A while back I picked up a Romany from a very generous couple in Seattle. It was in quite good shape overall, and with a day's work I had the skeg working and all the deck bungees replaced.
It featured an integrated pump, with a handle which stowed in a recess on the deck.
I was able to get the pump working again with a bit of work, but ultimately I was not a fan of the arrangement. It look up a lot of space and was prone to grabbing my feet during wet exits. While I considered keeping the pump as a novelty I eventually decided to remove it. This is a boat meant to play in some conditions, and I wouldn't want to be worried about being hung up on the pump.
I removed the pump, as well as the foot braces, and cut the front bulkhead out. I think a slightly smaller cockpit will work to my advantage. I'm planning on using the bulkhead as a footrest, and I'll gain a bit of extra storage as well. The original foot pegs were binding up, and quite tough to adjust.
I then removed the recesses on deck. With the kayak upside down on sawhorses I was able to get good access with a grinder.
It was messy work.
Once I cleaned up the kayak and myself I started preparing for replacing those portions of the kayak which were now holes -four small holes where the foot braces were mounted, one medium hole where the pump outlet was, one large hole where the pump was mounted, as well as one long slot where the handle was stored.
Using some packing tape I was able to cover the gap and keep the shape fairly well.
I then reinforced the tape with a few pieces of cardboard.
This would give me a good surface upon which I could lay up some new glass.
Raiding the scraps at work I opted for several layers of chopped strand matting, with a layer of roving thrown in for good measure.
I used polyester resin which is a bit less friendly to work with than epoxy, but has the benefit of curing much faster. I topped each repair with a layer of peel ply.
Once everything has cured I removed the cardboard and packing tape.
The surface was overall quite smooth, though there were a few small voids around the edge. I sanded a bit to prep the surface, and then used some fairing compound. I neglected to take a picture at that stage, but once it was cured I sanded each repair area smooth.
The areas were then masked off and gelcoat was applied.
The colour isn't a perfect match, but it's good enough to take on the water. I sanded it smooth, but again neglected to take a photo. I'll update with more pictures later.
But what about the bulkhead? Since it was such a sturdy panel I opted to reuse it, and add some more material around the edges.
It's currently curing overnight but I'll try to take some more pictures tomorrow.
It featured an integrated pump, with a handle which stowed in a recess on the deck.
I was able to get the pump working again with a bit of work, but ultimately I was not a fan of the arrangement. It look up a lot of space and was prone to grabbing my feet during wet exits. While I considered keeping the pump as a novelty I eventually decided to remove it. This is a boat meant to play in some conditions, and I wouldn't want to be worried about being hung up on the pump.
I removed the pump, as well as the foot braces, and cut the front bulkhead out. I think a slightly smaller cockpit will work to my advantage. I'm planning on using the bulkhead as a footrest, and I'll gain a bit of extra storage as well. The original foot pegs were binding up, and quite tough to adjust.
I then removed the recesses on deck. With the kayak upside down on sawhorses I was able to get good access with a grinder.
It was messy work.
Once I cleaned up the kayak and myself I started preparing for replacing those portions of the kayak which were now holes -four small holes where the foot braces were mounted, one medium hole where the pump outlet was, one large hole where the pump was mounted, as well as one long slot where the handle was stored.
Using some packing tape I was able to cover the gap and keep the shape fairly well.
I then reinforced the tape with a few pieces of cardboard.
This would give me a good surface upon which I could lay up some new glass.
Raiding the scraps at work I opted for several layers of chopped strand matting, with a layer of roving thrown in for good measure.
I used polyester resin which is a bit less friendly to work with than epoxy, but has the benefit of curing much faster. I topped each repair with a layer of peel ply.
Once everything has cured I removed the cardboard and packing tape.
The surface was overall quite smooth, though there were a few small voids around the edge. I sanded a bit to prep the surface, and then used some fairing compound. I neglected to take a picture at that stage, but once it was cured I sanded each repair area smooth.
The areas were then masked off and gelcoat was applied.
The colour isn't a perfect match, but it's good enough to take on the water. I sanded it smooth, but again neglected to take a photo. I'll update with more pictures later.
But what about the bulkhead? Since it was such a sturdy panel I opted to reuse it, and add some more material around the edges.
It's currently curing overnight but I'll try to take some more pictures tomorrow.
