K,

Was able to fix my SR17 by glassing just one side (@ 2'x2' patch).  Had planned to do BOTH sides - and may eventually do so - but doing just the one side seems to be holding up just fine now, 3+ years later.

A towboat service guy got a little careless when unloading my canoe at the LLC drop-off.  My son & his buddy heard the crack but didn't see the damage.  The oilcanning became noticeable about a half-hour later.  Half a roll of duct tape & keeping weight on the weak area allowed them to paddle an additional 8 days.

Good luck!

Jimbo 

Thanks Jimbo!

I had two cracks totally just under 5 feet. I used two over sized strips totaling 60” x 4” just on the outside for now. I’m considering adding another two pieces totaling 62” x 6”. I’m curious why you used 2’ x 2’. Was the damaged area that large or was there overall structural integrity reasoning behind your repair?  I too want to insure she floats and withstands my ability to learn something new the hard way.

Thanks in advance and good too hear from you!

K

Understanding your damage was more vertical answered my questions. My damage is horizontal.

I will be adding an additional layup on the exterior, slightly wider and longer and one layup on the inside. Maybe overkill, but again I’ve learned the hard way so many times that I’m happier knowing I’ve done my best up front. It’s also therapeutic.

We’re good here.  I’m confident this will work out as well as the repair I made a few years back that looked like a 2x4 end was dropped from 100 feet punching a horizontal and vertical rip in the bottom. Ouch! 

And yes, Duct Tape IS Mandatory equipment.

Charlie ain’t pretty, but she floats.

Thanks!

Safe travels!

Here you go.  Not a great pic for clarity from what I see on my end. I'm sure it's me - not clear on what I am doing.

ST,

I agree. I realize I wasn’t able to share a sizable picture and I’m sure it’s my lack of knowing the ropes around the QJ these days.

With a better picture it would show the 5 foot patch and crack below. The Pat h needs feathering and I am going to apply an additional patch over it as well as in the interior. After that I will eventually refinish the entire boat as I did from the former damage.

Charlie winters under a tarp in the backyard that on occasion exposes the hull and with an excess of walnut trees and squirrels in my backyard gets a weathered look along with the fact I bought it well used. The last time I refinished her she sparkled.

If and when I figure out how to post better pictures and when Charlie is back in her best character I will again post a picture. It may be late next spring before then so.. something to look forward to over the winter months? I’m  awfully busy with work this time of year so it is what it is. “Winter is coming “. 😏

Thanks for the links my friend! I’ll give them a look see.

The best lesson here is.. that Kevlar repairs are not that difficult and usually doable.

K

Over the years I have patched a few cracked ribs and a small puncture hole in the hull of my Souris River using US composites epoxy and fiberglass cloth tape.  I am thinking the tape would work well to repair your cracks.  (You need to Login or Register to view media files and links) (bottom of page in various widths.)
The procedure I follow is to sand the area so the epoxy can make a good bond and then apply the fiberglass patch wetted out with epoxy. There will be some rough areas after the epoxy sets up on the edges due to loose fiberglass threads.  The next day, I then carefully grind this area flat and feather it relatively smooth before applying another layer of epoxy to finish the repair.  It takes a couple days to finish, but I have had good results with this method.