I work at a summer camp and I’m working on getting the kayaks (mostly Perception Swing Sit-On-Tops and some various Daggers) fixed for the summer.
The Daggers each have small holes in bottom, usually toward the back, resulting from being launched off a concrete ramp.
I called a Marine shop and they said that the manufacturer would sell a plastic stick that can be melted down to fix the holes. Is this true?
Why don’t I call the manufacturer? Well, I’ve called several times a day for a week and can never get up with the person I’m supposed to talk to (everyone else at the company feigns ignorance on the subject).
If there’s a better way for me to fix it I’d love the advice.
Thanks,
Jen
i know that
prijon sells stuff like skiing p-tex that you can fill holes with…
how big are the holes???
when you call confluence (dagger/perception/ws/etcccc) ask to talk to andy-he has always helped me in the past!
r
a couple things:
– Last Updated: May-16-06 4:20 PM EST –
Plastic repair kit from Prijon:
http://www.rutabaga.com/product.asp?pid=1007110
Also, hot glue, ptex candle: http://www.harbskisystems.com/tuning/repair.htm
P-tex
I am borrowing technique I learned working in a ski shop.
Some ski manufacturers have a clear-natural color. It might look better than the black stick shown on the website.
If you have the money (extending the life of a kayak fleet could save some serious money) look for a hotglue gun for the p-tex. Probably a ski shop item. It would be much friendly to use.
I have heard (never tried) that melting platic milk cartons can also work. I would only try this on a boat I was ready to throw away.
Please take before and after photos and let us know what your results are!
Thanks, Jay H.
plastic
milk cartons do not work…do not use them…wrong kind of plastic
hot glue gun
I wore a hole through back of plastic keowee boat from dragging it. I used a hot glue gun to fix hole and it has lasted several years so far. Available for $10-20 at any hardware store and also has lots of other uses.
eugene
Home Depot
is supposed to have something called gutter repair tape that works well. I have not used it but I think that its a mastic type, thick tape and very sticky. Clean the boat inside with some type of alcohol or solvent on a rag, let dry and tape her up. I agree with the others that the first problem needing to be solved is the boat launch. It makes me cringe just thinking about it!
I’m also interested
I think perception is connected with WS, so could I get a perception repair stick that would work for my Pamlico 140? thanks !!
okay here we go
all these people are giving you the right ways to do things. I worked at a summer camp last year and found that creativity was so much more fun (wood workign director…I came up with find your own lumber day…alot of fun)
1: Take a little “Great Stuff” and shoot it in the hole. that is now the back up water proofing (people will say that it will eventually soak through or break down…but we are not interested in that right now)
2: Now take what ever you can find; milk jugs, plastic stuff, wood, vinal, and glue it over the hole.
Noting that if this patch should ever come loose the boat will not fill inside
2b: be creative when looking for patches. ask maintenence for some aluminium (you know your staff probably has a few English chaps there) flashing. Take the flashing and pop rivet it on to the bottum, then just caulk it. This will waterproof it and act as a scape plate
See if you can get your hands on some fiberglass resin. arts-and-crafts that MO-FO up. Little resin, little canvas, little construction paper.
OOHHHHH an old shingle and some roofing Black Jack.
Well anyways keep us informed and see if you can get a some pictures of your work in here. Pictures from camp are the super best ever.
Liveoutside
Plastic welding…
– Last Updated: May-18-06 7:59 AM EST –
...is the best way to repair the problems you've got. Harbor Freight sells a plastic welder for ~$30. You can view the instructions for it to get an idea of what's involved, but it appears to be a pretty simple process.
Simple but Tricky
The shop I work for has a guy who does plastic welding.
At its simplest form its just melting and pushing around plastic. I have seen both commercial plastic welding machines as well as ‘freeform’ scraper and blow torch techniques. The plastic needs to melt to a wet glass look to bond.
The tricky part is that its super easy to overheat the hull and make a bad situation worse. I once watched a guy, at another shop, melt the entire rudder mount off of a sea kayak. In his attempt to fix his mistake he ended up with a 6" hole. The boat ended up being a total loss.
Agree on Plastic Welding
I bought the Harbour Freight Plastic welder. You need to have a small compressor to go with it. It really isn’t a very good welder and it is very difficult to use. I don’t recommend that you try welding a plastic boat until you can can get a good weld on practice material like a 30 gallon drum.
Plastic welding is much harder to learn to do well than metal welding. In metal welding you can make ugly welds that will still hold and then use a grinder to make it all look nice. With plastic welding you can make nice looking welds that don’t hold.
Be very careful if you try to do any plastic welding oin an expensive item.