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.