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Boat is finished and enroute to our place!Wandering Sagebrush said:
Vic's new 2012 Puma build
- Thread starter Vic Harder
- Start date
Nice!
That is a mighty fine looking boat, congratulations and have fun! 
OP
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Boat arrived, nicely packaged and free from shipping damage. Popped it onto the camper to see how it fits:
Shorter on the roof than I thought. Standard bow tie off to keep it stable won't work. Pondering options.
And, then we simply bungeed it on to see how it would feel to lift it:
No problem. The back is now perfect with the boat there, the front comes down nicely, and it isn't too hard to lift the front. The 80# shocks mean that I can push, relax (without the top wanting to come down) and then finish the push up. Better than I had hoped.
Canoe weighs 39#. Lighter than my solar panel!
Vic
Shorter on the roof than I thought. Standard bow tie off to keep it stable won't work. Pondering options.
And, then we simply bungeed it on to see how it would feel to lift it:
No problem. The back is now perfect with the boat there, the front comes down nicely, and it isn't too hard to lift the front. The 80# shocks mean that I can push, relax (without the top wanting to come down) and then finish the push up. Better than I had hoped.
Canoe weighs 39#. Lighter than my solar panel!
Vic
Looks like a beautiful boat, should paddle great. i seam sealed all the window seams since we had the same problem in driving rain. Used standard Aquaseal for tent seams. Has been on for several years with no issues of peeling, etc. You can put it on pretty thin and force into the thread holes with a gloved finger.
larryqp
Senior Member
Very nice boat, I jealous.
I have a pakboat, which actually weighs more than your new boat, and it takes me a hour to setup. I keep going back and forth on whether to sell it and get a "solid" canoe. Everything is a trade off. The pakboat fits nicely in the basement of the motorhome and either inside the truck or camper of even on the roof, but I tend not to use it as much as I would if I had a solid boat.
Its been 20 years since I paddled in NH and Maine, there are a number of nice rivers to trip on, they probably are more crowded now.
Lake Umbagopg in Maine did have primitive sites all along the lake and a water taxi service which would take you to the end and then you could paddle back over a few days. The water taxi was part of a campground and I think they also handled the reservation for the primitive sites.
Enjoy your new boat.
I have a pakboat, which actually weighs more than your new boat, and it takes me a hour to setup. I keep going back and forth on whether to sell it and get a "solid" canoe. Everything is a trade off. The pakboat fits nicely in the basement of the motorhome and either inside the truck or camper of even on the roof, but I tend not to use it as much as I would if I had a solid boat.
Its been 20 years since I paddled in NH and Maine, there are a number of nice rivers to trip on, they probably are more crowded now.
Lake Umbagopg in Maine did have primitive sites all along the lake and a water taxi service which would take you to the end and then you could paddle back over a few days. The water taxi was part of a campground and I think they also handled the reservation for the primitive sites.
Enjoy your new boat.
takesiteasy
Senior Member
Nice canoe. I have paddled on Lake Umbagog- great place.
My brother uses these to tie down his boat- also short. They fit under the hood or trunk lid to provide tie down points. Would work well for a bow tie.
https://www.rei.com/product/818227/seattle-sports-quick-loops-pair?CAWELAID=120217890000785248&CAGPSPN=pla&CAAGID=102031206402&CATCI=pla-647846793062&cm_mmc=PLA_Google&product_id=8182270001&ad_type=pla&channel=online&partition_id=647846793062&target_id=pla-647846793062&brand_flag=&adgroup_id=102031206402&campaign_id=7978993644&location_physical=9019672&cid=431779278705&network=g&network_type=search&device_type=c&merchant_id=1209243&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIt_Czov756QIVAW-GCh2WLQ40EAQYASABEgIDffD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
My brother uses these to tie down his boat- also short. They fit under the hood or trunk lid to provide tie down points. Would work well for a bow tie.
