Starting to get there....

My newly repaired IceFloe looked very nice sitting on the sand in the sunlight on a recent paddling trip:
(I was still sanding it down at the put-in!)

Sanding and deck lines

I did a bit more sanding this morning, particularly around the front hatch. There's a lot more hard work to be done with sanding paper, rubbing compound, polish, etc. but that can wait - I want to go paddling!

The decklines and backrest are mostly back in place, although I couldn't get some of the elastics back through the RDFs. I had missed a bit of damage to one of the RDFs, so that is now fixed with some orange gelcoat and should be finished off this evening. Thankfully, it's the last RDF that the decklines pass through. There's always a bit of gelcoat left over, so I used it to patch some of the remaining pits in the hull.

I have put airbags back behind the seat, to minimise the cockpit volume until I get a chance to fit the new bulkhead that I have planned. I'm also wondering about a crazy idea to dispense with the new bulkhead and glue a large dry sack into this space instead - if it is fixed to the hull then it would always occupy the space and keep the water out in the case of a capsize.

Some more thinking is needed about deck fittings; I want a deck mounted tow line but also want to have my spare paddle on the back deck. Some experimentation suggests that the cam for the tow line could go behind the hand pump but I need to play around a bit more to determine whether this is easy enough to access in a hurry.

Front hatch rim

I found time to roughly sand down the hull and some bits of the deck where I have patched the gelcoat and get the sharp bits off the knee tube. The ethafoam block footrest was dropped back into position.

Patches to the seam near the stern with some black gelcoat went smoothly. Fixing the front hatch rim in place using some orange gelcoat was more tricky. The main problem was trying to bolt the hatch rim back into place whilst wearing rubber gloves that were sticky with gelcoat. I'm sure that bolting down to wet gelcoat is going to give a pretty good seal though.

I tidied up the deck with some of the orange gelcoat, including the recessed deck fittings (RDFs) that I didn't do yesterday. The holes from the old deck elastics were also filled with this mix of gelcoat; this is purely cosmetic as the holes have already been fixed from the inside of the boat.

Knee tube

I did the final layer on the knee tube this morning. I used 250g of gelcoat with styrene to coat the plastic pipe with woven glass and fix it to the deck. I had a go at using some glass "tissue" to finish off the job but I'm not convinced that this was a good move.

I also put a coat of clear gelcoat over the repair to the front hatch flange, using some of the gelcoat that was left over from doing the knee tube. There was a bit of overlap that had to be trimmed off with a hacksaw and then sanded smooth before I could apply the gelcoat. The screwholes for the rim needed to be redrilled through the new material, which I did with a 4mm bit on my cordless drill.

There will be a fair bit of sanding to do, so I made a start on a few test places. It looks quite good but I'm going to have to do some investigation of rubbing compounds, etc. for finishing off the gelcoat. I have asked Knoydart for some advice.

This evening's tasks will be:
Sand down the hull where I have patched the gelcoat.
Sand down the knee tube.
Replace the ethafoam block footrest.
Patch the seam near the stern with some black gelcoat.
Fix the front hatch rim in place using some orange gelcoat.
Tidy up the deck with some more orange gelcoat, including the recessed deck fittings (RDFs) that I didn't do yesterday.

Patching

I have applied orange gelcoat to a few places on the hull and also to some of the recessed deck fittings. A piece of plastic pipe is now held in place for a knee tube using a length of glass tape and some clear gelcoat, which also serves for patching over the holes for the deck elastics. The front hatch flange has been fixed using some more short strips of glass tape and the clear gelcoat.

In retrospect, I should have used some clingfilm over the front hatch repair to allow me to press it into place neatly. There are a couple of places where the ends of a strip of tape is not bonded to the boat properly. My feeble excuse is that it's a bit tricky working through the tiny hatch.

Using washing powder to clean the brushes does seem to work.

Keel strip - final layer

Thanks to my mistake last night, the keel strip will now have three layers. I hand to sand down the first attempt at a layer of coloured gelcoat; this was to remove the lumps but also to remove the surface so that the new layer would stick.

I had to re-apply masking tape along the sides of the keel strip and then apply a new batch (100g + 2ml catalyst) of coloured gelcoat. There was a bit left over, so I did a bit of purely cosmetic repair to the black gelcoat along the seams.

I used a brush similar to the one that I had to throw away last night. I'm hopeful that this brush has come clean using washing powder and water.

I let the gelcoat start to set while I washed the brush and had some breakfast. I then removed the masking tape. It looks good and I'm keen to get back to it this evening and check it over properly.

