Randall, thanks for mentioning 3M Dual Lock in a separate thread. I’d like to use it to attach my white water saddle into a Royalex canoe, then be able to remove the saddle for use in my kevlar canoes. Up until now I’ve been using Industrial Strength Velcro, which works sometimes for a while, but not always. 3M has one Dual Lock with Very High Bond glue. Do you think it will hold up in my canoes where it will stay wet most of the time?
Thanks
Andy
Hi Andy!
I didn’t see your thread until now… sorry for the late response.
The Dual Lock system by 3M is available in either black or clear, low profile or regular and in various widths. I believe Dan Cooke used the 1” clear regular profile for the partial covers he made for Bell (like I have).
Mine have been installed on the hull of my Wildfire RX for over four years now and are holding very tight- there is no hint of them letting go. While they are not under water constantly they get wet a LOT – that’s still my most often used canoe for the creekin’. Not only does this boat get wet while I’m on the water I almost invariably wash it after each trip to get the mud off. I would say the adhesive that holds the Dual Lock strips in place is as waterproof as anything can get.
I have no experience using this product for the application you described, but my gut feeling is that it would work well. My biggest concern would be that it might rip your foam saddle when you take the saddle out of the boat. To avoid that sort of thing I’d recommend that you apply short strips (3 or 4 inch long at the corners only) to both the boat and the saddle and that you leave a bit of excess (on the saddle) that protrudes past the side of the saddle – so that you pull directly on the Dual Lock strip when you dismount the saddle. In other words leave yourself little “pull tabs” that you can grab when you remove your saddle. Dual Lock adhesive is STRONG stuff. Once you position it – there it is. Proceed with appropriate caution as regards placement.
An additional word of caution – Dual Lock strips (much like the hook side of Velcro) will snag things like sponges, threads from clothing, hair, whatever. Think of it as Velcro with two hook sides, but the hooks are much longer & stiffer.
You’ve probably already found the 3M site that shows this product, for others reading this thread who may find this info helpful here’s the link: http://www.duallock.com/
You can google around and find sources for small quantities. The stuff aint’ as cheap or as readily available as Velcro. At some point when this product was discussed previously here at the p.net forums someone said that it was available at Home Depoe stores.
Hope this helped! - Randall
Thanks Randall
I’ll check Home Depot tomorrow, and there are several dealers on ebay that sell small quantities.
Regards,
Andy
I was looking option to rivets or snaps
– Last Updated: Oct-21-06 10:10 PM EST –
An interesting file on properties of the 3M tape.
http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/VHB/Tapes/
saddle slippage
Andy, I put drywall sanding screen under my removable saddle to prevent slippage. This approach is probably not what I would use in your Blue Steel Supernova, but it works fine in a Royalex boat. Just thought I’d throw it out there in case it helps someone else.
Dual lock
I tried using this product for securing a whitewater pedestal in a canoe. It could not hold the pedestal in strongly enough when I was trying to roll it. I ended up securing the removable pedestal with straps attached to loops epoxied onto the bottom of my composite boat.
If you try the dual-lock, be sure that the seat fully conforms to the hull bottom. Dual lock does not do well with incomplete contact.
My whitewater canoe has
Mike Yee set up, properly glued. My other canoes I sometimes use a bench seat if the trip isn’t too rough, or switch over to the saddle if the trip has enough rapids.
I have one of the Mad River Canoe TKO pedastals that is prebored for straps, I’ll probably do as you suggest and strap it in.
Thanks
Andy