Tahe Marine Greenland T - Back From the Dead
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- Published: Sunday, 11 April 2021 21:20
Photographic record of the renovation of my Tahe Marine Greenland T kayak.
When I first bought this kayak new in 2012 I was surprised a week later to find white scratches all over the hull and deck.
Within a week the kayak looked like a 10 year old boat. It was annoying to buy a new boat and a week later it looks like a dog. But, as you do, you get used to it and move on. I gave up on aesthetics, I just plugged the cracks on the chines and keel to stop the dammed thing from sinking. Almost 10 years on and it really does look like a 10 year old boat. I haven't hammered this boat any more than usual but its got massive abrasion and structural damage to the keel, the bow, the stern and particularly along the chines. There are literally more fibreglass patches on it than original kayak.
Ok, so my fibre-glassing skills are not so good. I ended up with wart-like lumps of resin over the hull where I patched up the damage. I should have made better repairs but I was busy and so long as the kayak didn't sink it was good enough for me. Shame though that such a pretty boat ended up as one of the ugly sisters.
Time for a change. I've just finished building a plywood Shrike kayak and my fibre glassing skills have evolved from basic to fair. Now is the time to bring this Greenland T back from the living dead.
Here goes...
From this...
...to this. Shocking really how badly this kayak was built.
