I have a blue '95 Independence in fiberglass and was wondering about the lay-up. It is beautiful, very hard and clear after all this time, and not brittle. It's not at all like jell-coat, more like what is used today over kevlar.

You already stated the layup......fiberglass. And, if it is blue, it has a gel coat. I have 4 Mad Rivers and I agree on your thoughts about the feel of the hulls......the are just different. Hard, polished but yet have a somewhat "silky" feel. Some proprietary secret in gel coat formulation? Don't confuse some "clear gel coats" into the equation on other canoes. My one exception is my Malecite which was an ultralight where they used colored resin to soak through the Kevlar cloth. That is a colored canoe with no gel coat.

Thx Doc, is that the red one you are referring to? Mine is blue on the inside, but scratches white (clear) on the exterior, it is very different from the gel-coat on the fiberglass Old Town I used to have.

WoolShirt: "Thx Doc, is that the red one you are referring to? Mine is blue on the inside, but scratches white (clear) on the exterior, it is very different from the gel-coat on the fiberglass Old Town I used to have. "

Cowdoc is absolutely correct. I had a blue Indy in 'glass and it was blue inside and out. It had a gelcoat, but gelcoated canoes will have white scratches. Mad River's layupd were much tougher than the norm.

I am amazed at how tough it is, and the over quality of the build is very high. The gel-coat has a lot of depth to it and looks clear, very hard with no flaking or spider web cracking.