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Tuesday, February 18, 2014

A bloody nose


Christmas Eve I gave my kayak a good smack.  I got flipped and driven upside down into a rock.  It chipped off a sizable piece of gelcoat at the bow, exposing the fibreglass underneath.  I finally got up the nerve to ask if I could bring it in the house to do the repair.

Paddling friend Neville did a repair also recently using a product called Marine Tex.  His repair was perfect.  This stuff is advertised to form a tenacious bond to fibreglass, metal, glass, plastics, wood and porcelain.  It can be worked like putty and can be sanded when cured.  I got a couple of teaspoons from him to do my repair.

Its white but can be tinted with ground epoxy pigments.  I didn't need much and doubted I could get such a small amount so I just applied it white knowing I could also paint it with most topcoat systems.

I decided against trying to match the deck colour, settling rather on a blood red colour to signify a wound.  Maybe also to serve as a reminder to be more careful in future.  And, its bound to be a conversation starter.


The bow is repaired and ready for action again.  But there is a scar LOL!

4 comments:

  1. I kinda like the red... maybe you should think about renaming your kayak.... or at least your VHF handle!!!

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  2. Rudolph? No, I think I'll leave it as it is

    I used an automotive touch-up paint - a red from Chevrolet. Hope I don't need to use more of it!

    Tony :-)

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  3. Tony, it's a badge of honour!

    Douglas :o)

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  4. That's what I was thinking Douglas. I considered "A red badge of courage" as a title for the post briefly. The way I see it, if I'm not getting knocked over occasionally, I'm not trying enough.

    Next time I'll try to paint sutures on too!

    Tony :-)

    ReplyDelete