[Paddlewise] Don't Do This!

Sea Kayakers,


The recent posts about how much the first scratch on a new kayaks hurts made
me laugh due to something I did this past week. I just bought a brand new
fiberglass Boreal Design Ellesmere, which I will launch for the first time
tomorrow (Sunday). Of course, like every time I get a new or used boat, I have
to foam out the cockpit, change the deck arrangement a little, drill water
drain holes in the seat and so forth. Well, I had finished everything, except
for drilling holes in the seat. Now, I am experienced when it comes to using a
drill. I have 2 years of woodshop in high school, built 3 kayaks, and I am
always tinkering around. As I was drilling the holes through the seat, like I
had done many times before, I was careful not to push too hard so that the
drill bit wouldn't drop on down to the hull as it drilled through the seat. My
mistake was assuming that there was at least a 1/4 inch gap between the seat
and hull. After drilling the holes, I flipped the kayak over just to make sure
nothing happened, and after I looked, I was in denial for about 5 minutes. It
turns out the bottom of the seat is right on the hull. Repairing the holes in
the hull was easy, but it is going to take me a while to get over the
embarrassment. 


Duane





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