I'll offer one more possibility to explain why our most recent Royalex
canoes seem to bruise so easily, even when compared with our mid-90's
boats (which are of the less hardy Royalex composition):

Our newest canoes are (were) in fact *very* new, as in popping outa
the mold fresh from the factory. We were paddling them only weeks
after they'd been made.

I sorta wonder if maybe Royalex continues to "cure" for some time
after manufacture?

A friend of our bought an canoe identical (same make and model) to one
of ours, but his had sat unsold in a dealer's store for nearly two
years. Both boats went on the same couple of initial trips, and he
without a doubt ran into and over more things than I, and his hull
isn't nearly as bruised.

Anyoen know - does Royalex continue to cure or harded for some time
after manufacturer?

Dan Valleskey valleskey at comcast dot net wrote in message . ..
Further cheapening of the Royalex "recipe"? They are going to
cheapen/ change themselves out of the market.

Hey, does anyone build a decent whtiewater boat in composites any
more? Remember the Wenonah Edge?

-Dan V.

On 25 May 2004 08:23:02 -0700, (Mike McCrea)
wrote:


I wonder in fact if there was yet another, more recent, change in the
composition of Royalex sheets. Our newest canoes all developed similar
depressions after just a few river runs, and many of those "bruises"
(which are noticable only on the exterior skin of the ABS) were along
the chines where the boat pressed up against some obstruction. Those
bruises or depressions have never popped back out after full
sun/warmth exposure.

More and more I appreciate pre-90 Royalex; our canoes from the 80's
are much tougher and take a licking without bruising. Our canoes from
the early and mid 90's are less hardy, and our newest Royalex boats
are wimps compared to the durability of the old Royalex.