I have a Swift Saranac 146 in Carbon/Kevlar layup, just recently I discovered the cowling for the front sport hatch cover(Kajak) has become partially detached from the deck. What product would be the best to remedy this situation.
Thanks,
Gary
A new favorite of mine is West G-flex
epoxy. It mixes 1:1. You could get the 4 oz straight stuff, or they also sell a pre-thickened version.
On my composite decked boats, I often put on some fiberglass strips over the joint where the cowling meets the deck. For that, you would want the UN-thickened epoxy. G-flex does not soak into cloth as easily as West 105/205, but it will soak in well enough if you are patient. The slight flex and toughness of G-flex should keep the problem from recurring. Make sure you prepare the surfaces very thoroughly.
Contact
Swift Canoe via their website. I can’t remember it the sport hatches are glued in or glassed in. If glued, they probably used Plexus MA-300 adhesive.
In any case it should be an easy fix either glassing or gluing. Haven’t tried the G Flex epoxy, but all reports I’ve heard are favorable and West Systems makes great products.
Sikaflex
Kajaksport recommend sikaflex, you can download the instructions at http://kajaksport.com/kuvat/PDF-arkisto/Ohjeet/hatchrimglue.pdf
To do a proper job you probably need to completely remove the hatch and reinstall it.
Yea, it’s worth considering removing
the hatch completely. It would make surface preparation easier and might make it easier to apply the adhesive evenly and thoroughly.
This applies more to sea kayaks where a small leak can be disabling or dangerous. Us whitewater types often just spot patch a leaking cockpit rim because we can deal with minor leakage.
Hatch cowling repair
The dealer offered me two tubes of the MA -300 but wanted to charge me $60 to do the work. So much for the lifetime warranty which he told me only applies to the original purchaser of which I am not. I figured since the yak was purchased last year from this dealer they would stand behind the product which clearly had a factory defect. I really can’t complain to much since I saved over 33% from the cost of a new one. Any way I took the free epoxy and decided to do the repair myself.