Glue for Thigh/Knee braces

Need to reglue my Thigh/Knee braces to the inside hull of my fiberglass kayak. Can someone recommend what brand of glue is best?

One of the favorites is
DAP Weldwood contact cement. Some prefer the gel formulation. Get the old surface cleaned up and lightly sanded. 3 coats on the foam, and 2 or 3 on the glass, dried in between. On final dry assembly, get the position right, 'cause there’s no second chance.

There is a specific one.
H20 glue is for this application. I have never used it, so I don’t know what type of glue it is (contact, or whatever). I realize that some folks believe that silicone adhesive should not be used on composite boats, but that is what I used to glue knee/thigh pads on one of my boats. This boat gets used regularly almost every week of the year for nearly five years and the pads are as secure as the day I installed them. The pads are high density closed cell foam rubber.



I’m not recommending silicone adhesive, just saying it worked for me. You have plenty of work time for proper placement, but you do have to brace the pads in place while the adhesive cures. The downside is that if, or when the pads need to be replaced, cleaning up the area could be a pain. Also, if composite repairs are ever required in those areas, it could make prep work more difficult.

Weldwood Contact cement
Follow the diredtions on the can.

Make sure the fit is correct prior to putting the cement on both surfaces.

Like someone above said, once you touch the parts together, there is no sliding them around, so make sure you position them properly as you put them together.



Jack L

You’ve stated…
…exactly why silicone adhesives should not be used in kayaks. There are better choices that do not suffer from the problems created by silicone residue. There is no advantage to silicone adhesives, so why create problems for yourself down the line?



Personally, I use Weldwood gel contact cement for gluing in padding and either Lexel or one of the Goop products when I need an adhesive sealant. These are available at the same outlets that sell silicone adhesives, so no extra effort is required to find them.

Contact cement
I agree but would add, sand the glass surface first. Sometimes wax mold release makes thinks come off like your original ones. Make sure you get the flammable contact cement not the water soluble.