riverman wrote:
wrote:
I am looking at a Lincoln Concord canoe it is 15 years old and kevlar.
It is 16'6", I was wondering if anyone had any experience with this
boat? How does it handle?
I am looking for something to go with either my son or daughter or be
able to manage it myself.
Would be used mostly on slower creeks rivers.
Thanks
Toby

As a boat, it sounds perfect. The shallow arch bottom will give it good
stability, the symmetric hull means you can paddle it solo or tandem,
the length and beam are good for a fla****er or slower stream
situation. Overall, it sounds like an excellent choice.

However, you need to look closely at the Kevlar hull and the trim. Are
the rails and thwarts wood (ash) or vinyl? If they are vinyl, they are
probably fine, but if they are ash then you should look closely to see
if there is any rot or cracking. Woodwork is easily replaced, but you
should plan on redoing it if it needs it for two reasons: first (and
foremost), to ensure it is safe and will ensure that the boat is stable
and solid. Secondly, for pride of ownership. Nothing like doing a
little maintenance on a boat to make it 'yours'.

Inspect the kevlar closely. If it has a foam-filled kevlar hull, be
sure there are NO cracks into the foam core. Kevlar is not as easy to
repair as fiberglass, and any failure of the hull can be the beginning
of the end. A new boat of this type is about $2000, so if it is being
sold for substantially less, look very closely at it. You don't want
ANY weak spots or cracks.

Let us know how it looks: if there are any spots that look suspicious,
you can post a picture of it and some of the technicians here can give
you feedback.

Riverman,
Thanks for answering my post. What do you look for in
an older Kevlar canoe? It has vinyl rails and he states there is slight
damage to the cane seats. I have not gone out to look at it yet.
My understanding is that it was purchased 15 years ago and was used for a
couple of seasons and then stored out of the sun for
the last 12 years. Shold a boat be hung upside down?
It is a older model that was built with a fiberglass core vs. the foam core
they use today and weighs 55 lbs. What is considered light?
He is asking $600 for it. I haven't started looking for a boat for very
long and do not have a feel for the prices. Don't know if I should jump on
it or hold off as I am in upstate NY and winter is just starting.
Thanks in advance,
Toby

Hi Toby:
Don't sweat the seats...cane has a life expectancy and you can replace
them easily and affordably.

Inspect the vinyl rails and thwarts by looking to see if they have any
creases from being wrapped. These are easy to spot: either the lines
will be twisted of kilter, or else there will be that white
discoloration you get when you stress plastic. If there IS deformation,
see if the vinyl is still rigid and strong: most likely the rails and
thwarts will be okay. Also look closely to see that none (or not too
many) of the rivets have popped out. All these things are easily
fixable.

The hull, however, is where the money is. Kevlar hulls have some
serious advantages (lightweight, durable) but also some constraints
(expensive, hard to repair, wear patterns). The following is from
http://tinyurl.com/ylrs9u

"Kevlar is a weaved material, similar to a cloth fabric, and appears
honey-gold in it's raw form. This material weave is soaked in resin,
shaped and cured to create the canoe hull. Kevlar frizzes if it gets
damaged so the hull should have an outside coating made up of a number
of possible materials, including fiberglass (also possible weaved in
with the Kevlar), composites, polyethylene, and resin gel coat. Some
manufacturers are taking Kevlar fibers and weaving them with
fiberglass, which makes for a somewhat heavier but more durable canoe
(but still typically lighter than Royalite and almost 1/2 the weight of
full fiberglass). It is the easiest material to portage being very
light weight. It is also very slippery which in part makes it
extremely ideal for whitewater.

Kevlar in it's pure form is not the most ideal material for a canoe.
Although it is very durable and can take shock very well, severe shock
can crack a hull. Kevlar is very difficult to repair and the repairs
are next to impossible to hide. The gel coat is easily abraded, and
exposed Kevlar will shred out in fine fibers, next to impossible to
repair."

To inspect the hull, first look closely to see if there are any cracks
or 'shatter marks'. These would be from someone hitting a rock really
hard, or possibly someone hitting the canoe with a car while it was
stored. If there are cracks or shatter marks, be sure that the hull
does not flex unusually AT ALL beneath them. Also look to see if the
hull has been abraded: this will look like a fuzzy patch where the
coating is scrubbed off and the kevlar cloth beneath is fraying. Even
without the fraying, see if the surface coating has been worn off in
any areas larger than a dollar bill. If it has any cracks or serious
abrading, I'd bypass this boat and look for an ABS one.

Canoes as a general rule do not have to be hung up: they don't deform
under their own weight, and vinyl rails do not rot from ground contact.
However, in the northern climes they often spend time stored against a
house with a snowbank on top of them (or right side up with a snowbank
inside them) and this can be seriously damaging. I've even seen them
stored neatly inside a barn, protected from the elements, but crammed
full of firewood. Not good. Be sure the bottom of the hull does not
'oilcan', that is; pop in and out like the lid of a Snapple bottle.

Since your boat has spent its lifetime out of the water, the potential
damages will be different than those we usually look for: be sure to
look closely inside and outside the hull for cracks, abrasion,
deformation or discoloration (from gasoline or kerosene spills), or
anything that does not 'look right'.

Even if its in good shape, be aware than you can find an excellent
first- or second-hand ABS boat for $600. Of course, thats a bargain for
a kevlar hull, but just because its a bargain doesn't mean that its the
best value for money. At 55 lbs, its not a huge savings in weight;
Royalex hulls come in at around 60lbs (new style kevlar boats can be
feather-light), and since you are not planning to do extreme
whitewater, hard-core wilderness trips or rocky rivers, the durability
of Kevlar is not a real factor.

Without actually seeing the hull myself, I could not recommend you to
buy it or not. But if its in good shape, then its certainly not a
rip-off.

Good luck ;-)

--riverman