Quick repair on a friends Midwest duck boat

Tom Barb

Tom Barb

Active member
Friend of mine got this boat for pretty cheap a few years ago. Didn't use it much but the guy said it was from the Midwest somewhere. Maybe Wisconsin? It has 2 holes that go through the whole boat to hold it in place in the marsh I'm guessing.

We decided to use it as a sled to cross a field goose hunting and he keel didn't fair too well. I'm going to fill holes with thickened epoxy and run some glass tape down the keel. Nothing fancy but will render it serviceable again.

Anyway here's the pics. I think I spotted one on the porch of the barn of the "duck boat heaven thread". Anyone recognize it?? And don't mind the dog. Somehow she made her way into every pic.





 
Good morning, Tom~

I don't know enough to jump into the Kevlat-Dynel fray, but....I did buy a roll of Kevlar tape for the keel on one of my 'glass canoes. We commonly drag it - loaded with gear - over some gravelly ground and the keel suffers. I thought it was worth a try. It's a task still on The List, though.....

All the best,

SJS

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It is a Melges duck boat out of Zenda WI I am pretty sure. Its midding the oar locks and motor mount. Buddy Melges was a sailboat builder and a duck hunter. boat is probably from the 1980s.
 
Tom, did someone cut the motor pad off that boat as well? The first thing I would do would be to find a dry storage rack for it and let it dry, prior attempting any repair.

Steve, have you kept the Kevlar tape stored in an opaque container? If not, how dark has it turned-butterscotch brown? If you MAS epoxy it on the canoe's keel, you cant sand it because it will fuzz at every point where you sand through the resin. It also should receive a top coat of paint to protect it from degradation (This is why you see so many Kevlar racing canoes being towed with "socks" covering them.), which will wear away eventually and still expose the Kevlar section to UV mediated breakdown. Dynel would likely provide the abrasion protection you seek, plus you can put an additional coat(s) of epoxy on it to achieve a smoother surface finish, improving aesthetics and hull performance, while still providing a wear guard strip. Jamestown Distributors sells 5 ounce, if you don't have any scrap left from previous projects.

Another choice would be S-glass, but that is another "black box" for many folks. A monster thick e-glass strip would likely hold little visual appeal to your eye, either.
 
Good morning, RL~

I have stored it in a close cabinet - so no light. Still looks as I built it several months ago. I also have a bunch of Dynel on hand. Luckily, I have bunches of canoe hulls - so experiments can abound!

I wonder whether adding graphite powder (also on hand) to the epoxy would provide sufficient UV protection.

Your thoughts?

SJS
 
You can purchase commercial UV absorbers to add to your resin. The most common used ones a few years back were called Tinuvin. I believe they have been outlawed (have been out of the lab for a few years now) Addition of a little Tinuvin worked wonder.

Mark W
 
Steve, no clue on the UV resistance, but this may be of interest:
http://www.duckworksbbs.com/supplies/additives/graphite/index.htm

I posted this once before-but I'm too lazy to chase it down:

http://www.westsystem.com/ss/adding-pigments-to-epoxy/

Table 1. lists mean values from five replications...note Number 7.

Since they(West System) cap pigment additives at 10% by weight, per these data, you would be better served with a UV resistant varnish top-coat(s). I used their (Duckworks BBS) pigments to mix-up and add to a German Co.'s olive green as an additive to the Marine-tex I use as scratch and gouge filler, which works fine. I used the same pigment as a resin additive at 5%,. It was too "thin", barely semi-transparent, so I painted the surface a couple weeks after it cured.
 
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RL,
I let it dry in the shop for a little while before filling some of the holes with thickened epoxy.
Also, the motorboard has rotted away. It is not on the "to do" list for this repair. I will tell the owner of the boat to paint as well after I give it back to him. Im simply the fiberglass man on this one.
Were it my boat, I would remove all the old rotted flotation foam, replace the motorboard, add the oarlock stanchions, and paint.
updates to come this week
 
Tom, I was trying to determine the hull condition prior making any suggestion on repair. Epoxy would be the repair choice. You can't get the owner to support a more complete refurbish?
 
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