new to me old town

[chrslefty]

im so excited . i tought that you guys might aprishate this .
its a little older but i got a good deal on it from the local CL. it a 94 old town camper 16'. im hoping that it will be a good starter canoe for me and my kidos .it came with 2 padels and 2 pfd's

i know that i didnt tie it on right but ill fix it next time i take it out .dose anyone have some sugestions on how to refurbish the paint ? im thinking a good wash and wax .its fiberglass.
thanks i hope you enjoy the pic . ill post some more with it on the water soon

 

[Capt Sport]

Congrats on the new canoe!

Since it's a glass boat I think the best thing to do would be to sand it down, fix any bad spots and paint it with a good marine paint. If you do that and store it properly it should last you a hell of a long time.

Congrats and he's to a lot of good times to come with the kids! :clapsmile

 

[Nullifier]

As far as I know the camper was never made in Fiberglass. It was only a royalex canoe. If you can post a pic showing the interior with one including the ends I can tell you if it is or not.

If it is glass then you can lightly wet sand the gel coat and buff it out, that will help some. You can use pool and patio deck enamel to repaint the interior.

If it's royalex like it should be, then there is really nothing you can do about it. The outer layers are a vinyl skin which is critical in protecting the ABS substructure. well actually you could cover it in expo declas LOL!

Life expectantcy of a royalex canoe that is stored outside is 15 years. I've seen some that are stored outside go 20, so just realize that you are entering the golden years for this canoe since it is a '94 Get a good coat of 303 on it asap, and reapply quarterly. If you are going to keep it outside keep it under a cover (not a plastic tarp).

 

[kerry]

Yes, I've seen Royalex boats that were stored outside get brittle and crack. Be ready with the s-glass and resin if it does. I too have not heard of a non-Royalex Camper. Exterior surface looks like it has been spray painted or something. You could repaint with a rattle can of epoxy paint.

 

[chrslefty]

hey guys thanks for all of the comments and insights . i took it out with a buddy yesterday to try and learn how to maneuver and manage the boat .sorry i didn't get any pics i was to busy playing around .it was really stable so it made learning easy . especially considering how choppy the water was .we were at a lake and there were a crap load of motorized boats .I now under stand about the two different stability's and how to swamp a boat fast !lol trying to get my 280 lbs solo into the canoe while in the water wasn't happning .i was able to get in as long as someone was hanging out of the other side . "this was for practice incase i had fallen off of the canoe while in deep water , i had no problem launching and getting in the boat. "
so here are some pics of the interior and some of the wear spots .the paint on it looks like it is the factory original .
sorry that its upside down

here some of the interior
the bow

stern/middle

 

[T.Low]

Yeah, looks like Royalex, alright. Use an armorall type UV protectant product on it called 303. However, do NOT use Armorall itself; its not good for the lakes or rivers. 303 will gloss up the vinyl skin a bit and help protect from further uv damage.

Try to store it out of the sun to help extend the life of the hull.

 

[chrslefty]

ok and some of the ugly
some of the wear spots .

and a spider crack . it looks loke it took a hit here as theres a small indent on the inside.if you cant pick it up right away its close to the plastic rail .

so i gess it was stored outside under a plastic tarp : ( !
i will be storing it under a covered padio from here on .but on a high note it floted well and didnt spring any leaks .any tips or reads on to help with the restoration ?im gessing buy previous post thats its not fiberglass . can i still sand and paint ? do i use resoin and fiber glass to patch up the wear spots ?
thanks guys .ill try and get some pics of it on the water soon .i need to find a pdf that fitts my fat but . lol

 

[chrslefty]

aughh that was fast sorry im slow .
is Royalex a good material ? any idea of were to get 303 ?

 

[T.Low]

Although I prefer fiberglass, Royalex is a very good material.

303 can be found at most army navy surplus, paddling shops, outdoor shops, those tyoe places. Just call and ask for 303 uv protectant.

Post (or search archives) here for Royalex resto questions:
http://www.paddling.net/message/showTopics.html?fid=advice


FWIW, I know Hossa was nullified in the end, but I still want to see him back. I'm not confident that Holland can find the room, though. Go Wings.

 

[kerry]

You should do something to the wear spots where the outer layer of vinyl is worn off and the internal ABS layer exposed since the ABS is subject to UV damage. Epoxy paint is adequate in my view. Although kevlar skid plates on the end would cover up the damage and stop any future wear. I think Mad River Canoe still sells a kevlar skid plate kit.
That's an old Perception flotation tank in the end. Haven't seen one of those in years.
Serious damage can be repaired with glass fabric and resin but I don't see anything that would require that.

 

[chrslefty]

well i took my youngest out on the town lake . tought id share some pics .

well he didnt help to much with the paddeling .but he was trying so its a start. but the two of them did help with the balst agains my 280 ,that was tell he decited that it would be funner /better to sit by me .
but it was fun and i think that he had a good time . its kinda hard to get pics beacouse im afraid of losing my phone in the drink . lol i need to get a water proof camera . i cant wait tell my bigger paddeler comes back home it was a lot more work being the sole paddler.that and i just cant quite get the J strok down . i gess practis will make perfect.
hope you enjoy .
i did hit it with some 303 . i got it at my local ace hard wear . i think that target carrys it also .

 

[T.Low]

Excellent. Looks like a nice time.

Is that the Grand River?

 

[chrslefty]

Haha no it a man made swamp/lake from the salt river deversion call tempe town lake in phx az, to be more correct its in tempe az .
I tought id take him out in some calm waters to start off with .

 

[chrslefty]

well i had the whole litter in town for the weekend so i thought id take them out on the canoe , my big paddler is finally home so we needed the practice .so i thought id share the pics .the old town was defiantly sitting lower in the water to day ,
so here's me ,the kids and the Heep all loaded up .

all aboard !

out on the water .

the kids decided that they could do it just fine buy them self's

the youngest thought that collecting rocks was more fun.

the two oldest getting it done together. i was amazed how fast they went

they all said that they had a great time !! so far the canoe has been money well spent .my big paddler is super excited about it so were gonna practice a bit more and if i can find a class we"ll do that and then hopefully move onto some rivers . and a little upgrading of the canoe will be in order at that point too ; )and a darned water proof camera .my phones to expense to be dropping in the drink .
hope you enjoy the pics .

 

[chrslefty]

a little vid of the kids paddeling .yea im a proud parent .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuivV2VrDqY