Eva "The Board Lady"
    Epoxy board & small boat repairs
    Perfectionist German engineer and craftswoman, punctual & reasonable
    (805) 653-5312, or e-mail Exkraut@Aol.com

Eva has specialized in Epoxy construction and would rather not solicit "regular" Polyester-based fiberglass craft. In case someone is in a pickle, with that special trip looming and a hole in the bottom, she would rush to the rescue! But for non-emergency jobs, she'd like to limit them to Epoxy.

Eva comes highly recommended by Paula Chavez

As a result of a paddle out of Malibu (see the CKF Surfrider Beach - The Carnage Returns trip report) my boat was in need of some fiberglass repair. The fiberglass just behind the skeg developed a crack that was perpendicular to the length of my boat and the crack went all of the way through and as a result the boat was no longer watertight. There were also several gouges of the gelcoat that went all of the way to the glass fiber and finally, the gelcoat on the keel of the boat was wearing off down to the glass fiber as a result of normal use and sand on the beaches.

I brought the boat to Xstreamline in Wilmington and as Greg was telling me how they would repair it, all I could see was my wallet getting seriously dinged as well. He mentioned that they would normally use 3 layers of glass, but with this repair he felt 4 would be better. Then they would cut out the damaged glass and anything that needed to be filled in would get Marine Tex epoxy. I was totally shocked when the estimate came to about $120. I expected it to be a lot worse.

Greg had suggested that they just paint the Marine Tex over the worn gelcoat rather than shaping and sanding perfectly. He said these areas would only wear some more and that his work would be much better than what I had done in the past. When I expressed some skepticism, he called my work primitive and said I would really be happy. If I preferred, I could spend a lot more money and they would make the hull look brand new--but the hull is usually underwater and these areas will wear again. I went with Greg's recommendation.

Yesterday I picked the boat up---They did a fantastic job!!! Does it look like a new boat ----No, it looks like it has seen 4 years of ocean. Would I use them again - You betcha!!

I was happy enough with their work to not only spread the word, but I also ordered a new spray skirt from them. If you get a ding in your boat that needs to be repaired, I would certainly recommend Xstreamline for the work.

My Tesla NM was crushed in the surf. Many of you saw the photos I had posted and Duane had posted on his web pages (read the trip report). There were numerous through and through cracks in the Kevlar. The gelcoat had broken, chipped off and there were edges of fracture Kevlar sticking up. The area around the compass mount area was badly damaged. The boat was essentially a total loss.

The boat was insured and the insurance company bought and sold it back to me as salvage. Shortly after I bought it back I was talking to Dublin Dave who told me that Jen at AquaAdventures in San Diego had a friend who built sailboats but was repairing kayaks in his spare time. I picked up the boat last Saturday. Except for a little uneveness around the compass mount the boat is like brand new, except stronger with several layers of Kevlar and glass reinforced with carbon fiber.

I supplied the gel coat and some of the fabric. The total cost was less than the cost of the new Nigel Foster paddle from Seaward (Paddle lists at $350). I am totally amazed at the quality of work and low cost. Two years ago I called around just to find out how much local boat yards would charge to spray my gelcoat if I did the sanding and prep. The costs were from $600-800.

Contact AquaAdventures for details to get your boat repaired.

Steve Holtzman reports...
For those of you who need a method for repairing a plastic boat, I came across this web site: www.kayaking.peak.org/public_html/how_to/boat_repair.html