Restoring a
Phoenix Boat Company
Poke Boat Company
Phoenix Poke Boat Isere

 

STOP!   STOP!   STOP!

Three years after the refinish described on this page, the paint on the top deck was a mess. I tried something else, but two years after that, the interim "fix" was a mess, too.

Too much sun? Too much weather? Is it the paint or the polyurethane that screwed up? I think it was the poly, but don't quote me. Anyway, the deck paint is broken up and peeling and it's going to be the devil's own skin to remove and try again. So, not like anything here is warranteed, but follow the rest of this story at your own risk. And let me know (davidcortner@pobox.com) if you find a good way to paint a boat made from thin fiberglass.

 

Here's a link to a more successful attempt in 2009.

 

 

Photos and Notes about the Promising
(But Ultimately Unsuccessful!) 2004 Restoration follow:


The local hardware store put me onto their favorite brand of slow-drying enamel and a decent brush. This is Image brand antique white.

With one coat on, I taped the seamline temporarily and lived with it for a couple of days. I also pulled out the Yakima footbraces, cleaned them up, and repaired some damaged threads. Stainless steel, brass, and Teflon replace rusted low-grade hardware to hold the adjustable footbraces in the hull.


48 hours on, and I still liked the scheme. Valspar's American Traditions dove gray is the hull color. [The hull paint is holding up great after 5 years. DC] I took the boat into the basement workshop so the last coat of antique white could cure at leisure in a dry, cool, constant-temperature environment.



I had some doubts about the durability of the paint -- it felt soft even after a few days. A few coats of clear, satin polyurethane took care of those misgivings. The seam tape is 1 1/2 inch electrical tape from the local Lowe's Home Improvement Center.


I added shockcord deck rigging. It's cheap, useful and the signature of a touring boat. Inside are new flotation bags. A heavy-duty nylon cockpit cover will keep the kayak from becoming an arachnid hotel again. Don't put much stock in impressions of size from this photo -- it's a bit of a funhouse mirror because it was made with an extremely wide lens. The stern of the kayak is only 4-5 feet from the camera; I'm standing well beyond the cockpit, and the bow is several feet beyond me. The Isere is 14'9" bow to stern and tips the scales at 35 pounds, give or take.


June 11: One good boat deserves another. I've brought my Phoenix Slipper out of storage (that is, it was stacked beside the same garage). These two used to seem the ying and yang of kayaks, the Kucinish and Cheney of boats, but now the stage has expanded and they're both middle of the road moderates. The Isere is shorter and far simpler than full-tilt touring boats, and the Slipper is much longer and deeper than 21st Century slalom / play boats. The gamut of available boats may have extended past both kayaks in the last several years, but the hulls of these two are still very different. This is going to be fun.


 

Sources of stuff:

The boat is still made by the same company, but the company has transformed itself from the Phoenix Boat Company of Tyner, Kentucky, into the Poke Boat Company of Berea, and is now known as Phoenix Poke Boats, Inc. When I bought the kit, the company operated out of an old schoolhouse. Now they have less funky digs. (Odd boating trivia: these guys had a small display ad in The New Yorker for years.)

Float bags came from R.E.I.

The cockpit cover ("super keyhole" size is too big, but it cinches down nicely) and a new spray skirt ("large" cockpit size fits perfectly) came from Backcountry.com in Salt Lake City.

The deck rigging (20 feet of shock cord and several padeyes) came from the Northwest Outdoor Center in Seattle. Note to myself: if you're ever looking for more of those little plastic or metal loop things to hold deck rigging, the word is "padeye".

 

STOP!   STOP!   STOP!

Three years after the refinish described on this page, the paint on the top deck was a mess. I tried something else, but two years after that, the interim "fix" was a mess, too.

Too much sun? Too much weather? Is it the paint or the polyurethane that screwed up? I think it was the poly, but don't quote me. Anyway, the deck paint is broken up and peeling and it's going to be the devil's own skin to remove and try again. So, not like anything here is warranteed, but follow the rest of this story at your own risk. And let me know (davidcortner@pobox.com) if you find a good way to paint a boat made from thin fiberglass.

 

Here's a link to a more successful attempt in 2009.