Has anyone here tried this and been sucessful? I have heard JB Weld works or a plastic weld fix. What works best? Thanks
Glass or plastic
What kind of boat are you looking at fixing. Fiberblass or Rotomolded? Where is the hole/crack? What kind of boat? How large is the repair? Hard to provide feedback without some more detail?
Yeah, we need to know the boat material
and the location and extent of the hole. Plastic (polyethylene) boats are hardest to patch, but sometimes can be fixed with plastic welding. West Epoxy also has a demo video of use of G-flex to repair the tail of a kayak that has been sawed off entirely.
Just Fixed Some Cracks in Yak
I used S-Glass, Dynel, and a mixture of West System 105/206 and G-Flex mix. I had to work from the inside out to get all of the cracks sealed. Here’s what I did:
http://scooter-bangortoportland.blogspot.com/2012/10/santee-116-rebuild.html
When I was done, and believe me I am no expert, I took it out for two spins and there was one leak. Just beware that if you want a new look using Dynel leaves a much thicker patch that is hard to sand down smooth but damn it is strong!
dougd
It would be a plastic Kayak
Local float rental is selling about 70 of them like they do every few years. Some have small cracks that need to be fixed but they would be very cheap to buy. I can usually fix most anything but wanted to know what you all use. I have seen plastic welders but haven’t tried one yet. Thanks
What boat?
Find out what the maker and model of the boat is. You are probably talking about a polyethylene kayak but there are different types of polyethylene and repair methods differ.
Most polyethylene kayaks are solid (1 layer) rotomolded polyethylene. Most makers these days use some variant of linear polyethylene, but in prior days some used cross-linked polyethylene and some still do. There is also three layer rotomolded polyethylene which has a foam-like core between two thin solid layers.
Thermal welding works well for solid linear polyethylene boats but may not work as well for three layer polyethylene boats and probably won’t work at all for cross-linked polyethylene.
Cross-linked or three layer polyethylene boats can be repaired using West Systems G Flex epoxy, but the surface must be thoroughly cleaned, then pretreated by flaming with an inexpensive propane torch. It is also best to use some type of cloth (like fiberglass) when repairing through and through cracks in poly boats with G Flex.
Thank you
I knew I could count on this board for info. I believe it’s a solid rotomold. Thanks again
Typo!
In my response I should have typed NO leaks instead of one leak. Sorry about that.
Linear or crosslink
Rotomolded boats come in linear and crosslink polyethylene. As someone else said, linear can be welded but crosslink can’t.
maybe this ? …
http://www.northsearesins.com/
I’ve posted this b4 in regard to poly repairs…seen it demo’d @ a kayak show…I cannot vouch for the company still being in business…the date on the website is 2008 , but worth a try. This epoxy was developed for military use.
Swifty 9.5
I bought tow yesterday from a local outfitter in Missouri for a total of $220. that’s for 2! At $110 a boat I can’t see how I will lose. One needs a little plastic weld on the bottom but looks like it will be an easy fix since the hole is only a 1/4inch dot from rocks.They will be a great addition for my kids to use. I already have a Ocean Scrambler xt and a typhoon. Can’t wait to use them.
should be weldable
I’m quite sure that Perception Sport kayaks are made of linear poly. This suggests that the Swifty 9.5 can be repaired by plastic welding: http://www.ehow.com/how_8448066_repair-swifty-kayak.html
You can find a number of short videos on thermal welding repair of poly kayaks on youtube. Here is a pretty good one from Liquid Logic: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bos4lfOA3k
If your welding repair doesn’t work out as hoped you can still repair it with G Flex epoxy, especially if the area of damage is accessible from the interior.
streamside repair still holding
we were in the middle of a week long paddle, when a branch went through the bottom of a old town loon. I repaired it with a camp stove and a hot spoon. heated the spoon, and melted the hole back closed. That was 2 years ago, its still holding