View topic - Cracked gelcoat - car topping

So I strapped my brand new kevlar canoe on my car. I have car topped many canoes, including ultralight kevlar canoes and never had a problem. This canoe has a gelcoat finish and when I unstrapped the canoe I noticed cracks in the gelcoat where the straps were. I hadn't even paddled the canoe yet. The straps are simple hand pull straps with no ratchets and I did not even tighten them as much as I usually do, the canoe could move a little bit actually.
The cracks don't seem structural. There is no trace of structural damage inside, but still, I can't believe the gelcoat would crack so easily! Does this seem normal or acceptable to anyone? Did any of you run into this already? Could this be the gelcoat being brittle?

Looks more like someone fell on the bottom
Or something
Gel coat isn't structural

It wasn't there when I put it on the car though. Structural or not, the finish should be flexible to accomidate the same degree of movement the hull can. It seems like a gelcoat flaw.

who is the canoe manufacturer?

.

The exact same thing happened to me with a Swift rental 4 years ago. Hand tightening with straps. It's the reason I ended up buying a n epoxy canoe instead of a gelcoat (H2O, also have a Souris).

I assume it's because the tumblehome shape is not built to support a load in that direction, and I suspect it won't impair the performance on the water. I do wonder how it will stand up to repeat transportation...

M

Have you contacted the manufacturer? What is their response?

Jim G

At this point, I am waiting to hear back

Good. If you emphasized in your contact with them that you KNOW better than to overtighten when strapping a Kevlar canoe to your rack, that should deflate any knee-jerk reaction from the factory about "you must have overtightened the straps". Let's see if they are willing to consider that they got the mix or curing somehow wrong.

I am interested in this topic because I have a Wenonah kevlar canoe coming to me in the next few days, and its a model with notable tumblehome (The Solo Plus), and as has been pointed out, tumblehome makes the canoe somewhat more prone to crushing via overtightening.

Jim G

Had a Wenonah Aurora UL and never had a problem with it...

What was the outcome?

Jim G

Wow - brutal

Any update? I was thinking about buying a Swift...

For the record, the manufacturers name was deleted from this thread but it is not a Swift canoe.