MrSimon's Radisson Canoe

[MrSimon]

I've always liked the Radisson/Sportspal canoes. They are made out thin aluminum and held together with spit and bubblegum. They weigh next to nothing, track like a barge, dent and tear easily, can carry tons of gear, and take up to a 3HP motor. But they also cost over $1,000 new.

I found a beat up 12' wide transom Radisson on Craigslist for $100. I couldn't resist.

I took it out this morning with my father and daughter. IT FLOATS! There are a few decent leaks that need to be tended to, and I have to see about pounding out some dents and straightening the front end. A little elbow grease, SteelFlex, and paint .... should be a nice fishing boat.

Someday I'd like to take it back to Ontario where it was made and use it on some back lakes.

 

[MrSimon]

Started tearing the back off tonight. This boat is very simple ... should be pretty easy to work on.

I'll remove the entire back piece of aluminum, clean everything really well, put seam sealer between everything, and rivet it back on. Then I'll put in a new piece of wood.

 

[countryboy210]

Subscribed; This Is Gonna Be A Neat Project To Watch ! Keep The Pics Coming.

 

[ray55classic]

Neat canoe never saw a radison before have an idea on the year it was made? Vintage OMC Lightwin would look perfect on there.

 

[azekologi]

Subscribed as well, I think that this is going to be quite a nice project thread.

I think you Radisson is a gem, and what a steal at $100! :shock:

I've been keeping an eye out for an all metal canoe sporting a nice flat-back transom (easy for a TM or small gasser).

Your find keeps my hunt going strong. :wink:

 

[MrSimon]

I completely removed the transom, cleaned it up really well, and riveted it back on. I put 3M 5200 marine sealant between the two pieces.

I also took out all the ribs and the foam. There were ants, lots of ants, living beneath the foam. I'll have to replace it.

 

[fender66]

I loved my canoe for many, many years.....then my back got old and I bought a boat. I'm going to have to rekindle the flame a bit and take her out again soon. Bet the old girl has nearly 4500 + miles of floating and still in great shape after 25 or so years.

 

[lucescoflathead]

I just saw a post on an antique outboard web site about an air cooled Clinton 5 hp with a jet drive. That would be a cool motor on your canoe.

 

[MrSimon]

That would be a cool motor.

I'm kicking myself because I just sold a PERFECT condition 3.3 mercury. Figured I'd never use it.

 

[azekologi]

I'm kicking myself because I just sold a PERFECT condition 3.3 mercury. Figured I'd never use it.

Man, that sucks :!: , Lemme give you my "silver lining" theory though...

Along with fishing and boating, I've been a life-long cyclist. When I was a kid I raced BMX, as a teen I grew to love mountain bike racing and spent a few years as a semi-pro. I love bikes, have five ride-specific steeds depending on what I'm looking for in an adventure that day, my only son has 3 bikes that are age-size appropriate, and my wife two bikes. Like I said, I kinda like bikes. :wink: Anyway, over the years I've come to be a devout believer in what I call "bike karma"...it's quite simple, do something good, give something away, whatever, something good will come to you. The most receipt example is that I sold a set of high-end wheels on CL for a smoking deal because I was sick of looking at them for 2-3 years and they just needed to go. I'm a first-contact, first-served kind of seller. The first guy who contacted me was coming from a town 100 miles away, and needed me to wait until the weekend before he came with cash...I obliged because he knew what he was after and was happy to get them for his particular build. About a month later a buddy of mine called me to see if I wanted to buy a bike that he was finally selling after I told him 10 years ago; "hey, when you sell this...I want to be the first to know". So, I got a bike that I've been waiting years to get in my stable. Funny thing was, those wheels would have been put to good use on the bike I ended up with in the end...but hey, considering what I know about bike karma I had to let the wheels go to get the bike I've been eying for years.

Anyway, I'm beginning to believe that boats and the boating hobby are subject to a similar "boat karma". :roll:

By letting that little motor go, you found yourself a gem of a craft. :mrgreen:

Sure, you could have used that motor on it, but it's may be possible that the motor had to go to "karmagically" make the boat deal come to you.

Then again, maybe I'm a little crazy. 8)

 

[MrSimon]

I kind of feel the opposite :lol:

I'm big into Jeeps and boats. I've bought, modified, sold more than I can count. When you fix, build, and flip stuff, you end up with tons of parts laying around. I don't like clutter, so I typically sell stuff quickly and cheaply. I've even been known to give away stuff to friends for free.

There have been many, many times when I kick myself for getting rid of something, and I end up forking over more money to buy something I had in the shed a year ago.

If I would just be a bit more patient and organized, it would save my a ton of time, hassle, and money.

 

[azekologi]

I kind of feel the opposite :lol:

I'm big into Jeeps and boats. I've bought, modified, sold more than I can count. When you fix, build, and flip stuff, you end up with tons of parts laying around. I don't like clutter, so I typically sell stuff quickly and cheaply. I've even been known to give away stuff to friends for free.

There have been many, many times when I kick myself for getting rid of something, and I end up forking over more money to buy something I had in the shed a year ago.

If I would just be a bit more patient and organized, it would save my a ton of time, hassle, and money.

I've been there too. I absolutely HATE :twisted: when I get rid of something that I haven't used in a while only to find a week or two later that I could use it for projects x, y or z. Sometimes I get my shop a little disorganized and lose track of stuff.

I mentioned it to a friend once who had a pretty good theory...he said that you only realize the loss because you just had your hands on whatever it was. If you weren't cleaning, organizing, purging, you probably wouldn't have known it was even there and would have bought a new one anyway.

Not sure if I totally agree, but it seems like sound logic...especially when the organization gets out of hand! :shock:

 

[MrSimon]

I cut out some wood for the transom tonight and made some corner brackets for the top. Also made two little L brackets for half way down the transom. I think the extra support will stiffen it up a bit and I'll feel better about putting a gas motor on it.

Later this week I'll treat the wood. Once its dry, I can assemble everything and tighten it up. Then I clean, prep, paint, re-install foam and ribs ... and FISH FISH FISH.

 

[ray55classic]

The quality of your work looks top notch, I look forward to seeing the finished project. One thing you might consider is on the top of the transom a light aluminum channel set over the raw plywood edge will make it last a lot longer, it doesn't delaminate as easy when not exposed to the elements, and it looks pretty cool too. If you cant find a channel that fits good, 2 angles that lap each other will work as well. keep up the great work..... Ray

 

[Captain Ahab]

Looking good! Thanks for posting all of this

 

[MrSimon]

To wrap this up, here is the finished project. It cost me very little to clean this boat up. I used two old boat seats I had in the shed, some scrap aluminum, and one tube of 5200.

Its a nice, light weight, comfortable boat.

 

[bigwave]

Hey this is one nice canoe, I really think you should paint her and try to keep the logo...it looks very cool. I think a nice fire engine red with that old logo would really stand out. Nice work on the transom....I can just imagine you lazily drifting down a river enjoying how she floats. Good job man. =D>

 

[fender66]

That does look really nice. There's lots of room in there for a canoe. Maybe you should put a 40hp jet on there and ride wheelies around the lake. :LOL2: :LOL2:

 

[MrSimon]

Lol! Thanks guys. How about fire engine red AND a 40hp jet?!?

PS - This boat is for sale. $300.