My plan for this evening is to apply a small amount of orange gelcoat to a few places on the hull. If I get time then I may also do the first layer on the knee tube (including patching over the holes for the deck elastics) and the front hatch. I can then do the final layer on the knee tube, either this evening (unlikely) or tomorrow morning. This should be all of the work that needs to be done with the boat upside down, so I should be able to start tidying up the deck with some more orange gelcoat tomorrow evening. I'll probably be putting back the front hatch and re-fitting my decklines on Friday evening as I get ready to go off paddling for the weekend!

The deck elastics will ultimately be fitted using some sort of screw fitting through the deck; I may have to do without for a while until I can find some suitable parts. I've also got to buy a footpump but I'm currently well within my budget, having spent about £80 so far.

Keel strip - Problems with gelcoat

The black gelcoat decided to set rather quickly. This might be because I was holding the plastic pot in my warm hand or because the proportions were slightly wrong. This meant that the last bit of the keel strip went a bit lumpy.

In retrospect, I should have stopped as soon as the gelcoat started to go off. I could then have mixed up a fresh batch. However, I tried to save myself some time and paid the consequences.

It was nice to see that peeling off the masking tape gave a clean edge to the keel strip.

I used 150g of gelcoat, with 3ml of catalyst. Most of this went onto the boat although I probably wasted over 25g.

Keel strip - first layer

I have taken an approach that is a combination of the descriptions from several websites and some advice from P&H. The first layer of the keel strip is to be made of glass tape embedded in clear polyester gelcoat, with a second layer that is made of coloured gelcoat that is waxed to allow it to set in air.

Masking tape is used to give a neat finish and to make the job easier. The tape is cheap when compared with the other repair materials and the time that the repairs take.

The first line of masking tape is a guide for the other lines. It will be removed before the resin work starts. It is done with masking tape that is the same width as the glass tape that is to be used for the keel strip. I used two-inch tape.
The second and third lines of two-inch masking tape go either side of the first, with a gap of a good quarter of an inch. The gap could be made narrower but it would depend on the confidence of the person doing the work!
The fourth and fifth lines of masking tape can use a narrower tape. I used one-inch wide tape. These lines of tape go mostly on top of the second and third lines, along the edge that is towards the centre. This closes half of the gap between the first line of tape and the second/third line.
Once I was happy that everything looked right, I removed the first line of tape. This leaves an exposed area for fitting the keelstrip that is about 2.25 inches wide.
I painted clear gelcoat along the exposed area and then used some glass scraps mixed with gelcoat to fill a couple of holes in the keel. A length of glass tape was laid out along the whole of the keel. I did the stern with a separate shorter strip. The glass tape was then wetted out using more gelcoat on a small brush. I needed about 200g of gelcoat, using 4ml of catalyst that I measured with a syringe. I put a second layer of tape along the sections at the front and back that take most wear and wetted this out throughly.
Once the gelcoat started to set, I removed the one-inch masking tape. (Pulling the tape towards the centre of the boat kept the resin from spreading to the area that I uncovered.) This leaves a gap of about an eighth of an inch between the remaining masking tape and the new keelstrip. The whole of this area will be painted with waxed, coloured gelcoat this evening. The gap serves two purposes: it ensures that all of the unwaxed gelcoat is covered and it tapers the repair a little to give a nicer finish.

I'll be left with a keelstrip that is 2.5 inches wide and has added about 0.4kg to the boat, although stripping off the old keelstrip will have taken off a similar mass. The new keelstrip is a bit bigger than might be ideal but should protect the boat nicely.

Hull repairs

I had removed some external repairs whilst getting rid of the old keelstrip. There were two places that needed some repair work and I decided that it would be neater to do it internally, reaching through the hatches. This made it a bit tricky to get a neat finish, so I was glad that the repairs won't be visible to anyone else!
I did the repairs with some woven glass and polyester gelcoat (with styrene wax to allow it to set in air - "Resin B" from Scott-Bader). This may be cheating a bit but I had the materials to hand and it gave me a quick and easy repair.

Stripping and sanding

I took advantage of some nice weather to spend an afternoon in the garden with my boat, a chisel and some sandpaper. The bonus was that I could work on the boat while still looking after the kids.

I removed the old keelstrip and investigated the leak in the front compartment. Some cleaning up around the front hatch revealed that the flange is broken and is detached from the deck at several points.
The chisel got blunted pretty quickly. The grindstone got some use.

