Re: [Paddlewise] Boat maintenance questions: Pintail Repair

Brian Curtiss <bc_at_asdi.com> wrote:

>>I've just purchased my first fiberglass kayak (a 10 year old VCP
Pintail) and I have a few maintenance questions. >>

I think others better qualified than I will respond to the need for repairs,
but I'll give this a shot.  Do not have a book at hand, unfortunately.  I
suggest you practice number 2 below before committing yourself to the hull
itself.

I suspect Doug Lloyd has faced all these issues.  I believe this is his
current email, in case he does not respond on the list:
doug.lloyd_at_moh.hnet.bc.ca

I have two caveats:

1. The black strip around the boat is most likely an H-shaped extrusion that
seals the hull and deck together.  The hull and deck are held together by a
4-6 inch wide strip of fiberglass inside the boat.  If the seal is
compromised, could be trouble -- water in there, if it freezes, can damage
the hull-deck attachment.  Doug has completely replaced similar strips on
his British heavy, with an exterior and interior strip of fiberglass/epoxy
(I think), so as to give structural integrity outside and inside the boat.
Much stronger.  I suspect you need to replace the strip with something
similar (a big job, unfortunately), if much of it is missing.  A few gaps
can be handled with 3M's 5200 (and a high tolerance for sticky messes).  I
think it comes in black.

2  The deep scratches on the hull need to be fixed.  Using polyester resin
(and 6 oz cloth, if needed -- depends on whether the glass is compromised)
will work:  sand gently with 80-grit, avoiding sanding the glass if
possible.  Mix a batch of resin and apply, laying on glass first if needed,
making it a little proud.  Put the scratch so it is as horizontal as
possible so the resin does not run off.  You might need more than one coat
of resin, depending on how deep the area is.  If  you need to use glass,
expect to place a second coat to fill the weave.  When the resin is still a
little plastic but not rock hard, use a cabinet scraper to fair the edges of
the resin almost to the level of the surrounding hull.  When the resin is
fully cured, sand to finish using a sanding block, with 80 grit, then
wet-sand with 220 grit.  You'll need to put some gel coat back over the
patch.  Your local marine store will have small amounts of this, in shades
that will be close, and instructions come with it.

Some would suggest epoxy in lieu of polyester resin for number 2, but if you
go that route, then polyester will not cure over it, and you will have to
use paint to cover the patch.  Paint is much less durable than gel coat.
Epoxy is much easier to work with than polyester resin, but polyester is my
rec for scratches.

If you elect to go the epoxy route, System Three has a trial kit for $20US
that may have everything you need, and they have an excellent instruction
book which is free, and comes with the Trial Kit.

S3:  http://www.systemthree.com/index.html

--
Dave Kruger
Astoria, OR

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