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Dragon Boat Canada


IDBF


Canoe Kayak Canada

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[ian]

Hi All
A question has come up within our club so i`m putting it out so as to hopefully get some good feedback

Q, what is the expected life of a 6/16 , given that it has had regular maintainence and generally been well looked after ? (i`m not refering to humpty & dumpty, but Barney may be a good example)

Q, what do you think the expected life of a BUK would be ?

thanks

[rtsdhvy]

There are numerous factors that would affect the life expectancy of any style of dragon boat. Is the boat in the water 12 months a year or stored on dry land when not in use?
If the boat is stored on dry land when not in use is it protected from the elements?
Is it used in freshwater or saltwater or False Creek water? (I am sure opinions vary with respect to whether or not False Creek water is actually water at all.)
How often is the hull cleaned? Has the skill level of the crew developed past the
"gunnel banging" stage? What material is the boat made from??
These are just a few factors that I can think of. I'm sure there are lots of other factors
that other people out there can bring forth.

[brainiac]

A fibreglass hull should last a very long time. Seats, steering assemblies, etc. might need to be repaired from time to time. To keep maintenance costs to a minimum:

- dock carefully, don't slam into the dock

- stay in deep water and away from other boats, don't run the boat onto rocks at low tide

- load/unload carefully, don't tread heavily on the benches

- store the boats on land and under cover if not in use for an extended period, don't leave them out to fill up with rain water and sink

[Wet spot]

One of the biggest problems with the 6/16, and other boats to a lesser degree, is torgue/flexing (twisting) because of their length - on most the seats are an integral part maintaining its form and structure.

Thru ordinary wear and tear boats begin to loosen up - its important to keep seats and other structural parts in good condition and tightly fitted (fibre-glassed or screwed) to the superstructure of the boat - a very bad sign is when the fibreglas connecting the seat to the boat side has cracked because it means excessive flexing of the gunnels is occuring and this leads to even faster aging....this is why not to stand on seats or gunnels (apart from being an unsafe practice).  Also man-handling the boat on dry land or docks is hard on them if not properly supported...we have probably all heard the cracking noise as people use the gunnels to pull the boat sideways - very bad idea!

The BUKs are very lightly built and I question whether they will stand up every day use the way some of the other boats have ... time will tell.  (Gems, on the other hand are built like a brick sh*thouse and they paddle like one - they will probably last forever.)

As a boat for practising and putting on mileage I would go with the 6/16 - for racing, definitely a BUK.