Today was NOT fun. The hull of my RBA was glassed a month ago and spread 1-1/2" beyond the deck. It took 3 roll of strapping tape and 9 ratchet web clamps to force them back into alignment. I then glassed the inside seams. Since I am using the Razor Bill for racing I decided not to include hatches. This made wetting and smoothing the tape extremely difficult. I used a 3” foam roller mounted on a 10’ pole and liberal use of swear words to reach up into the bow and stern.

Given the heavy duty forces I used to get these into alignment, how long should I wait before releasing the straps and tape? I am a little worried about the long term effects of building this stress into the kayak. Not to mention that I hope to race the boat in the Blackburn Challenge on the 26th. I wouldn’t want something to pop 15miles into the race.

Regards,

Jack