Hey All,

Now that I have my big river trip outta the way I'm working on the rebuild again. Yesterday I sanded the hull smooth, well, as smooth as I could get it, and managed to glass it in a rather patchwork fashion. I had a bit of a rough start at the glassing stage. My old hardner pump gave out after I cleaned it so I had to switch to using syringes. The syringes worked well but they are messier to use than the pumps. The glassing went well. I had forgotten how involved it can be but I thouroughly enjoyed doing the work. I had the CBC FM radio setting the musical stage, the usual incense burning and at least three beers to see me through the work. The weather was a little off with some sprinkling rain mixed in with occasional sun so the temps were a bit low but just within the limits for using epoxy. I have managed to keep the keel line straight. I did notice that one of my panels is a bit wide. That has resulted in a minor misalighment of the to panel a little but shouldn't affect the performance of the kayak. I'll have to trim the top of the sheer panel down a bit after the hull is finished so that the deck will fit snug. I'm really happy with this rebirthing process. There is a certain amount of satisfaction I feel doing the rebuild when many here thought it couldn't be done. I have total confidence that I'll be paddling her before the summer is up.

Robert N Pruden