A note of caution. Two and a quarter years ago we bought an Impex Force 3 kayak for my wife. We chose the K Lite layup to keep the weight as low as possible without sacrificing too much strength.We were assured by Impex that the layup was a good one and had no real drawbacks. This was an expensive kayak as it was special order to be delivered to Australia. It cost $6800, a lot of money. The kayak has had leaks almost right from the start and despite a lot of effort to find and stop leaks it has always had wet hatches. Last week I noticed that wherever the (rather delicate and now very scruffy looking) outer clear coat had abraded that it was apparent that the carbon/kevlar underneath was full of holes. It looks like it has not been completely wetted out at manufacture. Thus, the kayak essentially has a porous hull. It has definitely gained weight over the last couple of years, at least an extra 3 kilos or so.
This is very disappointing. I intend to sand the hull back and recoat it with epoxy resin and hopefully that will seal it up and stop the leaks.
Every manufacturer can occasionally get it wrong and I accept that but what really, really annoys me is the fact that last week I emailed Impex to tell them of the problem and they have not bothered to respond. So folks, if you are thinking of buying an Impex kayak, consider the back up before you lay your money down. You might be better off looking at other brands that stand behind their product.
Geoff
Good, thoughtful observations. Impex
may be thinking it over before they respond. I wish there were a practical way to slosh a sealant around the inside of the boat, because working on the outside isn’t easy. I coated the bottom of a Kevlar Noah WW kayak because of some pinhole leaks, and because wear had fuzzed the Kevlar. I followed directions on the West Systems Epoxy site, and used their foam rollers to make application of epoxy easier. I applied several coats, timing it so that the just previous coat had not “set” but was firm enough to accept rolling on of more resin. That way subsequent coats bonded without amine blush interfering. In spite of roller use, the result will have somewhat of an orange peel texture, but with a random orbit sander, it smooths nicely.
You might also consider talking to an auto paint shop where they work with fiberglass. Instead of epoxy, they could use a really hard urethane paint. Less work, more money.
Impex K Lite
I was contacted by a rep from Impex yesterday and to their credit they are looking at ways to rectify the problem.
Geoff
Guess what …
Every company out there makes a bad boat or two. My paddling group has several people with Impex boats. Overall the quality is very good. I have the K-Lite and it is bomb proof. I have bounced it off rocks and run her up on shore all the time into rocks and zebra muscles. (No scratches) The thing about Impex is they stand behind their product. I would buy another one in a heart beat.