Cracked hull on cross-continent adventure

Kevin · Post by **Kevin** » Mon Oct 27, 2008 1:27 pm

Greetings all,

I am trying to go from Calgary to New Orleans.

I have been taking my JEM Merrimac on a little trip. I started in Calgary, Alberta on June 22 and floated lazily to Winnipeg over the course of the next three months or so. I stayed in Winnipeg a week, struggled upstream on the Red for a week, and then pulled out my bicycle and towed the canoe to Lake Itasca, the headwaters of the Mississippi River. I've been going for a bit more than a week on that, when I noticed the reason I have been bailing so much lately.

The bottom of the canoe is cracked. It's a pretty big crack by now, magnified by the waves of Lake Winnibigoshish, pumping water into my canoe on big waves or when I stand up.

Is it possible to repair this kind of crack, especially "on the road", so to speak? Or must I retire the boat and get a new canoe?

Post by **jem** » Mon Oct 27, 2008 1:44 pm

wow! That's a journey!

Well my first concern would be structural integrity. If the crack isn't compromising that, then the only thing that would hold you back from a quick fix is access to materials.

Can you get to any West Marine type stores and pick a small amount of epoxy?

How big is the crack? Where is it located?

Kevin · Post by **Kevin** » Mon Oct 27, 2008 2:09 pm

It's a pretty big crack. Let me see if I can get a picture of it in here.

That's most of it.

I'm sitting near the center of the canoe, so this is the "fold" in the bottom just below my feet -- which I guess is pretty structural.

By the way, I have a few other photos up at http://www.flickr.com/photos/kevinsaff/, and wrote up some of the trip at http://kevinfloat.blogspot.com/

Thanks for any words of help or sympathy you can provide.

Kevin · Post by **Kevin** » Mon Oct 27, 2008 2:11 pm

It's a mess other than the crack, I know.

It's been a long trip and I have not been treating this boat very gingerly.

Sorry about the size of the picture, but hopefully that at least shows how bad it is.

Kevin · Post by **Kevin** » Mon Oct 27, 2008 2:15 pm

Sorry for the triple post, but I thought more info may help:

On the bottom of the boat I used the method where an additional piece of plywood was put over the boards to hold them together instead of just a simple butt joint. So this crack is actually through a double layer of the epoxy/sawdust mix as well as the glass on both sides. It could be just poor craftsmanship in constructing that joint, or the added stresses of being towed on the little trailer I built, which sat underneath the center.

Post by **jem** » Mon Oct 27, 2008 2:27 pm

Best way to fix it would be to:

-Sand down to the epoxy/fiberglass
-Glue another pad of plywood on top of that crack using epoxy-saw dust mixture. Go about 5" on either side of that crack. Use 6mm ply.
-On outside, be sure to fill in any crack or void with some thickened epoxy.

Man I'm sorry to hear this happened.

But it is fixable.

Worst case scenario: If you can't find any epoxy, then look for industrial strength liquid nails or some along those lines.

Kevin · Post by **Kevin** » Mon Oct 27, 2008 2:40 pm

Thanks Matt,

In a lot of ways I have been happy to make it this far, this was my first boat built using this technique and like I said I've been using it roughly.

Thank you for your advice on the repairs.

I'll make some phone calls and see if any of the friends I made earlier in Minnesota can help me find some room and tools to make repairs quickly. Otherwise it is starting to get very cold and it may be best to put off the Mississippi until next year anyway.

Oldsparkey · Post by **Oldsparkey** » Mon Oct 27, 2008 3:45 pm

Kevin......

Just off hand , after looking at the crack I would say that if you had the boat loaded with gear and on the trailer that could of been the cause of the crack. To make a logical guess at it , I would need to see the trailer and the bunks the boat was sitting on and in what position. Along with what was packed in the canoe while transporting it.

I find it hard to think some waves did that , unless the boat landed on a good , solid , rock as you paddled it and the wave passed letting the boat crash down on it. That is a sound you would of heard and knew something was wrong , that has happen to me and I hate to hear ..... K- A- RACK... So I have stayed off white water from that day on when paddling wood boats.

Was it that way before you put it on the trailer or after you removed it.
If it was cracked while on the trailer then paddling it in the waves , especially large ones , would of increased the flexing and the size of the crack.

No matter how you look at it , it is not a good thing by any means. Only thing to do is figure out what caused it and correct that problem , along with the bottom of the boat.

It is a crying shame that has happen since your trip sounds like the one folks dream of all there life. We learn as we go but right now it looks like the weather will decide things for you , we can't out paddle it.

I just hope you solve the problem and will be able to complete your voyage , if not now then later. Best to be safe and go again then sorry and never be able to do it.

Chuck.

hairymick · Post by **hairymick** » Mon Oct 27, 2008 3:47 pm

G'day Kevin,

That is an awsome trip you are doing.

You need to think about WHY your boat broke also, in order to avoid it happening again. Rough water alone should not cause damage like that.

It is more likely to have occurred while on your trailer. I suspect that it happened because of inadequate support for the boat and/or innaproate loading in the boat while on the trailer.

Heavy loads at the ends of the boat will cause unnecessary stresses in the hull over where your boat sits on the trailer and is the mostly likely cause of the breakage.

Try to load all heavier items directly over the trailer and keep the lighter loads to the rear. This will minimise and stresses that my be put on your hull while on the trailer.

OnkaBob · Post by **OnkaBob** » Mon Oct 27, 2008 10:17 pm

Kevin,

Just to add to Mick's comments about the trailer if you use it again, it is better to support the boat on the chines if possible. Resting the middle of a panel on a support will be much more likely to hole the panel. This happened to a S&G sailing dinghy I had when the boat shifted on the trailer.

From looking at the Merrimac design info I notice the panel angles at the first chine do not go close to vertical (which would give more strength) so would guess some support at the keel and some at the first chine either side would be the go.

Good luck with the rest of the trip, please keep us posted - it should make for a decent size thread in the "Out and about" forum!