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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