lhunt Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 After a tragic accident involving a full carbon kayak and a garage door, I find myself looking for someplace that can do a repair, possibly involving a patch. Does anyone know of a good place? I live near Concord, MA, but probably anywhere on the Mass or NH coast would do, or even RI or southern ME. The wound (hull, where it was strapped to the stern J-rack) is about 3" long with a little "Y" shape, and just breaks through to the inside. (The bow, which made the most contact, was barely scratched.) There are a couple of other quarter-sized vinylester gelcoat issues. But man, you should see the garage door! Thanks! Lisa Huntington lisa underscore huntington at yahoo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gcosloy Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 Lisa-so sorry about the damage. I don't have an answer to your question but if you need a boat while yours is being repaired I am happy to lend you one of mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Allen Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 Not sure if they ever do repairs, but composite engineering/van dusen boatworks is in Concord MA. All they're work is in carbon fiber, so they must at least know of the local repair gurus. Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chetpk Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 After a tragic accident involving a full carbon kayak and a garage door, I find myself looking for someplace that can do a repair, possibly involving a patch. Does anyone know of a good place? I live near Concord, MA, but probably anywhere on the Mass or NH coast would do, or even RI or southern ME. The wound (hull, where it was strapped to the stern J-rack) is about 3" long with a little "Y" shape, and just breaks through to the inside. (The bow, which made the most contact, was barely scratched.) There are a couple of other quarter-sized vinylester gelcoat issues. But man, you should see the garage door! Thanks! Lisa Huntington lisa underscore huntington at yahoo You might try ...Composite Engineering-- Van Dusen Racing Boats right there in Concord Ma. http://www.vandusenracingboats.com/ They build high end carbon racing kayaks and racing shells so working with materials that your boat is built with is everyday work for them. I use to help repair crew shells for our local kids' rowing club and I treated the repair work on their carbon layups the same way I would on a glass hull. I always used epoxy. Almost all of your rowing shells are carbon lay-ups these days so you could contact any of the numerous clubs and colleges over in the Boston area and they might be able to put you onto a good repair person or shop for a carbon lay-up. Kerry Guptil in Barnstead N.H. does good repair work. Unfortunately as owner of Sunccok Canoe and Kayak shop, the economy has forced him to close, but he is planning on continuing to do boat repairs. Right now he is in the process of closing his shop so I don't believe he could handle it immediately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Sylvester Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 If you do an insurance claim maybe they will cover your boat repairs. New garage doors should only have a limited amout of down pressure. And it should reverse automaticly when it hits something. Often the down pressure gets cranked up if the bearings and wheels get worn and resistance is up. Checking and resetting the balance springs on the door is crucial also..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Gwynn Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 Try Brad from NESC. Not sure if he does full carbon repair work, if not he may point you in the right direction. You can reach him at 617-699-9869. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lhunt Posted October 16, 2009 Author Share Posted October 16, 2009 Thanks, all, that's extremely helpful! I'm going to get on the horn as soon as I get a free minute (been tied up like crazy this week...) Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lhunt Posted October 31, 2009 Author Share Posted October 31, 2009 And the answer is... Thanks for all the suggestions - "Ms. Q" has been fixed good as new (almost) by Van Dusen, as suggested. For future reference, they do squeeze in composite-type repairs between making cool boats. It's worth calling if you live in the Concord area and need a patch (if it's a total smash-up and the fix will run too high they may discourage you). Brad would be a good choice, too! Paul, I wish I could blame it on the garage door. Unfortunately, I have to blame it on the idiot in the driver's seat, who tried to autopilot into the garage with the boat on top (the door doesn't open quite all the way up, so it made the first contact). I gave the garage door its own workup of splints and patches, for a total cost of $20. Needless to say, the boat was much more expensive, but still under our homeowner's deductible. Oh, well. Thanks again, Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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