As I've been repairing some of the larger bumps and bruises on my OC1, I've noticed that I have a few hairline cracks in the finish of the ama and hull. I was thinking..no big deal, but I've found that after using my canoe in the ocean...weeks later I will find salt residue around the small cracks as the seawater evaporates and/or makes it's way out. Should I fix these hairline cracks? They're barely visible until the salt residue accumulates. I don't want to do a fix that's going to be more obvious than the crack itself unless the crack is presenting a problem structurally. Any suggestions?
Submitted by drewp on Fri, 10/07/2011 - 2:34am
Clear packing tape works well.
#1 Fri, 10/07/2011 - 4:07am
Let it dry out, put down a line of superglue over the cracks. It will wick in and totally seal the crack.
#2 Fri, 10/07/2011 - 5:54am
I guess my gender came out because I used clear finger nail polish. It worked purdy good.
#3 Fri, 10/07/2011 - 1:24pm
Check out Capt. Tolley's Creeping Crack Cure usually sold at Marine/Boating stores. Worked for some of my hairline cracks I had.
Besides clear packing tape, vinyl stickers/tape works to seal them up above the waterline.
If you're not going to fix them or seal them up, make sure to change/replace the tape/stickers as water may still seep out of the crack from the inside. The saltwater can also spread under the gelcoat from the inside and cause separation making that hairline crack into a bigger problem later.
You can read more about it in the Articles - Information section "Gel-Coat Cracks in oc1 canoes".
http://www.ocpaddler.com/node/21
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#4 Fri, 10/07/2011 - 1:35pm
Check out Ding Tape --- http://dingtape.com.au/
this stuff really works great... I used to sell it but I don't anymore.
Check around on the web and you could probably find it somewhere in the states.
#5 Fri, 10/07/2011 - 4:05pm