Was in the process of getting the LT into ceiling hoist straps and the line let go. The rear strap held but the bow hit the concrete garage floor. The kayak was about 3.5 feet off the floor. I built this according to CLC manual and put the extra strip of fiberglass along the bowline. It doesn’t look like anything is cracked, but there is a flat spot on the bow curve. I have CLC epoxy. Can/should I sand down the area (to get through the Captain’s varnish) then apply some epoxy, let all cure, then re-apply varnish?? What looks like a crack line in photo 4 is a varnish run from when I re-varnished the bottom.
Hi Valerie,
the most important thing is to ensure you have a waterproof barrier. looking at the picture, i would definitely sand it down past the varnish and apply epoxy.
to check how much you have to sand, after you sand down to where you think you need to be, take a paper towel with denatured alcohol and rub it on the repair area, if while wet with alcohol, it is all clear, you are ready to re-epoxy. if after the alcohol, you still see white fabric, you need to sand that away too.
its quite possible, based on the picture, that you may need to put a small fibreglass patch on the location, if after sanding, you get back down to the wood.
overall, this looks minor and should take no more than a day or two total elapsed time to get your repair done.
i would also note, that you might consider a rubstrip at some time. my guess, based on the picture, is the notwithstanding the little drop, you were starting to wear through the glass at the bow knuckle. (the same place where it made contact with the floor). its very common on the chesapeakes for this to happen.
a link to how to make a rubstrip is at this link: https://www.clcboats.com/modules/shoptips/shoptip.php?quickname=fitting_out&quickname2=rubstrips&print=1
hope that helps
h
Thank you Heaps and Tons! Just what I was hoping to get. Can do all of that!
Just to clarify… I need to sand the fibreglass away in that damaged area? No problem doing that, just want to make sure that the idea is to go down to the wood. And yes, it certainly does appear that the bow knuckle is worn. After 13 years, very likely!! Your advice is very much appreciated!
based on the pictures, i would suggest you sand away the fibreglass in that damaged area.
in general, for glass repairs, you need to sand all the way back to ‘clean’ glass (which means you cant see any white colored glass…it should be all clear).
when glass breaks away from its epoxy laminate it turns white and no longer has structural integrity.
the video here gives a nice little overview …but your job is much smaller.
