Went out yesterday to see a 15 foot Scott Wilderness canoe that had the Kevlar49 log on the side, and the badge on it said 54lbs. The owner said he recalled when he bought it a couple of decades ago that he weighed it at 53 lbs.

I brought my scale with me and we weighed it in at about 68 lbs.

He said in the ad it seems to have gotten heavier over time.

The float chambers still appeared to be hollow.

I'm guessing it must be taking up water within the hull itself somehow - is that known to happen?

It had a few patches over the years, and he showed me that a couple of the ribs had started to delaminate on the inside.

There were no obvious signs of serious delamination or anything. But I guess the only explanation is that it has soaked up a lot of water that is not evaporating out. Would that be the case?

I did not buy but now I'm just curious about it.

I can't see a kevlar canoe soaking up and holding over 10 pounds of water. Are you sure it's kevlar? A buddy of mine bought a scott canoe second hand advertised as kevlar, but was in fact fiberglass. As soon as I picked it up, I could tell it was closer to 70 pounds than 50.

I saw this one and thought it to be a curiosity.

This canoe had a serial plate that indicated weight?

If not, then I would assume ignorance on the owner's behalf.
I've heard it many times when someone tells me the incorrect weight of their own canoe.
People love to think that they got a better deal than they really did and be happy to blindly believe it too.

If yes, then I might think the float chambers may have been compromised.
Stored upright with standing water in it, end chamber(s) completely submerged long term, or maybe a stress crack along the chamber profile.

Slightly starved layups can allow water to pass through a seemingly solid surface. Especially when using chop and trying to keep it light.

Usually, there will be a foam (maybe wrapped in plastic) filling up the cavity of the end chambers. This older foam may absorb more water than the newer closed cell versions if the water was to ever get in the end chambers.

Maybe?

Yes I personally saw the plate that said 54 pounds, and it had the Scott "Kevlar49" logo on the outside. And when I said to the guy maybe it got mislabeled at the factory he said that when he bought it he personally weighed it at 53 lbs - one pound less than the badge said.

I brought my own scale - and weighed it. It was HEAVY!

When we knocked on the end chambers they sure sounded hollow but I dunno 100% for sure.

Does anyone know if Scott used foam in the chambers 20-25 years ago, or were they hollow?

Maybe that's all it was.

Anyway it was sold this morning. Someone took it.

It wasn't a Scott canoe, but once I capsized a cottager's fiberglass canoe on purpose, and it sank several minutes afterwards. Air bubbles seen escaping from the hollow flotation tanks and lucky the water was only 15-20 feet deep there. Had to retrieve with dive mask and fins... the owner was not happy with the water in the tanks but maybe saved him some real trouble later on.

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I remember thinking my old Sawyer X-17 was feeling heavier than it should have been and thought the float tanks might be waterlogged. Put it on a scale and damned if it didn't weigh exactly the same as when I bought it new!!! Amazing what a couple of decades will do LOL!!!