Today I cleaned up my collapsed building table and the associated mess. I was very careful with the hull and was able to remove it from the cradles without further damage. I took the afternoon to rebuild the table with a 2' width which allows me to work on both sides of the kayak easily. I did not erect my PVC roof again but simply secured everything under the tarp in a lean to fashion. I may be able to secure a small portion of a warehouse from a previous employer to finish the project.

I was quite relieved to find out that the damage is minimal. I plan to post a few pictures of the affected areas tommorrow for comments. Basically the table (spanning three sawhorses) collapsed in the middle. All three sawhorses folded up to the side with the middle set completely tearing apart. The hull was forced into a banana like shape because it was stitched to the cradles. Only one side panel actually cracked (right before a scarfed joint), but the exterior of the panel is intact (there is a small crease line visible now). Even the interior side is not horribly splintered as I thought it would be. I should be able to push that side panel back into shape. I could at that point install an interior butt block to repair it (might put one on both sides--for symmetry). The other side cracked along the filleted seam which I was planning to run a larger fillet over anyway. I should be able to tighten the stitches in that area and bring everything together again. The fillet on the side with the cracked side panel is also cracked for about 12". Again I had planned to run a larger fillet on that side too.

So I think I'll take a break for December. Got quite a few non-kayak things happening unfortunately. I'll post the damage pics, see what the consensus of opinion is, look into the warehouse option and then do the repair. I may order some veneer for my deck, nothing fancy, just enough to provide some accents. I think I will probably go ahead and glass the whole interior of the hull too. It may further strengthen my repaired areas and it just can't hurt anyway. I plan to make a greenland paddle, spray skirt and hand pump all from sites I found out about through this forum. Maybe I'll spend the bulk of winter working on those projects instead and pick up the finish of the boat in early spring. Either way I will be paddling come May.

later,

Tony