Re: [Paddlewise] Has anyone seen a Long Haul Mark II

John wrote:

> How long do the red decks last
> before they pink out? I really like red for visability, but kin general, red
> dyes seem to fade rather quickly. I've never seen a red Klepper with a few
> years on it. Any thoughts.

In Germany, red decks have a reputation of being the quickest ones to
fade. Blue, for example, keeps its color much longer. That's true for
canvas decks, I don't know about synthetic decks. 

Of course, dying is always a matter of UV penetration. If you always
keep your boat in the house, it will keep its color much longer. But
this is not what boats were invented for, right? :-)

While I had back problems (the call it a "witch shot" over here, don't
know the correct medical term) I came up with a strange idea: my 1950's
once-bordeaux-colored deck has faded into a white pink / rosé. On the
inside, however, it still has this beautiful bordeaux (great for
spoiling red wine onto the deck - no traces afterwards ... :-)). So I
thought about cutting the deck-hull-seams, turn the deck and sew it to
the hull upside down. 

People on the German-language Faltbootforum
(www.faltboot.de/dt/forum.html) quickly convinced me that this was
merely a stupid idea, coming out of a strange mind that has been lying
on its back for too long ... :-)
Arguments were that the inside of the hull has been subject to abrasion
by the frame, thus it is weaker than the outside part. Also, the work
would be much more than I thought ( you can get a new Pouch boats deck
for some 250 to 350 US$ and I was looking at some 20-40 hours of work).

Probably the strongest argument was that an old boat should really show
its age: while new boats have not much history, old boats with faded
decks really can tell story after story. 

Since then, I again enjoy paddling my pink / dark rosé decked boat. 

Cheers,
Marian

-- 
Marian Gunkel, Berlin, Germany
http://www.mariangunkel.de


***************************************************************************
PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed
here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire
responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author.
Submissions:     PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net
Subscriptions:   PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net
Website:         http://www.paddlewise.net/
***************************************************************************