On my most recent Southern turtling trip the Raftemys suffered a mortal wound, a seam ripped open by an insidious submerged branch, a vengeful snag that, as I eased upstream to examine the branches above the water, tore her open below.
A sudden torrent of bubbles alerted me to her trauma, and we limped back downstream. I contacted the company (Sea Eagle, this is a SE 330) but they said there is no way to repair a ripped seam like that. Patches won't hold.
In exchange for a photo to demonstrate the complete disabling of the vessel, they offered me a steep discount on a replacement hull, and though I am wary to buy another of a model that just failed, it's one hell of a lot cheaper than a higher-end alternative, and I'll give it one more shot (though it pained me to take a razor to her).
Tonight I will bear the deflated and rolled-up Raftemys down to our trash room and leave her in a dumpster. Perhaps she deserves a burial at sea (or at river), but I'm not sure the river or my fellow river-goers would appreciate the 30 pounds of floppy vinyl litter.
Sometime soon the Raftemys 2 will arrive by mail. Until then I will consider myself in mourning, bereft of my turtling companion.
