Verolite canvas - is it available?

[Howie]

I've just got my hands on a 13' canoe that I think may be a Tremblay. It is a very light weight canoe weighing only 50 lbs. Apparently Tremblay covered their canoes with a material called Verolite - which is described as a colored PVC-impregnated canvas. This sounds exactly like the stuff on my canoe. Does anybody know if this Verolite is still available? I know a fella who's very interested in this if I can recanvas it and have it weigh the same as it does now.

 

[Benson Gray]

The link at below may help, although this information is very old. Good luck,

Benson

Verolite

This question starts out with a little story that goes like this:Once upon a time long ago .......before the big crash.There was a huge fountain of knowledge about wooden canoes and canoeing.People from all over could ask a question and have it answered almost magically .A query was put forth to...

forums.wcha.org

 

[John Sand]

I believe that some lightweight canoes have been covered in Dacron instead of canvas. The Skin On Frame boats use it too. In case you can't find Verolite.

 

[Worth Gretter]

Howie, I just did a web search and what comes up indicates that Verolite is a trademark for polycarbonate panels, so clearly something has changed in the last 20 years.

Going back 60 years, my brothers and I built a Folbot from a kit. It had stringers covered with Naugahyde, so basically it was a skin on frame boat. We had good luck with the Naugahyde, with only a couple of punctures (easily patched) over the years, and certainly no mildew. Perhaps that was because Folbot had their own paint for the interior, some kind of latex if I remember right.

On my own canoe project (early 1900s Maine guide canoe by unknown builder) I wanted to use Dacron to save weight, but I have given up that idea because I won't be able to get the hull smooth enough.
-Worth

 

[Howie]

Thanks again Benson. But ugh... that's not what I wanted to hear!

 

[Howie]

In case anybody is interested I just removed the Verolite canvas from the 13 footer. It weighed all of 10 lbs.

 

[Nick Dennis]

I have a Verolite covered 16' Chestnut Deer. I like the lightness so am reluctant to remove it. the woodwork which I can see all appears in fine fettle. I am very much of the thought; "If it ain't broke, don't fix it". Did you find any "nasties" when you removed the Verolite canvas Greg?

 

[Howie]

Nick: I removed the Verolite from mine the other day. The wood beneath looked pristine - no water marks at all. Indeed, the wood almost looked new - not at all what you'd expect to see on a 30+ year old canoe. All it had was a little grit or sand. However as soon as I started removing the canvas cracks appeared on it everywhere, so it certainly seems to have a 'shelf life'.

 

[Benson Gray]

I have a Verolite covered 16' Chestnut Deer.

This one looks great. Many of these fade to a distinct shade of pink after spending a lot of time in the sun. "Good for night work" as Bart Hauthaway used to say about the early Royalite canoes which had similar issues.

Benson

 

[Nick Dennis]

Ha, it only looks great Benson because I found some paint which sticks to it! I had some paint colour matched to a swatch of the original Chestnut red (read orange) which Mike Elliott gave me at the Assembly. When I got it there were noticeable “Tiger Stripes“due to UV. So far the paint is sticking OK. I thoroughly cleaned the hull first and gave it a slight key.