: Hello,

: I just bought a kevlar CD kayak and discovered that it has two small areas
: that have been softened due to transportation on a car rack. These are
: pretty much where the hull would rest on the rack, on the hull sides in
: the middle/front of the cockpit area.

: Question is, would you use some E-glass or would you go for Carbon or
: something else to stiffen this area? The actual damage is contained in a
: small 5" diameter oval so a patch slightly bigger than that would
: work. I thought of using the opportunity and add a stripe on each side and
: may be even across the entire hull - perhaps 15" wide going from seam
: to seam on the inside of the hull.

: Would one layer of cloth be enough?

: Also, what epoxy would you use for this?

: Lastly, would you end the patch below, at or above the seam? If I cover the
: hull to deck seam that would make it stronger I suppose but not sure if
: all this is needed and I just would want to have a smaller patch covering
: the affected areas and not much more...

: Thanks!

Was going to mention and forgot, the damage likely was caused by the boat sitting on the cradles on the car top sitting in the sun for a long time. Generally transporting on most commercial car rack systems won't damage a boat, sitting baking in the sun with limited support can.

Bill H.