Pictures never showed up, but I can imagine the damage you described. My suggestion: Sand a good two inches along both sides of the crack to make sure you remove any varnish or paint in that area. Cut a scrap of quarter-inch plywood long enough to cover the length of the crack and wide enough to bridge it by about an inch on both sides. (If the crack is right along the sheer between the deck and the hull, use a piece of wood of the same length, but 3/4 by 3/4 inch.) Cover the plywood or the wood stick with transparent package sealing tape so no wood is exposed. Slip it into place from the inside of the boat. Drill small pilot holes from the outside every 4 inches or so on both sides of the crack (alternating them so they are not directly opposite each other). Cut a a bunch of 2x2-inch plywood "buttons" out of quarter-inch plywood (as many "buttons" as you have holes) and then wrap them in package sealing tape. Run 1-inch sheetrock screws through the "buttons" and into the pilot holes and into the temporary stick or plywood backer on the inside, making certain to leave space between the two sides of the crack that equals the kerf that was left by the saw blade. That should stabilize the boat in its original form. Then, moisten the raw edges of the wood with unthickened epoxy, and work a thick slurry of epoxy and wood flour into the crack. The neater you work, the less sanding you'll have to do later. Let the epoxy cure for a day, then remove the screws with the "buttons" and the backing stick or plywood, which should release easily because the epoxy will not stick to the sealing tape. Sand everything so the epoxy is flush with the two sides. Position the boat so that when you start applying epoxy gravity will work with you to minimize runs. Cut a fiberglass patch the length of the crack and apply it with unthickened epoxy, just enough to make it stick. (You are better off using glass fabric rather than tape, because it will feather in more easily as tou sand it down.) After it cures, start filling the weave, a shallow coat of epoxy at a time. Sand down between coats enough to knock down the excess epoxy, but not enough to cut into the fiberglass patch. Feather the edges into the healthy 'glass along both edges of the crack. Then, on the inside, run a length of fiberglass tape along the length of the crack and epoxy it into place. Let your conscious (and your desire not to lacerate any skin that comes in contact as you paddle) be your guide in determining how smooth you want the inside to be. Match the final finish with varnish or paint.

By the way, considering the length of this cut, you probably will want to use multiple pieces of backing, so you don't harm the designed curves of the boat.

Oh, and one other thing: Gorilla glue? Really? Please, don't even think about it!

Good luck.

Jim

http://www.flickr.com/photos/79940424@N03/9779854273/lightbox/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/79940424@N03/9779594732/lightbox/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/79940424@N03/9779778784/lightbox/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/79940424@N03/9779577491/lightbox/

I can't seem to get the pictures up. Here's some links. I think screwing/ nailing it back into place will keep it together then a seal should keep water out.

Remember, epoxy is stronger than the wood, but also heavier. I also second the suggestion to use cloth cut on the bias over tape. I would tip one side up, cover the gap with cloth from the inside, let it cure, then flip it over and back fill with thickened epoxy from the outside, finally covering the outside with more cloth. That is one heck of a run on sentance. combing. have fun with your new boat. JRC

I agree it needs to be epoxy and glass, to hold the deck to the hull. To keep the shape while the epoxy goes off,  I would use wire stitches, and pull them out afterwards.  I might be tempted to put a sliver of wood in the kerf to keep the right shape as you tighten the wires. Surface prep is really important. 

Just realised those instructions would make more sense in reverse order!

remember the glue and fibreglass gives the structural strength, and any metalwork is just a temporary holding job. I reckon by going with the original building method, you can pull off a neat restoration that will give you a great yak.  Show us the pics as you go, and good luck. 

Now that your real question seems well answered I can ask MY question without hijacking your thread: do you know what the heck the guy was trying to accomplish?! He wished he had a canoe?

Patrick

I can not answer for him but I have considered taking a Chesapeak 16, removing the coaming, using the existing deck as a form for strip building a new deck, cutting of the old one and replacing it with the strip deck and reattaching the coaming.

I think I would have been a bit more careful about de-decking it though. 

Ed

The chesapeakes have shear clamps and bronze ring nails holding the deck on, in addition to the fiberglass. So, inorder to remove the deck completely you would need something that would cut both, without going crazy. You could cut the deck from above and use a variety of sanders to take the rest off. Might be better off building a new boat.

One other thing you might want to do once you get it put back together is set it upside down  on some saw horses and stick your head up in the cockpit and coat areas of bare plywood on the underside of the deck that the builder missed with epoxy.

That kayak looks like it was in pretty nice shape before the moron tried to cut the top off of it with a saws all.