[Paddlewise] Ocean Going Hydro Spa

Joined Ken and Lenora for a paddle today. Had to dig out my brand new 
$15 nylon spray skirt, because my usual skirt seemed to be leaking like 
a sieve. You wouldn't be surprised if you ever saw it! On my last RG 
paddle, I'd been shipping a lot of water and left early. I was glad when 
I landed and looked over my boat, there didn't seem to be any scratches 
deep enough to leak, so I decided a new spray skirt was becoming a 
necessity.

So Ken and I launched from the SB and headed over to pick up Lenora at 
China Cove. By the time I got there, my boat was filling with water and 
no way was it coming from my spray skirt! We stopped at the beach and 
neither Ken nor I could find any obvious leaks, so I started wondering 
if it was my footpeg screw holes. Anyway we paddled on.

Ken high tailed it outside while Lenora and I sped for the rocks. 
Extreme low tide and little wave action made for an uninspiring paddle. 
I did manage to get washed up high and dry by one wave and took a bit of 
time getting loose. At BAR, I paddled through a wash/crawl over on the 
outside reef. Just as I came out, a rather rogue wave gave Lenora a 
rough time, but she handled it with aplomb. I was able to find a 
washover near Chute Rock, but pickings were small, so Lenora decided to 
put in some miles and find Ken while I hung out by the rocks.

After a while, I used the chute as a dry dock to get out and sit on the 
rock to wait for K&L. I finally gave up on them and launched for home, 
but they caught up with my when I hit the jetty. We parted ways with 
Lenora and ended up landing on the dock back at the SB.

My boat was once again filled with a lot of water, so I planned to 
really go over the hull to see what was leaking, but as I got out of my 
boat, I could see the culprit. Although almost impossible to see on the 
outside because of all the scratches, inside against the smooth plastic 
is a 6 inch long crack in the plastic! It's just a faint line, but it 
goes all the way through just below the waterline at about knee level. 
Haven't ever heard much on the subject of repairing plastic kayaks, but 
my main thought is to drill a small hole at each end of the crack to 
prevent further splitting. Maybe groove it out and weld some plastic 
back in. Anyone have any experience with plastic welding?

Sure, a brand new Delphin would solve the problem, but the way I've been 
playing lately, no new boats for me!

Mark
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