https://www.rei.com/product/818227/seattle-sports-quick-loops-pair?CAWELAID=120217890000785248&CAGPSPN=pla&CAAGID=102031206402&CATCI=pla-647846793062&cm_mmc=PLA_Google&product_id=8182270001&ad_type=pla&channel=online&partition_id=647846793062&target_id=pla-647846793062&brand_flag=&adgroup_id=102031206402&campaign_id=7978993644&location_physical=9019672&cid=431779278705&network=g&network_type=search&device_type=c&merchant_id=1209243&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIt_Czov756QIVAW-GCh2WLQ40EAQYASABEgIDffD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
Thanks for the link to quick loops! They look like a great answer to a bow tie down.takesiteasy said:
OP
OP
I have a set of those. Use them on the car. Looks like they won't be useful for this setup. I have ideas that I will try out later this week.takesiteasy said:
Vic,doesn't look like you have a roof rack.
When I carried my 12' Old Towne I attached it to
the roof rack with ratchet straps.
I did make some "channel stops" to fit over the
frame bars of the rack.
They acted to keep the canoe from moving side to side.
My system worked great.Traveled thousands of miles
with no issues even in cross winds.
Frank
Vic found photos of my setup.
You could add a bar front and rear
to hold the canoe.
The track down the middle is for the small wheel
on the front of the canoe.Keeps it from sliding off
the side when loading/unloading.
My 2 solar panels sit on each side on the rear section of the rack.
When I carried my 12' Old Towne I attached it to
the roof rack with ratchet straps.
I did make some "channel stops" to fit over the
frame bars of the rack.
They acted to keep the canoe from moving side to side.
My system worked great.Traveled thousands of miles
with no issues even in cross winds.
Frank
Vic found photos of my setup.
You could add a bar front and rear
to hold the canoe.
The track down the middle is for the small wheel
on the front of the canoe.Keeps it from sliding off
the side when loading/unloading.
My 2 solar panels sit on each side on the rear section of the rack.
OP
OP
Frank, thanks for that. Actually, there is a roof rack up there. Super low profile, 1" square alum bars attached to the T-slot tracks. I have 4 T-slots running the length of the roof, so the 1" bars are on there pretty sturdily!Casa Escarlata Robles Too said:Vic,doesn't look like you have a roof rack.
When I carried my 12' Old Towne I attached it to
the roof rack with ratchet straps.
I did make some "channel stops" to fit over the
frame bars of the rack.
They acted to keep the canoe from moving side to side.
My system worked great.Traveled thousands of miles
with no issues even in cross winds.
Frank
DSCN3073.jpeg
DSCN3070.jpeg
DSCN3071.jpeg
Vic found photos of my setup.
You could add a bar front and rear
to hold the canoe.
The track down the middle is for the small wheel
on the front of the canoe.Keeps it from sliding off
the side when loading/unloading.
My 2 solar panels sit on each side on the rear section of the rack.
Curious about your shaped gunwale cradles. How did you make those? I think my canoe will be resting almost on the alum roof rack, with the exception of some left over 1/4" vinyl flooring glued to the racks to keep the alum/alum contact to a minimum.
I was also thinking of having some L-channel at the front that would limit/guide forward travel of the canoe.
Regarding ratchet straps, I have heard that these are not advisable for canoes, as you can put TOO much pressure on the hull. That said, I have used them before!
It looks like I can use ratchet straps from the roof racks to the carrying handles at each end of the canoe... those are sturdy and would also limit front/back travel at each end.
Stay tuned, and keep the ideas coming!
PaulT
Need gumbo
Vic,Vic Harder said:
Consider using UHMW tape to perform the aluminum separation. That stuff is slick, very tough, lasts a long time for the sliding surfaces. We laid UHMW down in steel channels on the log intake in sawmills. Heavy chain ran over the UHMW in the channels with large logs on the chains to carry them into the mill.
https://www.mcmaster.com/uhmw-polyethylene-tape/
Paul
Vic,the cradles are made from some aluminum channel. They are 2 piece, nest in each other.The lower one just slides over the 1" roof bar.The cradles support the gunwales of the canoe.
With the gunwales snug on the cradles the straps snug the canoe down.There doesn't seem to be any downward pressure to distort the canoe. Just a nice snug fit.
My canoe seems to have a greater"bow" to it then yours, so the need for the extra cradle height in the rear.
