RAM-X material ?

Several years ago I went into an Academy Sporting Goods store and left with a 15.5 Pelican canoe made of RAM-X material. It was a pretty cheap boat then, now sells for $750, still no fortune. Three molded seats, rod and cup holders, plastic trim on aluminum. The marketing material and what little info I found on the RAM-X material seems to be decent stuff, not as good as Kevlar but advantages over fiberglass. Bad part is it seems to be very hard to repair if holed.....probably why they packed it with duct tape.

Anyway, was thinking about using it a third time with some decking and a small sail and leeboards and tossing a rudder on it.

Load is 800 pounds, so don't want much weight added but would like a small raised deck, enough to crawl under.

I doubt fiberglass will stick to this material, seems the only option is a wood combing screwed, maybe glued (?) to attach a light plywood deck (not a walking deck) but that would be nice.

If you know the canoe, what do you think of them, won't hurt my feelings! Should this even be a project?

Does anyone know what sticks to RAM-X as a glue or will bond to it?

 

Ram-X ???

Never heard of it need pictures and lots technical info !!!!!!:idea:

 

Well, we can't really get that, it's a proprietary name for a very high density polyethylene material. It has very good impact resistance and memory characteristics, also has great UV resistance. It's been bottom up outside for about five years and shines like the day I got it and still holds it's shape. To patch a hole, guess if your gun went off accidentally, small patches of the material are available along with a heating iron with a flat surface much like a soldering iron as it must use plastic welding techniques to bond the materials.

Can't be doing that around the whole boat.

Perhaps I need to think along the lines of a spray skirt, canvas deck with ribs (although plywood could go on as easy as canvas), but it needs to be sealed as well.

Closest thing I can think of with a similar surface and material might be a plastic milk container, but the boat is much thicker.

Any poly glues?

Probably have to take off the combing and build the same in wood and screw it inside and work off that. A nice wood deck would really make it a nicer looking canoe too.

 

I was looking at polyethelene and how to bond for a work project.
The answer seemed that not bonding was one of its most useful properties - to keep solvents etc in bottles.
I had to "weld" with a soldering iron - they do sell welding outfits that work a lot better. Some not so expensive, but I personally don't know how well they work.

 

This is probably too late too help the OP, but for future canoe owners looking to fix their Coleman's or Pelicans, I figured I'd leave the tidbit of info I've come across:

RAM-X is a proprietary mix of HMWPE plastic, and as such it is resistant to just about everything, from adhesives & resins, to solvents, to abrasion (and to "being lightweight"... Hehe). Some temporary adhesive fixes might suit you for a short time, but I think they will fail you if you rely on them. The answer I have heard from every corner of the market is to heat-weld new HWMPE or HDPE plastic into the cracks, creating a solid plastic bond that will last indefinitely. This takes some skill, but is a relatively simple process. My advice is to look up plastic welding canoe/kayak repair on YouTube.

Hopefully that helps you get a few more years of enjoyment out of your canoe.