Only a true story
Sorry, no glass advice. I recently got my old (1983) Olympic k-1 out of storage for winter trainning & put it in my backyard. It has been in a very tight boat bag years. My new “rescue” collie pup must have noticed the flap on the bow of the bag & began tugging. When my wife & I freed it from the bag, We discoverd the pup had bit holes through both sides of the boat, very close to the bow! My wife sent pics to the builder & we will have to wait for spring for repair. I just wanted you to know you that are not alone. Good luck & it sounds like you will be ok.
Call Onnopaddle (nm)
QCC
Your damage is likely very repairable. I envision this: Push the deck and hull together and reinforce with fiber glass/epoxy from inside. Then do a gelcoat repair. I’ve seen it done by an outfitter. Good as new. To match the color of the gelcoat, however, it is best to let QCC do it. If you have not thrown away the crate, use it to ship the yak back to QCC. That would be the least expensive way to get it there.
definatly
not alone. The other day it was minus six deg F and I moved an older boat on the storage rack.
Bumped the rear hatch rim a little hard against the 2 X 6 suport it was on (boat was upside down)…broke the rear hatch rim off on one side.
this Spring I will need to remove the old hatch rim and glass in a new rear hatch. didn’t really plan on this added boat work.
Good thing I have other boats to paddle in the time before the temp is up enough to be doing “glass work”
definately Not alone in causing repairs to be needed
Best Wishes
Roy
I agree with 1. 2. and 3.
– Last Updated: Jan-01-08 9:28 PM EST –
greyak on Jan-01-08 2:52 PM (EST)
Plus, QCC has the paint.
By my math $210.
One day up, one night over, one day back. Regarding the distance, I’ve gone that far to do test paddles (and if I was one state away I’d have been to QCC a long time ago). Plus, If you’ve worked it all out in advance you could be heading back with a 600…
But that’s me. In your case, If driving I’d put it off until Spring too - and that alone might make shipping now a better option. Take advantage of Winter. I can see how shipping it likely makes more sense for you in several ways.
Call QCC/arrange shipping/ sleep better
It’s a real crap shoot getting repairs done. Some great people, some not so. Just because they do glass or other layups doesn’t mean much. The ones doing strong lightweight stuff are not so common.
You’d be better off getting walked through it by Pat and DIY - after you talk to QCC about materials at least - and I might be stupid enough to pursue that approach - but given your other posts I think you know better…
Why are you still talking to us about this anyway? What are you hoping to find out here that will be better than you’ll get from the source?
PS - Unrelated side note: I lived in your neck of the woods for a bit - twice actually - back when the Chanute AFB was still active and the Navy shared the weather school. Went to Boot Camp in Great Lakes too - and lived in IL/IN/OH over 20 years total - and was born in MN - so I really can relate to not wanting to do that drive mid-Winter (or ever living in Winter again!).
Repairs
I had some damage repaired on our 700’s by Ed I think his name was at QCC last fall. He is an artist! We live 80 miles from QCC, so we got to watch Ed do repairs. Would I do it again? I don’t think so. Someone here posted the fact that if you paddle composites, you should learn how to repair them. I really do agree with that statement.
When I discovered the damage to our boats, I was so upset! I’m 56 years old & I felt like crying for the first time since my Dad died five years ago. Someone here also said, “it’s just a boat,” how true! We were on our way back up to the Apostle Islands and had to turn around and go home.
The repairs cost us over $500, and like Pat Said, from Onno Paddles a bad repair can always be fixed by a pro, and that $500 could have gone toward a couple of Onno paddles!
Id give it a try. Call QCC, ask them for advice, Get the gel coat from them and listen to Pat. Go to Pat’s website and look around for a while. This guy knows his stuff!
If you decide to make the trip to Exeland, WI, where QCC is located, we’re 80 miles east of them near Minoqua,and we’d put you up for the night.
Yep, have some fun
with it. You’ll sort it all out. Worst case is you have QCC re-do it if you botch it, which you won’t.
It’s all part of the fun. It’s a yak, beat it up and enjoy it!
You have an opportunity to learn from a pro here with Pat…take it!
Repair
Send it back to the builder. I’ve had a similiar problem,(new boat arrived with a hole in it). They will make it right. Good luck. Vaughn Fulton
good feedback
Basically once you start looking around for someone ‘professional’ with a shop to do this stuff it’s costing $60+/hr and any significant repair will that takes a few hours will cost 1/4 - 1/2 the cost of the kayak.
Otherwise you end up finding someone doing this out of their home for maybe half that price and they get overloaded with piece work off hours and stop doing it.
The local kayak shop got an estimate from a big boat fiberglass repair on a similarly damaged kayak. It was hysterical as the estimate for cost of repair was up around $1700-$2600,they were used to a local fellow doing a similar repair for about $150. We figured the repair shop was providing a not so subtle message they didn’t want to take the job on.
So? What’d QCC say?