The cradles in front are stops also so the canoe slides up to them and stops. If need be I have a short piece of chain up front that is a safety chain. If something comes loose at least the canoe won't flop off the camper. Never had any problems. You should be able to use your 1" roof tubes to secure the canoe. Frank
Vic you can see the straps attach right over the channel supports.
The strap hooks then attach to the 1" roof tube.
Oh and yes that cafe is the one from the TV show Twin Peaks.
With the gunwales snug on the cradles the straps snug the canoe down.There doesn't seem to be any downward pressure to distort the canoe. Just a nice snug fit.
My canoe seems to have a greater"bow" to it then yours, so the need for the extra cradle height in the rear.
The cradles in front are stops also so the canoe slides up to them and stops. If need be I have a short piece of chain up front that is a safety chain. If something comes loose at least the canoe won't flop off the camper. Never had any problems. You should be able to use your 1" roof tubes to secure the canoe. Frank
Vic you can see the straps attach right over the channel supports.
The strap hooks then attach to the 1" roof tube.
Oh and yes that cafe is the one from the TV show Twin Peaks.
OP
OP
Frank, yes indeed, this canoe has very little rocker and the prow and stern do not rise up much to catch wind. I like the idea of the ratchet straps simply going into the tube ends.
Paul, thanks for the Teflon tape idea! I will use that!
Paul, thanks for the Teflon tape idea! I will use that!
OP
OP
Onto another - window water leak - issue. I've seam sealed the vinyl wherever there was stitching. Some of the needle holes are big enough to see light through, so no wonder water got through there. Good news is, that even using a garden hose on sharp spray, the stitching no longer leaks.
Marty had recommended VLP, I found Gear Aid Seam Grip WP easier to find, and Marty approved. Two tubes did the whole top.
Bad news is, there seems to be a design flaw. Water goes through the bug mesh, hits the clear vinyl, and run to the bottom of the window. It then flows along that bottom edge to one end or the other (or both if the camper is dead level) and runs inside then runs inside the window.
Ideas?
Marty had recommended VLP, I found Gear Aid Seam Grip WP easier to find, and Marty approved. Two tubes did the whole top.
Bad news is, there seems to be a design flaw. Water goes through the bug mesh, hits the clear vinyl, and run to the bottom of the window. It then flows along that bottom edge to one end or the other (or both if the camper is dead level) and runs inside then runs inside the window.
Ideas?
takesiteasy
Senior Member
There are storm flaps that attach to the velcro on the outside to cover the windows in driving rain. We remove them in nice weather. Some have turned them into little awnings and leave them on all the time. If you don't have them I'm sure you can get them from ATC.
Here's one thread on them- there are others.
https://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/topic/6354-window-awnings/?hl=%2Bstorm+%2Bflap#entry70895
Here's one thread on them- there are others.
https://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/topic/6354-window-awnings/?hl=%2Bstorm+%2Bflap#entry70895
OP
OP
We have those. Super hard to reach without a ladder. Just really confused, because my Hawk did NOT leak at all, and that's without sealing the seams.takesiteasy said:
We looked at an ATC Bobcat before getting our Fleet, and I wondered about the window design, I am not sure why ATC does it that way. It seems very inconvenient to have to open/close the storm flaps from the outside and the upward facing edge appeared to form a gutter. On the FWC soft windows there are no upward facing seams/edges and like your hawk we have never seam sealed ours and it has never leaked.
This may just make a total mess, but is there anyway you could glue that edge to the window behind it to eliminate the gutter? Or glue the bottom centimeter or two of the window flap to the walls so when it does fill up it at least overflows on the outside? Or possibly take a soldering iron and melt some small holes in that flap, so the water would tend to drain out on the outside?
After how much effort you have put into this, I can see these little things being particularly annoying.
This may just make a total mess, but is there anyway you could glue that edge to the window behind it to eliminate the gutter? Or glue the bottom centimeter or two of the window flap to the walls so when it does fill up it at least overflows on the outside? Or possibly take a soldering iron and melt some small holes in that flap, so the water would tend to drain out on the outside?
After how much effort you have put into this, I can see these little things being particularly annoying.
I did not have leak issues with the windows on my Bobcat.
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