I have started doing the rebuild of my Lightening 17. If you recall, I accidently ran it through a class 6 rapid in the Canadian Rockies last summer while paddling the North Saskatchewan. The yak was broken into 11 pieces that I was able to recover while other pieces were lost. The gossip is that if I had given the kayak a name this wouldn't have happened: the new one has a name: Guardian Spirit. This new one will have one just in case the gossip has some basis in reality. I'm not getting superstitious, just old and careful.
I am using a dremmel to cut any jagged edges that can't be tightly glued. Any new pieces of wood that have to be added will be added without being laid out under weights; I'll be using wood and screws to hold the new pieces in place wherever I need to put them. I have removed the forward deck due to the severity of the damage. The forward bulkhead is badly damaged and will have to be rebuilt. The right forward sheer panel has been ground to splinters from the cockpit (least damaged) to the bow (severely damaged) so it will have to be built up to its proper size using plywood. The only thing that held the bow together was the generous end pour. Fortunately I won't have to work on it because it remains as solid as ever. The seat was broken in half but the pieces are useable. The back reast has a hole in it and is useable. The hull has two major breaks and one large hole so they will have to be cleaned up and new wood added. The coaming and risers are missing so I will replace those. The footpegs are still in good condition. The stern half remains in useable condition so I won't disassemble it. My major challenges will be to rebuild the hull first by joining the bow and stern in such a way to keep the hull straight. The next challenge will be to rebuild the deck so it fits to the hull as well as it did before. I think the hull is the biggest challenge for me. The rest of it seems pretty straight forward.
As I progress I will post pics. This is gonna be a labour of love coz the yak was my first. That should explain why I am even bothering. If anyone has any advice please offer it. I am planning on buying a heat gun to facilitate the removal of damaged epoxy/glass: is this a good idea?

Robert N Pruden