[Paddlewise] The best way to set fire to your kayak

And why kayak insurance is a good idea.


After about a thousand miles of flapping, the ends of my tie down straps 
started to fray and need to be "remelted".  So the other day I had my 
beloved Gulfstream on my Subaru and melted the ends of the straps like I, 
and most others, have done many times before.  (Melt the ends with a match 
and smooth the ends before they cool.). So I did just that, went into the 
house to make lunch and go back outside about 15 minutes later to see smoke 
and flame rising from the top of my boat!  A quick squirt with the garden 
hose stopped the carnage but not before the damage was done.  A small 
residual spark must have ignited the end of the strap and continued up the 
strap to the place where the straps crossed and then proceeded to work their 
way across the deck, burning and delaminating the hull and deck in two 
separate blackened strips.



The dealer I got the boat from estimated the repair cost to be about $1,100 
(after he stopped laughing).  He said it would not be possible to exactly 
match either deck or hull color.  The good news is that I now have a new 
boat.



Hal
"Power your boat with carbohydrates not hydrocarbons"
***************************************************************************
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/
***************************************************************************