Moment of Truth

A scary moment but thankfully I was able to pick my boat up by the coaming with no creaking and cracking sounds and more importantly the coaming still attached.

 I tied my boat off upside down to a couple of A-frame ladders and dressed up like some psychotic mad man to begin the repairs on my boat.

 I detached the coaming forward of the seat and cleaned off all the old resin and what looked like hot glue that previously held it on.  I then used a Dremel to grind off any old gel coat that was loose and cleaned up the edges.

I mixed the epoxy and hardener 5:1 and added roughly 10% of microfibers into a plastic measuring cup and mixed it up into a fairly thick runny paste.  I then used a the end of a chisel to open up the gap between the coaming and the lip and used a syringe to pour in the resin mix.  I taped up the outside of the coaming with insulation tape to stop the glue coming through.

 Under the deck I used a Dremel to grind down the loose gel coat and remove the gel coat around the splits in the lip/deck.

 Before (above)... After (bellow)  I added four layers of fibreglass to cover the cracked gel coat you can see above after I ground as much of it away.

I also added layers of fibre glass around the splits near the coaming to reinforce them (bellow).  I then sanded down the area for a smooth finish (the white bits are from sanding not air bubbles).  I left it to cure overnight and then came the moment of truth.  It seems to have done the job.  I've given it a good wiggle, picked it up, stretched the spray deck over it and it seems solid enough.

For my first experience with fibre glass I enjoyed it.  That was until the plastic cup I was holding started smoldering and disintegrating in my hand.  Epoxy is lethal!!  That's why I only got to four layers and the last one was rushed.  Thanks to everyone that helped out, and a big thanks to Damiano off Gnarlydog News  for his supurb instructions. 

Not As Bad As First Thought...

I removed the seat in preparation for tomorrows repairs and gave the coaming a little tug.  It seems the coaming has come away from the cockpit lip and is not a crack after all.  The edge of the coaming and underneath of the deck had been gel coated white.  Where the coaming has parted with the lip it looked like a split.  There is of course the two hairline cracks to sort in the lip itself.  I think the plan now is to remove the coaming, grind of the old gel coat and gunk, fibreglass the rim then glue the coaming back on.

Cracking up!

After last nights Monday Club paddle down the bay my boat was looking worse for ware.  When I bought this boat there were a few hair line cracks around the cockpit coaming and the coaming itself looked like it had previously been repaired.  After a few roles it seems these cracks have become worse and the coaming is now moving.  I was hoping it would hold out until I got the fiberglass for my boat build but it looks like I might have to put my hand in my pocket a little sooner.  These pictures are for the purpose of the discussion on the sea kayak community pages.

Crack on the outside under the coaming lip.

Again under the coaming lip but on the opposite side.  This one looks like it has been previously repaired.

 From the inside looking up toward the deck where the coaming joins the deck.  Bearing in mind this is mega zoomed in.

 Again same angle but a different spot and a different crack.

 This is to show how the coaming joins the deck.  Also some sort of adhesive or sealant previously used?

This crack is under the deck roughly above my thigh.  It looks worse than it is.  I think this is just some added glass that has flaked off, looks almost like when dry paint cracks and comes off.  It doesn't seem to have damaged the actual deck.  It looks like the added glass which was used to install the skeg slider.

Petrel Build #6 - Stripping the Hull

Granted it may look more like the Trojan war horse the Greeks used to deceive the Trojans...(it even has legs)

...But with some deceiving of my own and a little help from photo-shop it looks more like the up-swept bow of a Viking ship (bellow).  All I've done here is flipped the photo upside down and shaded the ends which will eventually be cut, sanded and capped with an outer stem.
The Stern (bellow) is proving to be a little difficult.  While the strips at the bow are still running straight and vertically the strips to the stern are being beveled, twisted, clamped and stapled.

I'm now at the point where all the strips have met the chine on the hull and will start to run horizontally.  It's going slower than I had hoped, although this is my busiest time of the year.  Maybe I should have left it as a winter project.  I try to fit at least a couple of strips each visit and slowly but surely I am making some progress.

The bow is almost filled in bar one small slither of a strip each side.  You can see here I'm not afraid to use the staple gun.  I'm looking to build a boat not a piece of furniture, small staple holes are evidence of the workmanship gone into it.  The next post on the boat build should see me fitting the keel strips hopefully filling in the rest of the hull.

Monday Club

I relaxing paddle in and around the bay with some of the other guys who meet up on a Monday evening.  Nice to actually get the chance finish work early drop the kids off and paddle away the woes of life, and it's only Monday!  

That'll be Up & Under's new pride of the fleet, the glass Etain in front.  It was good to find out how my boat sat in the water, apparently a little high (as expected) but a bit of loading up should sort that. 

The other pride of Up & Under, Norman and Elan, smile :)  Good fitness trying to keep up with Elan on the way back even if he did have a bad shoulder and was paddling 'slow'.  Finished off nicely with a bit of arm work back at the pub.