Repairing punched out okume but intact fiberglass

Builder's Forum
1

My kayak took a tumble which essentially punched out a 1.5" diameter section of okume in the hull, but the wood is still attached. It is not immediately obvious from the exterior because the fiberglass is still in place except that it is clearly seperated from the wood. The area is spongy to the touch. The wood disc that was broken is set back about 2mm from the surface. The punch is not clean and edges are frayed.

My initial thought is to 1) strip the fiberglass in the affected area, 2) slightly smooth the edges on the punched out section, 3) inject epoxy at the boundaries and make it flush with wood flour and epoxy to repair the substrate 4) reglass the area, varnish, etc.

Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Sam

2

See this thread:

 http://www.kayakforum.com/cgi-bin/Building/index.cgi/md/read/id/172511

Good luck!

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Ogata, eric

3

I had a the same thing happen to my double kayak. Mine was in the back. So I placed a plywood patch piece over the inside , and then justed feathered the edge of the plywood so that nothing would catch on it. I then sanded the out side and placed a fiberglass patch over the area.

 On the inside patch I used a wedge and some blocks to press the depression flat when the plywood patch was epoxied in.

4

Thanks for sharing your thoughts experiences-

Sam