one pic of the hull and see oil-canning under the seat pan and think,,, Nopes, this’uns DONE!!!!   

What the hell is oil-canning? you ask,,,    Thats when a poly-boat has seen some abuse and the body is literally dented up, like an old oilcan,,,   Once the dent is there, it takes on memory of that shape and is nearly impossible to remove.  Lots of heat  can do it, but there is potential to distort the area past its original design shape and thats even harder to correct.   In WhiteWater boats, canning is usually from slamming rocks at speed.  In long boats, its ‘neglect’: leaving a boat sitting on its hull while exposed to sun and weather.  They need to be suspended out of the weather, usually by strapping beneath their bulkheads.  The bulkheads will help retain the hull shape even if heated up.   I am very careful to not overtighten straps while transporting, for the very same reason.  You can warp the hull shape of a poly boat that way as well.

And I keep looking at the dent under the seat pan of this boat, scratching my beard and thinking….

Now, the boats a freebie,,,   I can’t complain about the cost (other than fuel to get there and back,,,) and there are good parts on it that may or may not cross onto other boats.   The footpegs,,,Check.   Seat pan,,,  Mehbe,,,   SKEG and attendant hardware,,,,   Absolutely can ‘adapt’ that one, even onto a skin boat later (easier actually). Deck rigging?   Questionable,,, likely sun damaged as well, seeing how the hull is canned up.  Thigh braces?  Yup,,, those are pretty adaptable to other poly boats. 

Cost analysis,,,    New skeg kit from one of three places I can still get them.  $100-$165.    Seat pan.  Apx $100 depending on application. some go as high as $300.   Footpegs; $50-100 depending on how/where they adjust.  Thigh braces; about $100, sometimes less if they are dead simple in nature.    

So, just by that, getting this boat is worth the trip, even if I don’t repair it, but cut it up as a donor boat.   And I would like to take it out just once to see if the hype of this boat is what they claim.   Granted, it may leak like a sieve with that bow damage, and no hatches; I certainly won’t be attempting to roll the poor beast,,,  BUT, I can take it for a spin and see if its what they say it is:  and that may be its saving grace, making it worth the effort to repair.    Note, I did find hatches available for it, but sheesh!!!!   The cheapest hatch is the day hatch (6″dia) and its $40.  The other two are over $100 each.  And thats not just due to inflation: those prices have been that high for several years now.

Gonna be a long weekend,,,,   I worked myself out of work again at the J.O.B.    Not surprised, seeing how our crews have been cut in half by stoopid hooman natures (we have two in jail for a spell currently,,,  That slows down things some,,,  Things slow down, I have less to do,,,,). And here I am doing mental gymnastics of boat repairs on a boat I haven’t even picked up yet,,,,    *sigh*,,,