Hi,

I was given a composite kayak that was a little dull so I sanded with 1200
wet'n'dry and compound polish. On closer inspection the bottom is riddled
with gelcoat crazing and I know that it's been stored outside upside down
for over a year before I got it.

The kayak buffed up lovely but I'm concern that this crazing will cause the
hull to rot away (I want a few years out of it!).

The hull seems sound and waterproof and what to know is this crazing a cause
for concern. The kayak is a kevlar lightweight that is now stored indoors
will polish/wax help stop water getting in the crazing?

Painting with correct paint seems expensive and the crazing is to much to
cover with duct tape.

Thanks for any info

Cheers

The only trick I can tell you is to clean any wax or paint then sand
the creature and gell coat it. I would forget painting it as that is
merely cosmetic and will complicate futuer repairs.
Once the gell coat has filled any cracks you can use a two part paint
that matches the gell coat to paint the boat.
Good luck.
Aelx

kar wrote:
Hi,

I was given a composite kayak that was a little dull so I sanded with 1200
wet'n'dry and compound polish. On closer inspection the bottom is riddled
with gelcoat crazing and I know that it's been stored outside upside down
for over a year before I got it.

It's probably sun damaged. The crazing may be just on the surface and it
might be possible to sand through it, but it would depend on how thick
the gelcoat is.

The kayak buffed up lovely but I'm concern that this crazing will cause the
hull to rot away (I want a few years out of it!).

That's not likely. Gelcoat on a kayak is a sacrificial protective layer,
in addition to its cosmetic properties. It's not a structural component
of the boat. Think of it as thick paint, nothing more.

The hull seems sound and waterproof and what to know is this crazing a cause
for concern.

Proabably not. More than likely, it's simply a cosmetic issue.

The kayak is a kevlar lightweight that is now stored indoors
will polish/wax help stop water getting in the crazing?

Wax will fill in gaps in the gelcoat temporarily, but you'll need to
apply it pretty frequently.

Painting with correct paint seems expensive and the crazing is to much to
cover with duct tape.

What do you consider to be expensive? You don't need to use expensive
hull paints designed to protect larger boats from barnacles and such.
Interlux Britesides has become the de-facto standard paint for kayak
builders and it's not especially pricey in quarts, which is more than
enough for a kayak. It's also easy to apply smoothly using the
roll-and-tip method. You'll have to touch it up periodically, but it's
not difficult.

You could also do as Alex suggests and coat the bottom with gelcoat, but
you can plan on lots of sanding and buffing after coating if you want
the hull to be smooth and even. There's also no guarantee that the
crazing underneath won't eventually come through the new gelcoat.
Although I do a fair amount of gelcoat repairs, recoating an entire hull
is not something I would want to do.

I guess it's really just a matter of how much work you want to put into
this boat.