Mike Swaim wrote:
Hi,
I'm considering my first Royalex boat. I've narrowed my choices down
to an Old Town Penobscot 16' for a whole lot of reasons.

The local REI has two of these exactly as I would want them. The
non-blemished one is on sale for their anniversary sale at $799 (down
from nearly a grand). So good so far. But, they also have a blemished
one that appears to have voids in the inner foam core on one side
right where the gunnells meet the flat bottom (tumblehome area???)
Anyway, these depressions are a series of penny sized to maybe very
small egg sized depressions in an area that's maybe 4-5" long on one
side only. The assist. mgr. said he'd take off another $100 for that.
These depressed areas do not penetrate either the skin or the
interior, and are not soft at all.

I've pressed both on them and beside them as hard as I can with my
thumbs and can't feel any give whatsover. It appears to me that these
are areas where the mold somehow left voids in the inner foam core.
They do not appear to be actual dents, since there is no abrasion on
the skin. On the interior, they're not visual or even tactile. The
interior really seems in good shape. The rest of the exterior also
seems in really good shape.

Tomorrow I'm buying one of these Penobscots. The question is which
one? Would the described depressions keep you from wanting a boat at
what amounts to 30% off? A $700 Penobscot with a 100%, no time limit
customer satisfaction guarantee has it's appeal to me.

What do ya'll think?

Thanks very, very much for any prompt replies.
Mike
What you are probably seeing isn't a void, but a point where the foam
didn't expand fully. Royalex is a sandwich of material, the inner
layers expanding under heat to give it rigidity. They shouldn't
compromise the strength, and you'll put more dents&scratches in the boat
yourself in the first river run. I'm having trouble understanding the
location of the dent. If it is above the waterline, no big deal. If it
is below waterline, it might be annoying, but again - no big deal.


Marsh Jones
Minnesota
P-16 in the garage.