Today I took my Coho out with a friend, and as he was showing me a new way to re-enter the boat he jumped on the bow just fore of the front bulkhead and bounced his way aft into the cockpit. After he got out I noticed what looked like a small tear around the top shear seam, about 1.5 inches fore of the front bulkhead. Not along the seam, but nearly perpendicular to it and cutting across the seam, about .75 inches long.

Color was lighter yellow than the varnished deck and it looked like a tear in the cloth. The area was raised slightly, but the tear didn't actually break the surface -- just made a small bump, and it remained watertight. Underside I couldn't see any damage -- the tape along the seam seemed intact. Someone said, "Your cloth looks like it's lifted off the wood."

Anyone have a suggestion on how to repair this? I was thinking of just reinforcing the spot from below with couple of layers of glass tape. We won't be re-entering from the front any more, I don't think.