Preparing For New kayak Season

Get to the Club on Saturday to do some repair on my kayak. I had inflicted some damage to the fiberclass gelcoat last summer from all the fail attempt at Eskimo Roll. There were already people hard at work on the club ground when I get there. The usual people, the gardening commitee people digging up holes for Spring plantings, and moving dirt and rock from on place to another.

This Saturday Andy organized a gelcoat repair workshop. I was not told who else was coming so was surprise to learn that only three other people are interest in learning how to fix fiberglass boat. Tony help me carry my kayak into the clubhouse where a fire is buying in the stove for heat. I get down to sanding my two areas in need of repair.

Tony kayak already insider the club on makeshift stand. There was really no repair need on Tony's Kayak except for a stratch on the bow. In no time at all he was ready to apply the gelcoat.

Andy bought a fiberglass gelcoat repair kit with all sort of color so that we can use it on any boat that need to be repair. There was a bit of guessing and rereading of the instructions before the color and gelcoat were mix. In their enthusiasm to get the work done, Tony and Andy forget to mix in the hardener that would cure the gelcoat so the repair area have to be clean out. The question of how much hardener to add to the mix was the most difficult part of the repair. It was decided that 3 drops should be enough, given the kit requirement of 6 drop for every tablespoon of gelcoat mix. Apparantly that was not enough because the gelcoat did not harden in the 1 hour waiting time.

Below are picture of repair on my boat. My gelcoat also did not harden in the 2 hours that we waitied for it to harden. Andy speculated that the temperature was too cold for it to harden properly. I think that we did not put enough hardener in the mix and didnot cover the repair area with the release film provided by the kit. I did not agree with Andy instruction on how to goes about mixing and applying the gelcoat. I thought that the film should be apply to provided an air tight seal for the gelcoat to harden but Andy say we don't need it. I may have to take out this repair and redo it when the weather get better.