I am thinking of picking up a used (2006?) Old Towne Loon 138. Upon inspection I noticed a 3/4" long crack in the plastic at the mid point of the cockpit along the top edge of the lip of the cockpit. It is above the water line. Any chances this crack will extend further and should it be repaired now? How easy is this type of repair? Cost of the kayak is $425. Other than the typical scratches it is in good shape except for that crack. Would it be worth that? 300? 250?
Thanks for any advice!
Keep shopping
$425 seems expensive for a 5 year old unremarkable kayak.
Yes, the crack will grow if not repaired.
Repair by plastic welding. Quite easy to do IF you have the proper equipment and skill to do so. Quite difficult without the right equipment and skills.
Cracked poly
is a big problem. I’ve had several plastic welded at the local dealer and they didn’t hold up for long. Dealer welded one three times and finally had to replace the boat under warranty. Warranty applies to original owner only.
Epoxy is also a problem in areas of the hull that flex a lot because epoxy is stiffer than the plastic and it tends to peel at the edges after a few months.
Finally the price is too high for that old war horse. Keep shopping.
Drill hole at ends of cracks
They shouldn’t go any further. Do this before attempting any repairs too. Agree with the above posters
Way too much
In good condition that’d be too high a price. In poor condition it should be almost nothing.
Check with places that rent boats out for something like a Loon. They may have something around that didn’t go at last season’s sales, and those boats are typically not way old.
I wouldn’t buy it, but the fix is easy…
with West Systems G-flex epoxy made just for plastics
jack L
pass on it
I don’t think I paid that much for mine new. And if it has a crack anywhere, it must have lived a very hard life.
G-Flex
I’ve tried repairs with G-Flex and it will work in some areas of the hull. Even following instructions and polarizing the poly, I’ve had it peel up around the edges if the repair is on the bottom in an area where it is constantly flexing. No way I would buy a cracked boat, there’s plenty of solid used kayaks for sale.
Loon 138 crack
Thanks for all the comments. Just needed some non-bias opinions to reinforce what I new already. Thanks and hope to return the favor sometime.
Additionally,
what happened to the boat to crack it like that? I paddle one of those and can’t figure what, outside of abuse or improper tie-down, would do that.
Why should any area of the bottom of
a rec kayak be “constantly flexing”? I can’t think of a reason. Even my ww kayaks aren’t “constantly flexing” during use.
Hull Flex
– Last Updated: Apr-15-11 10:42 PM EST –
I'm talking about the area from the forward edge of the seat to the foot pegs. This area is almost flat on Loons and it flexes every time it contacts a rock, root or gravel bar. The rivers are very low in my area at this time of year and the hull is flexing with every impact, small or large. It doesn't need to flex much to start epoxy repairs to peel up at the edges.
This is helped by feathering the epoxy at the edge of the patch to make it more flexible but it's less durable when applied in very thin layers. If you paddle rocky shallow rivers you may have a better idea of how much abuse the hull takes in the seat area.
Your WW boats are likely to be stiffer than a Loon. Loon hulls have large flat areas which have no internal support.
I’ve paddled a loon. G-flex repairs
can be reinforced with one or two concentric glass, polyester, or Kevlar patches, inside the boat. But isn’t a Loon made of crosslink poly? If so, that would make it more difficult for G-flex to adhere. Crosslink doesn’t weld very well either.
People tend to sit on cockpit rims when
getting in or out. A single perch shouldn’t harm the boat, but repeated perches may work the rim along a line and fatigue it until it cracks.
Because rec kayakers often never use a skirt, the manufacturers may not be serious enough about rim design. But rim cracks are common enough in whitewater boats. I’ve fixed cracks on a couple of mine.