Pitted bottom of Shaman Pro Kayak

I own a Wilderness Systems Shaman Pro - fiberglass. I noticed it has pits on the bottom presumably from rivers with rocky shores. The inside is not taking on water but I can see daylight through the pits. I am a beginner Kayaker and haven’t a clue as to how to repair. Is this something one can do at home? Products needed? Or should I have a professional repair? Is there some sort of protective coating I can apply to prevent this in the future. I live in the Baltimore area of MD - any preferences for professional repair?

Many thanks, Paula

gel-coat
sounds like gel-coat dings.



plenty of beta out there on repairs. A Pro will cost $30-50 an hour but should end up with a sweet repair. DIY is EZ tho messy and time consuming.



steve

Shaman Pits
Thanks for replying about the Gel-Coat. I will look into this. If I was to do this myself would it have any negative effect, like time/cost, to remove should I get the bottom of the boat refinished profesionally.



It seems like I should invest in kevlar skid plates.

Paula

No, PLEASE don’t waste money on
Kevlar skid plates. They are heavy, ugly, and add drag. If you want to add skid plates, three-layer concentric, bias-cut e-glass or (better if you can get it) S-glass will make much better skid plates.



Kevlar felt skid plates became dominant because Kevlar felt holds together well when wet out with resin, so it is easy to slop onto the hull. But Kevlar felt is NOT the best way to add protective layers to the outside of a hull. It’s just easier than the better ways.

I have pics and instructions at:
http://community.webshots.com/user/brian_nystrom



If you pick up or download the latest copy of Wavelength magazine, there’s an expanded article in it.



http://wavelengthmagazine.com/



You don’t need to resurface the entire hull, just repair the damaged areas. Re-applying gelcoat to an entire hull would be an arduous task and the results might not be what you want.