This Pungo is a 2002. It belonged to another P Net person before I bought it. I’ve used it a lot, but not the last two summers due to health problems and some other things.
Yesterday I went with people from my church to the Hocking in SE Ohio. I had misgivings about taking my own kayak. I shold have listened to them.
The Hocking is too shallow. I knew that from renting a canoe years ago. It had rained recently but not enough.
The second set of rapids was fun going through but I hit rocks hard. Then my kayak filled up with water.
It seemed wrong. Eventually a family from my church and I figured out something was really wrong. Meanwhile I capsized. Then I was put into their canoe and we towed my kayak back. Thanks to them and another couple not from the church, I was rescued.
Not sure if the Pungo it is worth fixing. Unbelievably I do have enough money to replace it but I’d like to wait until spring and test paddle a variety of kayaks.
If it can be fixed, should I have it fixed? If not, what does one do with a cracked kayak?
If you plan to do rapids…
You need a more suited boat anyway. It might be best to retire the Pungo on intended use alone.
I wasn’t expecting any there
I prefer interesting small lakes with varied shorelines. My favorite place is Pine Lake near Doster Michigan. This lake has inlets, cat tails, mansions, shacks, islands, fish, an abandoned light house on a round island, and even waterfalls.
However I live in Columbus, Ohio.
It wouldn’t hurt me to retire it though. It has had a good life and I’ve my money out of it for sure.
Where were you?
I didn’t think any of the stretches served by rental outfits on the Hocking actually had any rapids. You didn’t end up running the ledge in downtown Logan, did you? That would be painful at 60 cfs!
No ledge just a bunch of rocks
It was a livery on the south side of the river, upstream where the put in is located is near where they have the overhead cable ride.
There were at least two areas with small rapids that went over a multitude of rocks. There were dozens of areas where my kayak got stuck on sand bars, so did some of the canoes. I’ve handled rocks before but these were pretty bumpy.
The Hocking was too low back in 1995 or 96 when I rented a canoe and took my niece down it, I was more lithe/agile then which was good because I had to keep hopping out to push the canoe. Not something I can do now.
I have a bad leg, due they say to sciatica. My Pungo 140 has seen better days as well. I had misgivings about going down the Hocking but I didn’t listen to them. I should have just gone in a rented canoe.
I have my money’s worth out of the Pungo, I’m not sure what to do with it now. If the Pungo can be fixed, I should get it fixed. Wasting all of that plastic seems wrong somehow. Maybe I should give it to someone who can fix it.
However for myself I think I should look into a sit on top and stick to lakes.
Ok, I know the section
I know the spots you're talking about. One has a bunch of fairly big rocks that are just at or below the surface when you get down below 100 cfs - requires some water reading and slaloming to avoid hitting them. The other has a big gravel bar on RL with a buried tree trunk perpendicular to the main flow. Last time I was up there with the kids, we helped a couple get their tandem Loon unpinned from that log, and we watched 4 sets of drunk canoeists dump in the rock garden.
Your boat may be weldable for a few bucks - check around in Columbus for people who do plastic welding. Though if it cracked from hitting a rock, it may be brittle from sun exposure/age.
Thanks for this…I’m a river runner and
always craving a “better boat” than the cheap plastic or Tupperware types. I already have the “better boat”.
by better boat could you possibly mean
........ a boat that is not going to smash into river rock on a regular basis , or be subjected to that possibility ??
Other wise , the plastic boats are the superior boat for contact with river rock .
By “better boat” I mean something that
is smooth and glossy that won’t indent when it gets hot on the roof of my car. I realize that Tupperware is the best for rock bashing. Just wish there was a smooth, shapely, hard body that would not concave on the roof of my car and was lightweight.
Repair Idea
I’d fix it with Hippo patch tape. I’d drill an 1/8 inch hole at each end of the crack. And then put hippo patch tape on the inside and the outside. After that I’d feel ok using it in calm rivers with no rocks or in lakes. Boats that are old enough to crack should be warm water easy day boats.
But if you are using it for those easy purposes you can get many more years out of it.
I think Hippo Patch is sold at Cabelas or BassPro but and you can find it on line with a search.
thanks I will pass that on to
Someone upstairs in this seven story office building wanted the kayak as is, so I sold it to him. He likes to tinker. I will pass the repair information on to him. He has had his eye on my kayak for a couple of years.
I am going to get a brand new one this time, probably a Tarpon 120.