Hey ya Cool Guy

: Thanks for the kind words, I'd love to take you up on the offer,
: unfortunately, I'm way over on the other coast in Massachussetts.

Maybe kind, but true and from the heart. Looks like you're a bit further then a day's drive-I'll tip a couple your way.

: Strangely, I'm not suicidal or anything about this. I did work on the boat
: for over a year and planned on doing some fiberglass work over the winter
: anyway. I just didn't plan on this extensive rebuilding. Maybe it's
: because I built it and kinda know what I have to do to rebuild it. I have
: to say I was in a kind of funk yesterday and last night, but now... I'm
: kinda looking forward to the project. I just have to think through my
: repair plans, sometimes if you can't hide damage, the best thing to do is
: to make it a feature... maybe a matching design on the other side.

Well spoken, sir!

: I have one hole about 10" x 15" inches right on the sheer line just
: touching the front hatch cover where the guard rail impacted. There is
: nothing left there except some tattered remains of the inside glass. The
: hatch cover suffered very superficial damage. fortunately, it didn't get
: into my deck detail. So those are 2 dodges right there.

Ohh, the first one makes me queasy. You're a far better man then I'll ever be. Ol' Sage after a incredible job of bracing skill going backwards in a big hydraulic version of hell, crunched over some rocks and after a loud "we're f---" was his usual and indominable and efficient self-even though more badness befell him that day. When we eventually landed he was on the beach pleased and excited in finding a whale rib, never mind a holed kayak. You two are role models that I value.

: There is another hole punched though the bottom on the centerline right under
: the front hatch, that's only a couple of inches in diameter and I may be
: able to push wood back into place and just deal with the scars, not a
: problem, it's the bottom of the boat. The last major area is the nose,
: about 3 inches of the bow is gone. I kinda wanted to carve a figurehead
: and may make that a winter project as well. I'm thinking one of those
: Lalique style things, maybe a reclining woman or something. There are
: numerous scrapes, but it doesn't look like many if any went all the way to
: the glass. I also can't find any other cracks or structural damage, so
: that's another plus.

There you go.

: You're absolutely right about lucky... as soon as I heard it breaking free, I
: checked my mirror... no one there. I could just picture it smashed through
: someone's windshield. My guardian angel was on my shoulder once again.

Good thing I wasn't there. With my typical luck the kayak would have flown into town and knocked the downtown area into rubble before going into a suspicious ballistic loop and trigering WWIII

: I wish I could blame it entirely on the rack, but I can't. I should've tied
: it down at the ends and also secured it to the bar. Just got careless is
: all and was in a rush to get home. I will see about getting the cradles
: replaced, although I'm thinking of having some aluminum blocks machined
: that will work better than what Thule currently uses.

Well, lesson learned and put it in the rear-view mirror. Thule though does deserve some abuse for lousy plastic components. I like the idea of machining parts. We have some Thule systems and I've actually screwed the bar to the feet to stop side slipping, and the cradles to the bar to prevent loss using heavy stainless machine screws. The rivets are replaced with much heavier stainless rivets. What I'd like to do is tig-weld a stainless steel pipe frame with urethane rollers at the back and HDPE cradles in the front, remove the 4 Runner roof rack tracks, then screw the whole assembly to the mount holes with urethance washers protecting the roof.

: I'll keep you updated as the boat undergoes a winter overhaul. Whatever, she
: my baby and I'll have her floating again in the spring.

Good deal!

: On a side issue, I am beginning to really enjoy my greenland paddle. It's
: taken a bit of getting used to. It seems that you just can't over power
: them. If you just take a bit more time getting up to speed, then it works
: really pretty nice.

I just can't get used to those GPs, like I said, you're a far better man then I'll ever be.