:thanks for the information and taking the time to reply. Definitely take your advice to wait till the end of the season to do the repair

Jason

You don't want a sharp edge to the repair. you want to
: "feather in" your repair. Think of it as a scarf joint
: in the fiberglass. Sand out about 2 inches from the edges of the
: repair, tapering the sanding job so that it goes from the
: surface of the wood to the surface of the glass in that 2 inch
: band. Since the 'glass i not real thick, this is a gentle taper.
: apply resin to the exposed wood, the sanded area, and an inch or
: two past that. press in a patch of fresh fiberglass fabric and
: cover with a bit more resin towet out the glass. If the area you
: are repairing originally had two or more layers of glass fabric,
: then apply the same amount to this patch. the center of your
: patch should be level with the original surface, but the edges
: of the patch will run up the beveled area and be sitting on top
: of the old surface. This is fine. Once the resin has hardened
: you will sand down through the high layers of glass, restoring a

: level surface, which will be even with the original surface. The
: edges of the glass patch will be sanded thin. A fill coat or two
: of resin will fill the weave and the patch should not be
: noticeable. Fine sanding and some varnish complete the repair.

: If your patch works fine now, leave it alone for a year or two. You
: can make these repairs at the end of the year--just before you
: put the thing into storage for the winter. Then it can rest and
: the epoxy can cure for a few months in the off season, and
: emerge next spring like a beautiful butterfly. :)

: Oh, and you'll probably pick up a few dings and dents while you
: paddle this year. Those can all be fixed at the same time.

: Hope this helps

: PGJ