Whacked !!!

Oh My… 

I have my yaks outside these days,,,  secured and covered with heavy tarps… well the AI, been out 2 times, got Wacked by the last storm.  A huge limb from a towering eucalyptus in the yard  came down and snapped my rudder like a twig.

Ok fine , but on closer examination today, not good. 

I had the AI upside down on racks, this limb came down and basically "flexed" the read end.  There are creases towards the back, hard to see in photos.  It's still strong, maybe it will pop out or maybe the whole back end will drop off while I'm 4 miles off shore…


To top it off, The Storm left a huge " Widow Maker " still yet to be dealt with...
 
               I need a garage…  I hate Berkeley

DAMN  That sucks!!!  I hope she still water tight!

It'll flex out.

Hope there's no major issue with the yak beside the rudder.

Bummer. I hope it works itself out. That Berkeley is a fun place to visit but I wouldnt want to live there.

It might be counter productive in the long run, but did you try your home owners insurance, it's amazing what they cover.

Bad luck but your surroundings look kinda cool, but I guess that's easy to say for someone who doesn't have to live there.

Insurance would probably cover any damage but he'd have to hit his deductible.  Not worth it, that kayak will be fine with a little bit of work.

 

 Hopefully a nice hot sunny day will pop the wrinkles out.  Won't help with the rudder though........
Are you planning to do something about that widow maker?  I'm thinking you can take a fishing pole and a 4-6oz weight, fling it over the limp and try to persuade gravity to do it's job.  If the fish line isn't strong enough tie some rope to it, haul the rope up and try again.
 

  Side note I noticed some solar panels in the shots, what do you power with them?

Been having similar issues with our euc. trees the past year or so too.  Going to drop them all this summer to get rid of the problem.

Be cautious about making an insurance claim. I had a friend make three small claims and get cancelled,  it took him three months to get a new policy at a premium price.  Unless they're going to spring for a brand new AI it might not be worth it. I believe the hull will pop back out on its own

OUCH!!!   I worry about limbs falling from high up in the trees in my driveway all the time.  Sorry to see your poor AI took a ding!!!  Hope that a new rudder pin will fix it?  Or do you have to do some re-cabling?

Thanks guys,

I've got the the pin, back mount and housing coming thru CC&k already.  Minor amount of rigging back to the broken off part. I'm not going to file an insurance claim, but I hear ya, that might work.  Just going to lick my wounds and hope for the best.  It's hard to believe that the yak did flex like it did as it's still very strong, but it could not have help it. I'm looking forward to comparing next to a another Adventure to see just how far out of whack is.

That Widow Maker is a whole other issue, it's locked pretty well on one side, and lodged somewhat decent on the other. I think were going to call some professionals in on this one. It's just too high to try and Micky Mouse this situation. Kids are in the next yard now and then so I've got to get on this.

The Harbor Freight solar panels were also in storage from where we used it at our other house to power different things in a green house, it's damaged too.

Damned that Mother!   
no injured people, no worries! 

It'll flex out.

Regrettably,  this does not seem to be the case when a crease is involved,  does anyone have an idea how to bring this back to normal?  I've been told I might be able to use a heat gun, but I'm a bit shy about heating this puppy up like that,,,

I've used an inner tube inflated in the bent/sagging area and heat to un-bend with great results... Just the sun and inner tube usually works. I use the little trailer tire tubes. Good luck!