I’ll post some pictures today. I was struggling to figure out how it happened exactly, but I think you’re right. When the rack came loose and slid forward, I saw the bow line go slack, and it must have gotten caught under my front tire. Until recently, I only used a stern line. I changed my system to let me carry multiple boats, and the bow line seemed prudent…I don’t see myself using one from now on.
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Ouch, sorry about a crummy situation. It may be worth paying the fiberglass shop for a full evaluation to make sure all of the damage is identified. If you’re anywhere near Turning Point Boatworks I’d just take it there
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Bow lines are safe if they run to a hood loop rather than to the bumper. The ones to the bumper are generally not long enough to end up in a wheel. Jim and l tried it once and close to home one of them came loose. Pulled over immediately. But it could have been a huge issue if on a highway rather than a city street.
That risk is why l don’t use stern lines. Going down the highway watching one that got loose bouncing on the road on a car in front of me… Decided that if l didsi stern lines it would be to under the rear hatch. Same as hood loops up front, can’t get caught in a wheel.
I double strap at the two main points with the bow lines to a hood loop. Had a fender bender and boats never budged.
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Read my above. No reason to stop using bow lines if they are not long enough to find a wheel well.
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If it were my Rumour (I like that rarely available kayak!), I definitely would go for a repair. I second Turning Point Boatworks. If I were ever going to need a repair for my Sterling Progression… (knock on wood to NOT have that need).
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Here is a link to the ‘previous’ picture of the boat:
here is another example of a major fix (TPB FB):
(victim of a parking garage that just didn’t have enough clearance)
I have a friend who forgot to tie her bowline to the car after tying it to the boat, and it got wound up in the wheel, and totally imploded the hull where the rack bars were when she drove away. She had it repaired, and it was fine. Not sure of the price of the repair, but composites can be repaired in most cases.
I’ve always tied my bow line to hood loops, and they saved my a$$ once when my rack came loose on the highway. Held both boats until I gently coasted to a stop, and re-mounted the rack.
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Everyone, thank you so much for your thoughtful replies. Joey with TPB saw my post on Facebook. Maybe I’ll be able to share my own pictures of it all fixed up in the future. This is some of the damage.
I have no doubt that the boat can be made seaworthy. Cosmetically, it will never be the same, but I expect you know that.
I would start by repairing all damage from the interior of the boat whenever possible. That will be hard for the damage that occurred way up near the bow, but it is possible to roll resin-saturated strips of fabric onto the interior working through the cockpit opening.
If you have not done any repairs of composite boats in the past, I think you are taking the right approach by seeking professional advice. Get an estimate and then determine whether the boat is worth the cost of the repair.
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An acquaintance of mine backed over his CD Solstice Titan and the kayak suffered more serious damage than what I see in the pictures. I thought the kayak would have to go out with the trash on garbage collection day but he took to a guy that makes canoes and he was able to repair it almost to the point that the repairs were not noticeable, a few places the repair was quite thick and could be seen in the final gelcoat, but otherwise and amazing repair of the boat.
Can be made like new just a question of how much you want to spend. It won’t be in the hundreds.
Don’t think that H- beam seam CD used is available anymore. You can do a new fiberglass seam around the entire hull. Amazing to see what TPBW can do to fix things.
This is, unfortunately, not an uncommon occurrence. It is almost always caused by the use of bow and/or stern tiedowns with open hooks.
There’s no good reason to stop using tiedowns. Just do not use open hooks. These open hooks can easily come loose when transporting a kayak, especially longer kayaks where the kayak can bounce a bit when the car hits a bump. We’ve had a number of people have this happen in our Club over the years. In our introductory course on sea kayaking that covers transporting your boat, we strongly discourage the use of these open hooks. Some people have lost windshields at the same time.
In the photo below where are two examples of Thule tiedowns. The top one is a newer carabiner style while the bottom on in an older style that used to be an open hook. I used a heavy duty bench vice to close the open hook and then a stainless quick link to attach a brass snap hook.
Unfortunately, the Thule tiedown system still comes with an open hook. Immediately recycle this open hook or relegate it to a noncritical use. Replace with something more secure. Thule and most other manufacturers now generally include front and rear tiedowns with their saddles, rollers, and J-bars. Most also require them to be used if you make a warranty claim, especially if you are alleging damage to the car or boat due to a rack failure.
In my experience, most people who have had kayaks damaged in this way end up getting a new kayak. Unless willing to do it yourself the labor and material cost is too high and it ends up in adding a significant amount of weight to the kayak. Repairing it correctly is fairly difficult and time consuming. More so if it’s Kevlar. Most of the estimates that people got were well over half the price of a new boat.
If your rack is not attached to factory rails both tiedowns can be important. In the event of a rack failure they can help keep your rack and boat on the car and in the event of a significant accident keep your kayak and boat from being slung off of the car and into whatever you hit.
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TPBW will add nearly no weight if any. Your wallet will be lighter. It’s a lot of work for perfection.
Cost will be way more than the hull is worth on the market. Depends how much you personally value the hull.
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Now would be the perfect time to learn to work with fiberglass.
Your boat is wrecked but you are attached to it. Hiring a pro is going to cost you.
You can do the work yourself. Find someone to get you started if you can.
Buy some quality materials. Start on the easy cracks and build your confidence.
good luck.
If you want to make it look like anything that would be a steep learning curve to start with.
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From my experience with getting small stuff repaired on my fiberglass kayak,this is going to cost more than it’s worth. I’t probably will never look right again. Plus it will need painted. That’s not cheap.
Time to look for a good used yak.
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I’m sorry to hear about your misfortune.
I would NOT bring your kayak to someone who repairs larger boats. They’re used to working on thick hulls where weight is of no consequence and they probably will not have the light fabrics required for repairing kayaks. I’ve seen some really horrific messes made by well-meaning boat repairers who simply don’t understand how to repair kayaks.
If you don’t want to attempt it yourself, take it to someone who specializes in kayaks and canoes. If you want to try it yourself, I have a tutorial online that may help you: Fiberglass Repair | BrianNystrom.com
Worst case, my girlfriend has a Nigel Foster Rumour (built before CD produced them) and she’s been talking about selling it. It has a custom bulkhead from the factory, positioned for a shorter paddler to use as a footrest, so depending on how long your legs are, it may fit. If you want more info, let me know.
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Like several of the previous posters, I’d like to encourage you that, based on the photos shown, your boat is not a total loss. Years back, I had a Seda Impulse that suffered damage of similar type & extent. I was a relatively new kayaker at the time, i.e., less than 2 years’ experience, and decided to learn how to do the fiberglass & gelcoat repairs myself and then do them. By the time I was done, the kayak looked almost pristine (on the outside–the fiberglass patches were visible inside the hull…) and I got years of good use out of it. I eventually sold it for a price that was not reduced as a consequence of the repair. I’ve never had to do a repair of that scope since, but the knowledge gained served me well in repairing cracks and gouges in other kayaks in the years since. A professional repair–which was not an option for me–would do it even better.
Also–don’t quit using bowlines. Your worst nightmare isn’t a destroyed boat–it’s a dead or injured driver behind a kayak that comes loose.
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