American Fiber Lite Patriot 15 canoe

Hello,

I was just given a Patriot 15 canoe made by American Fiber Lite. The canoe is a chopper gun build from the 70's.

I really don't know what to do with this canoe and need some opinions. The birchbark paint or gel coat is off of the boat in several sections and is like spider webbed cracked in other sections. The glass strands are showing through in some parts pretty big patches of it.

I don't see any really bad scratches or gouges in the hull other than the paint being off and you can see the glass actually fuzzy in places all throughout the boat. There doesn't seem to be any soft spots yet but I haven't checked out the whole boat yet.

I know the boat is a crapper that was distributed by sears and is weak because of the spray chop fiberglass. That being said it was given to me and I would like to make it usable for a couple years for small inland lake paddling and fishing.

What can I do to this boat to make it safe first and foremost, useable and possibly give it a little better strength and finally give it a decent finish .....I am not looking for a mirrored gel coat finish but not something ugly either.

Hopefully without spending a ton of money .

Please throw any and all ideas at me because i would like to get started this weekend.

Thanks,
James Sanders

Re: American Fiber Lite Patriot 15 canoe

Figured I would post some pictures. I didn't even see canoe in daylight looks pretty bad .......I don't know. Do you guys think this can be fixed ?

James

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Re: American Fiber Lite Patriot 15 canoe

jsand,

It doesn't look that bad to me? Besides the paint that has peeled off, the structure looks ok - from your photos. But I think that's the way those canoes were made with the chopped strand sprayed into the mold and not much else.

You might want to paint it; I would. You can search the forum for bottom painting suggestions in your price range. The sky's the limit.

Good luck. Post some photos when you're done.

Re: American Fiber Lite Patriot 15 canoe

If she were mine and I just wanted to get a few more years out of her I would buy a Gallon of epoxy resin and some acetone. I would LIGHTLY sand the paint and then acetone the areas then coat them with epoxy. Paint her with Rusoleum Premium Oil Based paint and get her WET!!!!

I'm just sayin...

Re: American Fiber Lite Patriot 15 canoe

Hello Sandman and welcome to Iboats..

As long as the glass is still in structural shape ( which I cannot determine with pics ) then coating is your main issue..

To bring the surface ready to "paint" would require some Heavy coatings to seal the raw fiberglass.

If $ is an issue then I say roll some Gel on there ( thick and waxed ) be done with it.

Proper prep is going to be needed no matter what you decide to go with.

YD.

Re: American Fiber Lite Patriot 15 canoe

Thanks for the help folks.......

Ok I'm new at this so please put this down in layman terms.

I need to .....

1. Sand lightly to get the paint off the boat
2. Acetone the boat
3. Epoxy resin the boat
4. Paint the boat

Ok my questions are....

I am ok sanding the paint off as long as I don't bite into the glass right ?

What brand of epoxy do you guys use or let me say what is decent at a good price and how much do I need ? Do I need to use hardener or any other product..........I know I have to read I am looking at some of the online West Systems book now.

Paint.........what is going to give me something decent without spending a fortune ? If this was something I built or something I wanted to keep forever I would put the money into it but right now I just want a decent look that will get me by a couple years.

Thanks for being so helpful to a newbie.....

James

Re: American Fiber Lite Patriot 15 canoe

www.USComposites.com is a GREAT resource for your Epoxy resin (1 Gallon should be a good starting point). Give her two coats. Like I said in my previous post Rustoleum Premium Oil Based paint thinned 10% with acetone will give you a durable finish that will be easy to maintain. 1 qt should do it and get a $35.00 HVLP spray Gun from Harbor Freight to paint her with.

I'm just sayin...