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 *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
On Saturday, September 28, 2002, at 1:40:06 PM PST, Strosaker wrote: > 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. Hi Duane, :-) You're right...it's a good idea to keep extra holes in the hull to a minimum! Even one unwanted hole could prove problematic. I got to paddle an Ellesmere once, and it's a very nice boat! Enjoy your launching! -- Melissa *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Duane, you neglected to tell us how many holes. If you paddle fast enough, they may help drain the cockpit... Strosaker wrote: > > 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 -- gabriel l romeu ø http://studiofurniture.com ø ø http://journalphoto.org ø ø http://kayakoutfitting.org ø ø http://kayaknavigation.com ø *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Gabriel, Two 1/8 inch holes, one for each butt cheek indentation. I made the repair by temporarily putting masking tape over the outside of the hull holes, filling the holes with epoxy, and using two small six ounce fiberglass cloth squares on the inside of the hull over each hole. The holes are now the strongest part of the hull, but there is that cosmetic blemish. Duane *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Duane, You can still paddle with us, but you may not use any tools!!! I would give anything to have seen the look on your face when you flipped the boat over. Congrats on the new boat though. Steve > 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. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
> Two 1/8 inch holes, one for each butt cheek indentation. I did this for my Solstice and regret it - I find that I'm more likely to have water come up thru the holes into the seat than drain out of the seat. If there was a 1mm thick check valve... Mike *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
No worries, if you paddle fast enough you will have a self-draining cockpit. Stopping might be a bit problematic though! Cheers Grant __________________________________________ Want to build your own kayak ???? http://home.clear.net.nz/pages/grantglazer/kayak/ *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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