Boat Surgery: Crystal Rapid

Crystal Rapid in Grand Canyon gave the Ziz her first big hit.  We went flying into the 2nd fang on the left side of Crystal with visions of exploding dories.  Turns out the Ziz can take one on the chin and keep on grinning. Actually this pic looks like more of a frownie face.

The boat hit directly on the gunwale but the force rippled through the hull.  As luck would have it I hit directly where the thwart of the front crosshatch meets the hull so the damage was minimized. The crack is located just above where the fillet of the deck begins.

After removing the cracked glass and broken wood the damage was much different than the 205 mile hit. In the case of the crystal rapid hit, the ply cracked and split instead of being pulverized like the 205 mile hit. The crack went all the way through the ply to the interior but not through the interior glass. I tried to dry it for 2 months even though the immediate area was dry.  Just seems like water would seep downwards to pool at the chine... I guess I'll find out in a few years ;)  Not much wood was lost as it just cracked and the hull was not deformed so the repair was simple.

I just filled the void with high strength fillet and laid a new sheet of glass.  (I soaked the damaged ply in thinned epoxy first to get the best bond possible then added the fillet)

After I faired the new glass I sprayed primer then filled the micro holes with autobody filler.  That stuff dries in minutes and sands very easily.

Primed and ready for base coat.

Notice something here? Well the patch is obvious gosh darnit.  2 things could have happened: 1. The primer I used was a little darker than the one I used for the rest of the boat. Or 2. The paint in the can evaporated a bit so that even though I used the same ratios to reduce it...It was just too concentrated and came out looking dark. Ces la vie!  Its just a boat.  The gunwale also looks a little beat up too.  I thought pushing some thinned epoxy into the damage zone would help its longevity...not sure if thats true.  But any way, it darkened the wood, giving it...ah, an artistic patina?  I kinda like how you can see where the fang tried to take a bite out of the Zizumara!

Ah, memories...

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Comment by Kelly Neu on February 13, 2011 at 2:51pm

Chris,  Thanks for the painting advice.  I have a feeling I'll get to try out your improved techniques next season. I'll also take more time to match the base color.

Larry, Hope to hear about the Rogue permit or lack there of soon.  Deso!  And, yeah, I think folding the side panel was exactly what happened.  It was a high speed hit.  The boats waiting below lower crystal in the right eddy could hear it.  Crunch!  Or maybe they just heard me shouting, "high-side!" Oh and I'll put 205 on the bottom for the fish to be entertained too.

Dave, glad you like the tramp stamp.  This poor boat may be fully tattooed in a few years. :)

Comment by Dave Z on February 13, 2011 at 2:13pm

Kelly,

 

Love the tramp stamp and solid repairs. A+

Comment by lhedrick on February 8, 2011 at 8:18am

I just love the way tagged the impacts spots for history.

 

Did you put 205 on the bottom for the fish to see?

 

Your descripton of the hit was interesting.  It was hard enough to fold the side panel and crack it.  The gunwale looks fine.  Strong stuff.

 

Looks like you are ready for 2011.  Hope your Rogue trip doesn't work out so you will be forced to run Deso with us.

 

Great repair job and report.

Comment by chris towles on February 8, 2011 at 12:36am

kelly,

   that masking is killin your blend. as a painter, whenever i do repairs where the color or texture might not match perfect i like to pull the sprayer back a bit and feather the edges to so that color changes aren't so apparent. on this side repair i probably would have masked right to the top of your red pinstripe, and then the gunwales...you can blend the blue into the old blue over enough distance that it doesn't stand out. on your interior where all is the same color near by, i probably woulden't have masked anything at all...less mabye the gunwales and hardware if you are worried about overspray. just shoot and feather..it'll look close and by the end of the first river trip you probably won't even be able to see it anymore

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