Got the materials - just need the time

The materials that I ordered from P&H arrived as promised. I just need to find some time to start working on the boat. Trouble is that it's more fun to just go out and paddle it!

Extra work items

After some further consideration, I think that I will add a couple of items to the to-do list:
1) Fittings for a deck-mounted tow-line, including a reinforcement of the deck at that point. This will comprise some sort of camcleat and a fairlead.
2) A mechanism to secure my spare paddle, in a way that won't interfere with the tow line. I tend to carry a C1 paddle, for reasons that have more to do with my personal paddling history than anything else.

Materials for the keel strip

After some further exchange of email with Pat at P&H, I have decided to follow the recommendations of their laminators and use gelcoat and 2" glass tape to replace the existing (worn out) keel strip.

The first layer will be clear gelcoat and tape, with a second layer of gelcoat that has black pigment added for a pretty finish and wax added so that it sets properly. I'll probably do the other repairs and the patching of the orange gelcoat first, so that the black gelcoat goes over the top of everything else.

To save on postage and to allow them to supply catalyst, I'm going to collect the materials from the Pyranha shop near Runcorn. The package should be ready for collection in the next week or so. I may paddle there rather than taking the car - the shop is very close to the Bridgewater canal.

Help from P&H

P&H have been very good about helping me with this project. They have matched the gelcoat colour and are supplying me with new stickers. They've also been able to tell me a little bit about the boat; it was made around 1980/81 and went to North Wales directly after manufacture.

Work to be done

1) Remove the failsafe footrest fittings and replace with a block of ethafoam (done).
2) Fix the leaks (there is water getting in to the cockpit area and in front of the front bulkhead). This will include refitting the deck elastics, since water is seeping in through the holes for these.
3) New keel strip.
4) Fit a foot pump. I am retaining the hand pump, however, since it can be operated by another paddler in the case of injury or by myself as a backup. I also intend to carry a stirrup pump as a further backup and in case I need to pump out a compartment other than the cockpit area.
5) Fit an extra bulkhead behind the seat. Several reasons for this: (a) to reduce the volume of the cockpit area to make the boat easier to empty in the case of an incident, (b) to create a new storage compartment, (c) to reinforce the back deck where I have to sit when getting in and out of the boat. Access to the new storage compartment will be through a hatch in the new bulkhead behind the seat. I'm going to make the hatch relatively large, so that I can get my stove and pans into the compartment. It will only be accessible when I am out of the boat. The inlet for the hand pump will come through the new bulkhead.
6) Properly fit the ethafoam footrest block. This may be done as part of (4). A new block will be cut to the exact shape (although the first attempt wasn't too bad) and fixed to the hull, deck and bulkhead with Sikaflex. As well as providing a comfortable footrest, this will serve to reinforce the bulkhead.
7) Modify the seat to make it more comfortable for long trips.
8) Re-do the kneetube with some diolen mat and glue some old karrimat over it.
9) Patch and polish the gelcoat.
10) Apply new stickers (kindly supplied by P&H).

Lots of work to do. My estimated budget is £250. So far, I've used £10 worth of ethafoam, a cutting blade for my rotary tool (25p) and a small amount of blood and skin (free). Let's see over the next few months how good a guess that budget is. The work is probably going to take me a year to complete - mostly because I'd rather be out paddling the boat than repairing it!

Principles for the work

I'm having to decide what I will do with the boat. I'm going to work on the following principles:
1) I'm going to do all the work myself, to the best standard that I am able.
2) I'm not going to modify the original design of the boat in any major way that is visible from the outside.
3) Changes will be driven by safety, comfort and appearance (in decreasing order of importance).

Removing the old footrests

I needed to take out the fittings for the old failsafe footrest, since they were cutting into my legs. The bits of foam needed replacing as well, since they were absorbing water.

I've no idea what the correct way of doing this might be but the job was soon halfway there with some brutal use of a rotary cutting tool, a chisel and some twisting on the fitting.
The other side came out pretty easily too.
I then fitted a big block of ethafoam in front of the bulkhead to serve as a footrest. A bit of a paddle on the canal as a test worked to show that the boat was now much more comfortable.

Purchase of a battered boat

I bought a well-used boat from a fellow NWSK paddler this evening. I had given the boat an extensive trial over the previous weekend and decided to take it off Glen's hands and give him some cash towards a more suitable boat for his kids.

The boat is an Umnak Icefloe, designed by Derek Hutchinson:
and manufactured by P&H:
A lot of work is going to be needed to get it into shape and I'm going to have to do some thinking first.