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I finally pulled my 18 hp surface drive and have the boat upside down
under a tarp. I'm really quite impressed with how little damage there is after
6 years. I've used the hell out of the boat. I would guess I have around 400
hours on the hull. Tanana,Yukon,Chatanika,Tolovana,Kantishna,Toklat,N ation,
Kandik, Charley ,Clear creek,Goldstream creek, Copper river etc. Stumps,
every kind of vegetation imaginable,logs, log jambs, beaver dams, silt, mud,
rocks of all sizes. Most of the damage came from tributaries of the Yukon. Some
really shallow water years and too much ambition on some gnarly, tight
cornered, standing waved rock gardens. Frankly, I think the hull is bombproof
in all conditions except very shallow, very rocky rivers. Especially, sharp rocks.
Of course this would be true of any boat. Now for the good news. The only damage
is one 2 ft. and one 1 ft. section on the keels. Exactly where you would expect.
Only the gel coat is gone / fiberglass is fine. The worst damage is the extreme stern.
About 16 in. long by 1 in. wide , right where the bottom of the hull goes vertical.
And that was caused by a boo-boo. While lining downstream on the Kandik around
a very tight corner with bigger waves [to avoid a big rock] ,my friend momentarily
lost the bow line and we got the boat turned sideways to the current on a rock.
It ground on the extreme stern for 10 minutes until we got it off. Very little damage
considering. Tomorrow I put on about 50 ft. of kevlar felt with west systems epoxy
resin. Thats for the keels. Also, a 10 in. by 32 in. skidplate at the extreme stern.
I think if I had done this earlier there would have been no damage. I would advise
anyone venturing on shallow rocky rivers to prep their Scott canoe the same. They
can do it at the factory if you're buying a new one. If you're not going to ever use the boat on these rivers I don't think you need it.
under a tarp. I'm really quite impressed with how little damage there is after
6 years. I've used the hell out of the boat. I would guess I have around 400
hours on the hull. Tanana,Yukon,Chatanika,Tolovana,Kantishna,Toklat,N ation,
Kandik, Charley ,Clear creek,Goldstream creek, Copper river etc. Stumps,
every kind of vegetation imaginable,logs, log jambs, beaver dams, silt, mud,
rocks of all sizes. Most of the damage came from tributaries of the Yukon. Some
really shallow water years and too much ambition on some gnarly, tight
cornered, standing waved rock gardens. Frankly, I think the hull is bombproof
in all conditions except very shallow, very rocky rivers. Especially, sharp rocks.
Of course this would be true of any boat. Now for the good news. The only damage
is one 2 ft. and one 1 ft. section on the keels. Exactly where you would expect.
Only the gel coat is gone / fiberglass is fine. The worst damage is the extreme stern.
About 16 in. long by 1 in. wide , right where the bottom of the hull goes vertical.
And that was caused by a boo-boo. While lining downstream on the Kandik around
a very tight corner with bigger waves [to avoid a big rock] ,my friend momentarily
lost the bow line and we got the boat turned sideways to the current on a rock.
It ground on the extreme stern for 10 minutes until we got it off. Very little damage
considering. Tomorrow I put on about 50 ft. of kevlar felt with west systems epoxy
resin. Thats for the keels. Also, a 10 in. by 32 in. skidplate at the extreme stern.
I think if I had done this earlier there would have been no damage. I would advise
anyone venturing on shallow rocky rivers to prep their Scott canoe the same. They
can do it at the factory if you're buying a new one. If you're not going to ever use the boat on these rivers I don't think you need it.
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