F*#^%+£!

Arrg. I'm so angry (at myself) and just need to vent.

I have been traveling and haven't paddled in 2 weeks. It was a nice and calm fall day in the northeast (US) and was looking forward to my first paddle in a while.

I was at the river bank walking down (10' from the water) when I slipped on the muddy bank and dropped my boat from head level!!!

It wouldn't have been so bad but for the broken up concrete slabs lining the bank. Luckily I landed ok, a sore ankle but otherwise ok, but my boat now has 2 punctures through the other layer of the core. I don't think either went thru to the inside but the worse of the 2 spots now has a soft spot running parallel with the hull about 1' long. Not good.

#*%*@&!'^]~•¥€*> am I angry at myself for doing this! F***!!!!

So now I get to fix it I guess. I've fixed much worse on multiple occasions, so I'm not really too worried about doing the repair, I'm triple pissed that 1. I did the first damage to an otherwise pristine boat, 2. didn't get to paddling and won't for a third week, and 3. now have to spend several hours fixing this. So angry with myself right now. Grr.

On the up side I just bought a Think ultra small paddle to try out. My joints suck and don't like much force (an epic small mid wing was still enough to make gen hurt after 7-10 miles). I'm trying out the Think ultra small 645 cm2 paddle to see if it stresses my joints less, and I picked it up brand new, full carbon layup for $155 shipped, which is pretty sweet. Now I'll have to fix my boat before it arrives in a couple weeks. Grr

Anyways, /rant.

Hope your latest outing went better than mine

That sucks, sweet deal on the paddle though, can I ask where you got it?

Man I feel for you . My local river spot sucks to put in at. Has lots of mud like yours. Last year I dropped my ski from hip height and luckily only bent the aluminum rudder shaft.

These days, ever time I get near that damn thing, I try and hod the ski in my hand and close to the ground. I wish I had better places to paddle around here.

Damn muddy bank. I've sipped there before and was even going very slow and being careful anticipating the mud I still ate it. maybe that's #4 if why im mad at myself; I knew of the danger and still ate it.

The image is burned into my brain of being on the ground and watching my boat falling like an outfielder watching a fly ball come down.

I got the smokin deal on the paddle from Ali Express (basically chinese amazon). 11/11 is the Chinese equivalent of black Friday and all the shops discount an additional 30-40%. Its not an actual Think brand paddle. Its 'like think'. The only downside is the lever lock is plastic so will eventually wear out and the shaft is only available in full carbon (id prefer a flex shaft). I have another paddle form them and the lever lock has held up for a year of frequent paddling, so its not bad, but I would much prefer aluminum for durability. I just cant afford name brand paddles right now, and these do the job nicely for the price.

I got the Carbon cloth and peel-ply ordered, so should begin repairs later this week.
To those who do repairs, what is the easiest to use or smallest container of white gel coat I can buy? I'll need to cover about 1.5 square feet when Im done. I'd prefer gel coat as opposed to paint if its available in small quantities.

I actually got the same deal on a Think brand demo from Ocean Paddle Sports.

Figured it would be good for the longer races compared to the Braca XI 705 which is good up to 8 miles or my midsize parallel blade Legend which is a bit much for me for over 4 miles.

Ge coat repair kit from West Marine for repairs of 6 square inches, $40: www.westmarine.com/buy/west-marine--gelc...14153282?recordNum=1

Nice. You got a better deal than I did I think. I'll have to call them in the future.

And I have to say I am a big fan of small paddles. The 735 small mid wing wasnt bad, but my muscles can generate more power than my joints can take and a small paddle makes it so I'm not constantly monitoring my power output. Plus, speed comes from high cadence more than absolute power, doesn't it?

Edit: Thank for the link to the west marine kit. That will work well i think

That's what I hear, I'm still working on getting more than 80 strokes a minute.

I can put more force into the stroke with a smaller blade, with the big one I just let it glide through or it spikes my heart rate and tires my arms out too quick.

Turns out that the one Ocean Paddle Sports has is 208-218 which is too long for my short torso and skinny boat, but if someone is looking for a deal, that would be it, so email Michael Canfield at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for $140 plus shipping, heck of a deal.

MCImes, You can get all your surfski repair supplies at:
www.fiberglasshawaii.com
Much cheaper than "Fleece (West) Marine".
Sorry for your mishap.

Thanks for the link Fath. fiberglasshawaii wasnt on my radar. Looks like they're a little cheaper than my usual source, compositeenvisions.com. I'll have to use FGH for my smaller projects.

For my larger stuff, im a big fan of composite envisions because they have a large selection of cloths and supplies including exotic cloths like pre-preg Textreme and others. They will make custom cloth as well.

And yes, i use west marine if im in a pinch, but you pay for it.

These guys are great, too!

www.solarcomposites.com/

Don