Hi Rich, I definitely have to agree with Paul on all counts.

I refinished my kayak this spring--well, I was forced to--I got a big gouge through the keel glass in April that went clear to the wood and had to be fixed. I had plans for the next 3 weekends (that weren't paddling-related) so having the boat out of commission wasn't a problem. I sanded the whole hull, put 4 layers of glass on the farthest fore and aft ends of the keel and did a really nice varnish recoat.

I'm trying to figure out the logistics to come out 660 miles to the San Juans--if you're that close to them, definitely go paddling and screw repairs until fall--especially considering that your needed repairs don't sound too dangerous. If the cloudy spots start growing, repair it--if not, enjoy paddling the boat for now.

Shawn

> Hi, having just completed a beautifull strip kayak i decided to throw it
> on the roof and drive from seattle up to the san juan islands in
> northwestern washington (about 1 1/2 hours away) for a weekend of
> paddling. unfortunatly, once i got there and took the boat down i noticed
> a disturbing situation: the glass around the fore and aft hatches had
> begun to white out. there were pathces a few inches wide by a few inches
> long fore and aft of each hatch, but not port and starboard. it was
> possible to feal the weave of the glass. after a good hour of moping about
> i decided that the problem may have been due to end grain that wasn't
> properly filled, causing the wind to lower the moisture content of the
> strips, shrink it, and allow it to dissociate from the glass. So the next
> day i parked on the side of the road and spent the better part of a day
> putting epoxy on the end grain. i paddled it for the next few days with no
> problems and got the boat home with no further white out. I have three
> questions: 1. did i diagnose the problem correctly? 2. did i do the right
> thing about it, temporarily? 3. what should i do about it now? should i
> sand down to the wood and replace the fiberglass? should i just varnish
> over it and live with it?

> thanks for your input! rich