I'm in the process of putting new gunwales on what was my dad's old SEDA Royalex 15'4" whitewater (I think) canoe, but am having a lot of difficulty finding decks that fit the boat (the wood gunwales are rotten, I'm putting on cheaper vinyl ones). I figured if I knew a bit more about the craft, I could narrow my search, or at least employ the help of someone who knows what they're talking about. The serial number is SDDFC3740281, though it's possible the F is really a P. Anyone know where I can find out more? Thanks.
Wanting to learn about my dad's SEDA Royalex canoe...
- Thread starter NedSavage
- Start date
Todd Bradshaw
Sailmaker
You might try the manufacturer. There might still be someone working there who remembers them:
http://www.sedakayak.com/
I don't believe Seda was ever big enough to have their own line of Royalex canoes built, so their boats may well have been their own version of the "Warsaw Rocket". The Uniroyal plant in Warsaw, Indiana made the Royalex material at that time and molded at least one model of Royalex canoe hulls which could be purchased raw by anybody. The hull got the nickname "Warsaw Rocket" in the industry (though any resemblance to a real rocket - or even a fast canoe design was pretty hard to find). Manufacturers who didn't have the means to mold their own hulls could buy the Rocket hulls and trim them out however they wanted, and this was pretty common among the smaller canoe companies. It made a decent and durable addition to their lines, and if trimmed in wood, the hull could be railed and finished without needing to buy any expensive tooling. Decks were often simply cut from flat sheets of additional Royalex and screwed to the gunwale tops at both ends, and seats could be wood-framed with cane or webbing filling. Other manufacturers might spring to have molds for ABS or vinyl decks made if they thought they could sell enough boats to offset the cost (which was pretty steep) or build more labor-intensive (and nicer) wooden decks.
It is certainly possible that other, more sophisticated Royalex hull shapes could have been shared between multiple manufacturers, but I'm not aware of any that were during that time period. My general impression from being in the canoe business back than was that manufacturers didn't share much information and were often pretty clueless about what their competition was up to.
http://www.sedakayak.com/
I don't believe Seda was ever big enough to have their own line of Royalex canoes built, so their boats may well have been their own version of the "Warsaw Rocket". The Uniroyal plant in Warsaw, Indiana made the Royalex material at that time and molded at least one model of Royalex canoe hulls which could be purchased raw by anybody. The hull got the nickname "Warsaw Rocket" in the industry (though any resemblance to a real rocket - or even a fast canoe design was pretty hard to find). Manufacturers who didn't have the means to mold their own hulls could buy the Rocket hulls and trim them out however they wanted, and this was pretty common among the smaller canoe companies. It made a decent and durable addition to their lines, and if trimmed in wood, the hull could be railed and finished without needing to buy any expensive tooling. Decks were often simply cut from flat sheets of additional Royalex and screwed to the gunwale tops at both ends, and seats could be wood-framed with cane or webbing filling. Other manufacturers might spring to have molds for ABS or vinyl decks made if they thought they could sell enough boats to offset the cost (which was pretty steep) or build more labor-intensive (and nicer) wooden decks.
It is certainly possible that other, more sophisticated Royalex hull shapes could have been shared between multiple manufacturers, but I'm not aware of any that were during that time period. My general impression from being in the canoe business back than was that manufacturers didn't share much information and were often pretty clueless about what their competition was up to.
Larry Meyer
Wooden Canoes are in the Blood
I just want to tip my hat to Todd Bradshaw here for his answer on this one. I thought this query would get a quick brush off, but instead it elicits a Pd. D quality tour through what must be one of the murkier closets (Warsaw, Indiana!) of canoe making history. The erudition disposed of on this site never ceases to amaze me.
There is some more information available from the SDD at the beginning of your number. The page at http://www.uscgboating.org/recalls/mic_detail.aspx?id=SDD has some contact information about Seda as Todd mentioned. The 81 at the end of your number indicates that it was built in 1981. The page at http://www.boatsafe.com/nauticalknowhow/hin.htm can help you interpret the rest of your serial number. The company history at http://www.sedakayak.com/company history.html indicates that you may have a rotomolded whitewater boat. It shouldn't be too difficult to make your own replacement decks out of wood. Good luck,
Benson
Benson
