Ralph Hawn - 1985 16' Blazer Before and After
Click on the photos above to enlarge.
Ralph Hawn describes the restoration process for his Mohawk Blazer canoe:
This 1985 16’ BLAZER was a rescue…damaged by a large tree limb, crushing the bow and aluminum gunwales. The project included:
#1. Repair hull (a lot of sandpaper & hand sanding)
#2. Re-glass dry spots on the interior
#3. Replace gunwales w/wood & end caps w/fiberglass
#4. Added keel
#5. Hull, interior & gunwales painted w/marine paint.
#6. Splatter coated on interior.
This project was started on 4/28/17. She patiently waited until 12/7/21, when restoration began in earnest. She was finally finished on 3/5/2022.
The “before” pics you see are from 12/7/21, along with pics showing how she looks today.
Melia
Nice work, Dad! It’s perfect
William Hunter
Ralph —
Nice job on that!
I own an Intrepid. That’s the 17’ plus and inch or two, as I recall offhand. I bought it from Mohawk in, probably, the early 80s, maybe 79. There’s generally always been a canoe in my life. I felt lost in times there wasn’t one.
— Hunter