Thoughts on how to repair? Necky Zoar Sport LV
Are Neckys HDPE?
Not really a transom. You need to thru- bolt it with machine screws nuts , washer and backing plate. How you get it in there I can’t see.
The nut plate inserts are likely toast. But you could also try epoxying them in…expect failure, temp.
Did you hit something in water or on car roof?
Friend grounded it. Sigh.
Are they HDPE? Crosslink or Linear? Websites say superlinear polyethylene and I’ve confirmed with
"Necky when in Canada used cross-linked in their poly SOTs identified by black flecks mixed in.
I was lucky enough to have one. I understand one drawback to cross-linked is that it is non recyclable but now very little poly from kayaks is being recycled anyway. " Mine has no black flecks. I’m going to do the test on a small piece where it either melts (linear) or sparks (cross-linked).
This means I can torch and weld it, I think. Was reading about repair glue. You flame it to make it porous and glue it.
If I can access it internally, I’m thinking I’d put in a backing plate with through bolts as well as do a plastic repair prior.
Thoughts?
That’s my understanding. I had a Canadian Necky SOT with the black flecks 20 years ago .It is still around and looks almost brand new. Without the specks we called them milk bottle plastic…
Good luck…
I used an epoxy made for repairing plastic kayaks recently. G-flex it’s called. One of the things you do to prep the repair area is to lightly torch it.
I used it to repair a crack in my kayak. My Uncle used the same stuff to repair a 6” triangle gash (two sides of the triangle broken, hanging on by the 3rd side) in a kayak he got for free. That was a couple years ago and it’s still holding up.
JB Weld has a type of epoxy called Plastic Binder. It should stick well to the PET (Poly Ethyl Trisomething)
that Necky has been using for quite a while.
You might be able to glue some other red plastic in place so it isn’t as noticeable.
I am with @Overstreet - best would be a bolt through with backing plate to support, with welding or sealant just to seal holes. Welding the plastic won’t provide that much strength, so likely will re-break again. Plus aged plastics often don’t like to be welded.
I had a Necky Looksha Sport that I went over a rock garden pour over with, and the water drained a bit earlier than I hoped, so the stern slammed down on the rock and sheered the rudder off. I chose a different direction for my fix - I removed the rudder. Even with the Looksha Sort being shorter than most (14’), I wasn’t going to be able to reach the inside of the stern to put nut and backing plate in.
Thanks to all for the feedback. I plan to torch and weld the panel as a repair and then depending on my access internally, I either create a backing plate with through bolts or an external mounting plate