Submitted: 10-30-2003 by RGS
I’ve had my coleman scanoe since 1994. The first trip was all the way down Karasjohka river when it was spring flood. Each year it has been used for Salmon fishing in the Tana river system. It’s brought me some 17 to 87 Atlantic salmon each year, but the latest years I’ve mostly has been fly-fishing. This canoe has been in some heavy water streams and a couple of times I’ve crashed, once where the stream was so heavy that the boat just went under and turned around. I was trapped with may foots and barely got lose before it crashed against a stone and stopped. The aluminum traverse was broken, but it was only to use some wood to continue the trip. I also have a 4 hp Mercury that I sometimes use when I’m fishing. Once, the canoe fell off may car roof (90 km/h), slide against the road and out in the periphery. The only thing that happened was some minor scratches in the aluminum front.The only thing I’ve later altered is reinforcing the side with some hang glider alu so it’s more stable when I’m roving with my homemade paddlers, also made of hang glider alu. If it has been some inches wider and a little bit higher in the stern (front), it would be a perfect rowing boat for fisherman’s (trolling?). John is asking for a permanent repair kit that fits this boat. When I bought this boat I also bought a repair kit (but hasn’t had use for it, in spite of numerous stones that has ripped against the bottom) from Sweden (can’t get this boat in Norway). The repair kit has some plates with the same ram X material that the boat is made of and 2 component Scotch-Weld (3M) with the number 3532 B/A urethane adhesive tube (118,2 ml). I’m not sure where the instruction are, but I remember that one has to use a heat gun to nearly melt the surface before applying the adhesive and joining the surfaces. When I need a new boat I surely would by the new scanoe that looks even nicer. |