I need some adhesive felt, or other suitable material, to use on my kayak rack to make loading and unloading smoother for my Hobie Outback, as well as for padding the deck and rails to reduce sound transfer. Any suggestions? Thanks
Some varieties of outdoor carpet can
serve also. On the felt issue, if you could get some Kevlar felt, the kind used for skid plates, that might work nicely. You could use either G-flex epoxy or some urethane glue to attach the stuff. It’s a better use for it than putting it on canoes.
I’ve seen a lot of felt in the course of building kit harpsichords, but I haven’t seen self-adhesive felt. You’ll have to Google around for that.
try this stuff
http://www.kayakfit.com/
1/16" self adhesive foam. This stuff is smooth and tough, and just provides a touch of padding. Might work well for what you’re doing.
McMaster-Carr
The Mothership has it: www.mcmaster.com
search for felt pads, adhesive backed - there’s a lot of different types available there.
Try
A craft store or Walmart. I have had my inexpensive adhesive backed felt on my Yakima Land Shark saddles for about 3 seasons now and its still there.
Neoprene
For the deck and rails noise suppression: http://kayakoutfitting.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=20 1/8" adhesive backed neoprene. Bends and does curves well.
Velcro
You can buy the wide heavy duty velcro from Walmart and the fuzzy side is super tough and sticks well. The adhesive felt is good but the adhesive doesn’t hold as well as the velcro adhesive.