For you fiberglass repair specialists out there, I have a doozy of a question. I own a fiberglass sea kayak that had a seat which was glassed-in - that is, the seat had seat flanges that went from the combing down into the seat itself which sat in small pieces of mini-cell foam on the hull. I think this is fairly typical of sea kayak seats.
Well, I had the seat removed because it was too small and uncomfortable. It was replaced with a Nimubus Creature Comfort seat. Without going into too much detail, I had someone do the work for me who really didin’t do the best job. He kept part of the seat flange originating from the cokpit combing for a thigh brace and added some glass to the cut-off flange and affixed it to the hull. It does have quite a bit of strength - which is good - but he left a portion of the flange on both sides exposed and it sort of sticks out. My concern is that something could get hung up on it during a wet exit. This is difficult to explain in writing, but I need to glass this myself in such a way that the seat flange smoothly runs from the combing down to the hull with nothing protruding like it is now. I’m really disappointed the repair guy didin’t do this because now I have to do additional work. I’m not an expert by any stretch, but does this sound like something I could glass myself with a bit of coaching?
should be ok
Fiberglassing is a pretty forgiving process. If you take your time and are frugal with your resin, you should be just fine.
In fiberglassing, using less resin is a good thing.
Why not glue in some minicell
to get the curve you want and get some thigh hook out if it at the same time. Much easier.
A picture is worth 1000 words
Here are some pics from a “seat-ectomy” I did a while back.
http://community.webshots.com/album/73091998vmLBqH
It sounds like your seat was at least somewhat similar. If so, it’s not necessary to glass the remnants of the cheek plates to the hull. Just round over the corners and install foam hip pads to fill in the gap.
photos
Thanks for sharing the photos. I like your use of the mini cell foam. I think I will use foam for my hip braces, which should also address the seat flange issues I have. Thanks!
kayak repair
remember to gel coat any repairs since fiberglass will absorb water if it isn’t sealed.