"Fred Klingener" wrote in message
. ..
"mraycraft" wrote in message
m...
Fellow paddlers;
I have the opportunity to acquire a 10-year old Swift canoe made of
Royalite. Apparently, it has been kept in a Canadian garage when not
in use.
Assuming that the boat is otherwise structurally sound, I am not sure
what to expect in terms of durability of the material it is built
with. Does Royalex/Royalite deteriorate noticeably over time? Put
another way, would a 10-year old boat have lost anything solely due to
age?

Short answer: no.

Agreed.


Longer answer:

1. Check alignment - visual is ok for this, I think. Mostly, I'd be
worried
about twist from improper support during long term storage. If it's on
sawhorses or a decent looking rack, I'd tend not to worry too much about
it.
If it's leaning up against the wall on a gunnel, I would.

The alignment is a product of the gunnels...the ABS has almost no integral
strength. I once changed the rails on my (at the time, 15 year old) Blue
Hole 17A, and when I popped the gunnels off, the unsupported ABS body was
like a big piece of lasagna. When I put the new rails on it, it was a total
facelift! The boat had perfect lines, like the day it came off the mold.
The only thing it didn't fix was the oilcanning.


2. The vinyl skin on the outside of an ABS boat will deteriorate under UV.
If the boat was stored in the sun for ten years without 303, it should
look
like crap. This isn't fatal if the price is low enough.


Agreed: if exposed to the sun, the vinyl skin will get all spiderwebbed and
could be flaking off. The ABS layer underneath is very susceptible to UV
damage, so check it for brittling if the vinyl has flaked off at all.
However, 10 years is not all that much sunshine in Canada, so if there IS
spiderwebbing with no flaking, then just lay on a coat of marine paint. If
there is flaking and brittling of the underlying ABS, pass over the boat.


3. Check wood gunnels for dryness or rot. Even if the boat was stored
under
cover, ash parts might be subject to fungal attack if they haven't been
maintained. Check with Swiss Army knife when owner isn't looking.

Especially check between the ABS and the ash rails. Thats where the moisture
collects; remember, gunnels rot from the inside (against the hull) out, not
from the surface down.


hth,
Fred Klingener

and riverman.