Hi! I’m new here, and also pretty new to kayaking. I’ve been renting and taking lessons since last summer and I was going to wait until fall to buy my first kayak, but I got wandering eyes on craigslist and spotted this lovely yellow boat that happened to be located right across the street from my office. The seller let me haul it away for a princely sum of $240 and now I’m wondering what on earth I’ve gotten myself into.
Boat deets: 14’ 25" beam (I think?), 2005 model. HIN SDDD0003H505. Does anyone know anything about this boat? I did a ton of googling and only found some info about the 2007 model which looks a lot different but I’m assuming it’s roughly the same size.
Mine doesn’t have a skeg though. I have to patch it up a bit (more on this in a sec) before I take it out on the water, but does anyone have any insight about how it handles? Will it be ok for paddling in estuaries and protected ocean bays? Can I learn to roll with it?
Some maintenance questions: It has a few dents/chips scrapes in the gelcoat. I’m planning to patch them with gelcoat. Are any of them severe enough that I’ll need to reglass them? (see photos). What can/should I do about the wear on the keel? Are there any other parts that are likely to be faulty that I should look out for?
I’m very excited but also a bit nervous. I’m hoping this will be a great fist beater boat that I can spend some quality time with. And if not, I suppose $240 isn’t too much to gamble.
Thanks in advance for any and all info or advice you’re willing to share.
I don’t know anything about that model, but Seda has a good reputation. The damage doesn’t look difficult to repair. A bit of epoxy and paint should do the trick. The addition of keel strips over the repairs at the ends might be a good idea. You might also want to add a float bag to the bow if there isn’t a bulkhead there.
Thanks! There are bulkheads on both ends. The front bulkhead has a hatch on it, in lieu of a deck hatch I suppose. I haven’t tried to open it yet, not sure if I want to. If it’s well-sealed I’d prefer to keep it that way.
I thought there might be a bow bulkhead. I doubt you will want to use it for storage. The hatch is for access if needed. I suspect it might be problematic for retrieving gear place in there. It looks like a fun boat. If you ever decided to sell it you should get more than you payed for it I would think.
I’d try and open the front hatch just to make sure that there isn’t any water or excessive moisture in there that could grow mold and mildew. Some bulkheads will develop leaks over time. When replacing the hatch use clear silicone lubricant that is used for plumbing fixtures to lubricate and seal.
Looks like a great deal. Repairs should be easy. Use hull cleaner before attempting repairs. White gelcoat will not match an older hull, even if white to begin with. It can be color matched, but that is pretty much an art. Then again, it’s a boat, not a fine piece of furniture.
I found that Rustoleum Marine Coatings Topside Paint in Oyster White matches my aged white gelcoat quite well. It’s not as beige looking as the color swatch makes it appear. It seams to create a good, durable finish at a lower price than the big marine paints like Interlux Brightside. I use it for touch-ups over small repairs.
Ah, thank you. Didn’t know about hull cleaner. I did boat soap → FSR → meguiars 50 cleaner wax, and then all the sanding, filling with gelcoat, sanding that down, and then another layer of cleaner wax on that. Do I really need paint? I thought that’s what the gelcoat and wax was for.
Seemed to work pretty well. The excess gelcoat on the areas around the repair peeled off, but it seems to be doing its job on the cracks that I sanded and feathered. I didn’t bother to match the colors (stock yellow pigment is definitely not the same as the subtle hue of the yellow/orange on the original deck coat lol), but the whole boat was pretty banged up to begin with so it’s not like it ever had a shot at the beauty pageant. So far, so good. Doesn’t seem like water affected or penetrated any of the repair spots.
Re: the bow hatch. I can’t even reach it to try and open it. I could try laying on the stern and ‘diving’ in with my head and shoulders. A project for another day I suppose.
To open the hatch try putting the boat upside down on sawhorse and getting to it from the bottom. Probably not critical if it won’t open.
Painting is not necessary unless you are concerned about appearance. Just more future maintenance as far as I’m concerned. Gelcoat tends to be more durable and waterproof. Most people repair with gelcoat or epoxy first and then paint.
