Old style Impex kayak hatch gaskets

-- Last Updated: Aug-16-14 3:45 PM EST --

Does anyone here know where of a source the round gasket material use on the hatches of older Impex kayaks? I have an old 2001 Susquehanna that has the gasket attached to the hatch.

It looks like the took a piece of black plastic trim molding and some round automotive type gasket material and bonded it to the trim strip to make the gasket. This arrangement was reasonably watertight until the gasket came apart. Mid-Canada Fiberglass is out of business so parts are no longer available.

Does anyone know of a source for the round gasket material they used or know what adhesive they used to bond the gasket material to the trim strip at the factory? I have tried several automotive places with no success.

This helped me
Not sure what Impex used in 2001 that was any different than a normal hatch rim, but this video helped me replace a cracked NDK round hatch, includes what adhesive she used to repair.



http://www.sherrikayaks.com/2013/01/24/replacing-a-broken-hatch-rim-part-1/

I would think the softer foam from …

– Last Updated: Aug-18-14 11:33 PM EST –

Kayakoutfitting might work...y/n? It compresses pretty well...

http://kayakoutfitting.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=20&zenid=vqi91apqr1dd440j6qp25qfbh6

It kind of sounds like a homemade mod....seems as thought Impex used little if any softer material such as foam...but then I could be wrong..;-)

Steve

Impex Hatches
I’m having a similar issue like Yakfisher.



I came across an old Impex boat, one of the problems it has is a leaky hatch. I haven’t seen the boat in person but I have a vague idea how those hatches work. I think it’s similar to the 2-part system with the outer hard cover lid and the inner neoprene cover that goes over the opening, except the Impex ones ditch the neoprene in favor of a rubber gasket that’s glued around the lid.



You might get an idea from this pic: http://goo.gl/y8OuYw

(I came across a better photo showing the hatch open but I can’t find it again.)



In lieu of finding a material to replace the gasket, does anyone know if these hatches might work with custom neoprene covers? I just don’t know if there’s a rim around them to accept the neoprene or if there’s enough space to make this work.