: Hey Robert,

: Sorry to hear about your yak, but I'm glad to hear that the end pour does
: serve a useful purpose, tho' not too many of us will be going over class 6
: rapids (at least not in Florida). Reading your post put me to wondering .
: . how much glass did you have on her and will you be "beefing
: up" the lay-up for your next attempt at the rapids?

: Just Kidding - glad YOU came out OK, but I am curious about your original
: glass lay-up.

: Happy Building (or rebuilding).

: Charles.

Hey, Charles

I had one layer of 6 oz glass inside and out. It wasn't that the yak wasn't glassed sufficiently; it was that the rapid was THAT wicked. The new yak I build last summer has a kevlar reinforced cockpit (not for strength but to hold the pieces together if I ever have another problem again) and foam shock absorbers to allow the hull to flex over rocks in the hopes that it won't crack. I also used a stronger, more flexible epoxy to allow more movement in the hull structure (West System 207, I think, with 106 hardener).
You can read all about the wreck if you search my trip report dated Saturday, 8 June 2002, at 3:21 a.m. titled "Final Story of my Saskatchewan Crossing Disaster". I did a fairly lengthy write-up of the mess I got my yak into. I only pray my stupidity doesn't make future demands of the structural integrity of my end pours. Then again, you don't always know what's around the next corner.

Robert N Pruden