Send pictures, wait 'til next week.
I talked to them briefly yesterday and they requested that I email pictures of the damage so that they can help evaluate the best approach for repairing the damage. I emailed some pictures early this morning. The people who will do the initial evaluation are still out on holiday.
Unless they feel that the repair requires their particular attention, they’ll probably suggest that they ship me the necessary materials and possibly some instructions for repairing it myself.
Since this kind of damage isn’t covered by warranty (and I didn’t buy it directly from them and don’t know if I have a warranty anyway), if I were to ship it to them for repair, I’d have to pay for shipping both ways and most likely a fair amount for the actual repair. I don’t have the money available for that right now.
I’ll have a better idea of which approach I’ll be taking by sometime early next week.
I have another boat or two that I can paddle until the 400X is repaired.
It arrived in good condition. It broke
when it fell four feet off of the newly built and incopmplete rack on to the concrete floor in my garage.
This kind of damage isn’t covered by warranty, so I will be liable for all expenses related to the repair, including shipping if I ship the boat back to them for repair.
I bought it new in the unopened shipping crate last week from the guy that won it in the paddling.net sweepstakes last summer, so I may not even have any warranty for any manufacturers defects that may arise, since I’m not the original owner. I’ll talk to QCC in more detail next week when everyone there is back from holiday and find out just what my situation is.
Thanks for your suggestion.
You didn’t really think…
You didn’t really think I would let you suffer; without offering you at least a partial solution to your problem did you?
I am not without empathy; no matter what the nay sayers say.
You know what’s coming now don’t you?
Get rid of that “beater barge” you have, and use the money for part of the repair costs, or shipping.
That Wisconsin made junker you have has so many different seats it must be confusing. Why put up with the hassle? Get a grip man! You’ve got to get that kayak back to pristine condition asap.
Prioritize.
How about $300.00? That’s 50 more than my last offer…
BOB
P.S. “Seriously” hope your problem is resolved without too much more hair pulling & tongue biting. Hang in there.
Sacrafice a canoe for a kayak? Never.
You could be banned from all future Ozark Rendezvous just for suggesting such a thing.
You might even be sentenced to paddling an entire day in a big box store kayak with an aluminum shafted, plastic bladed paddle.
You better watch your step there, buddy!
No hair pulling or tongue biting since the day that I found it on the floor of the garage and beat myself up pretty bad.
Oh, well I quess that I’ll just have to paddle that old ugly barge of a Blackhawk Zephyr solo canoe until that pretty new 400X kayak is repaired. Hmmmmm, if I hold out long enough, you might even offer $350 and arrange delivery yourself instead of convincing me to deliver it to you free of charge. Hey, I just saw a pig fly.
“Seriously”, thanks for your support.
The Big Book
I always wondered what was meant by “Gnashing of teeth” Without a second comming, this is as close to it as it gets for a paddler. When I read it I felt it in the pit of my stomach. I just hope you don’t need any couch time from this event. Hll, I think I’d get far more from a repair bill than 150 and hour but that’s just me.
Maybe we could have a telethon for you, we could all mail you five bucks, hll, I’d mail you a fiver to keep you on the water and out of a mental ward.
Maybe we could set up an insurance program for accidents like this, sort of a 401kayak. We each pay in five bucks a month and if we don’t have a major event in two years, we can withdrawal toward the purchase of a new boat. With someone wise enough to invest the pool of money…wait a minute. Can you have flashbacks from smoking a lot of dope many years ago? I swear I’m not high 
Hang in there
Those are some great ideas!
I needed “couch time” before I found the damaged boat. Some folks around me thought that I needed couch time just for buying another boat.
I did grind a little enamel off of my teeth when I first saw the damage.
Thanks for the comic relief and supportive words.
Yanoer
"so I will be liable for all expenses related to the repair, including shipping if I ship the boat back to them for repair."
That is unless you work a deal.
They can repair ist easier and perfectly, you likely cannot.
One instance (or many): Yanoer has broken boat and 400 model.
QCC has repair technique and other boats like 600.
Solution: Yanoer pays for shipping broken 400 to QCC and the difference between it and a demo 600. QCC repairs the boat for free and adds it to their demo stock, and pays to ship you demo 600 and has a customer for life.
Think win-win. Something like that.
Yanoer
– Last Updated: Jan-04-08 5:35 PM EST –
Yanoer
says:
"so I will be liable for all expenses related to the repair, including shipping if I ship the boat back to them for repair."
That is unless you work a deal.
They can repair it easier and perfectly, you likely cannot.
One instance (of many variations--perhaps other Pnetters could think of other scenarios): Yanoer has broken boat and 400 model.
QCC has repair technique and other boats like 600.
Solution: Yanoer pays for shipping broken 400 to QCC and pays the difference between it and a demo 600. QCC repairs the 400 boat for free and adds it to their demo stock, and pays to ship you demo 600, and gains a customer for life.
Think win-win. Something like that.