Patching Holes in Plastic Capella

Some how-to advice needed - I picked up a used plastic P&H Capella 166 that the original owner set up for fishing. Holes were drilled for mounting a fishing rod holder and clip holders for the paddle. I want to fill those holes.



I can do it temporarily with some silicone seal, but would like something more permanent. Any suggestions for me?



AAM

Stainless steel nuts, bolts, and smear
liberally with something like Sikaflex or 3m 5200.

hippo patch
It will be grey but it won’t leak. On one boat I just used nylon bolts and nuts and some silicone sealant. More work than the hippo patch but it doesn’t leak yet.

Plastic welder
you buy it and I’ll watch!

Hippo Patch
Hey, this stuff is cool. It sounds like the tape that instructor Bill Lozano gave us to do on-water repair of a hole in a kayak hull during a coastal paddling class (not a real hole, but it would have done the trick). The stuff stuck to the wet fiberglass hull with no problem.



Alan

suggestion…
this was just covered in a similiar, earlier post but the OP disappeared ! suggestions where :

1- melt poly shavings and fill in holes with that.

2-http://www.northsearesins.com/

3- Prijon Kayaks makes poly “sticks” that can be used in hot melt glue guns

4 -buy the sticks downhill skiers use to repair their ski bottoms

welder
Most poly boats can’t be welded, Prions can and a very few others, the material is different. Not much sticks to poly permanantly either.



Bill H.

There now is a two part Epoxy out

– Last Updated: Jan-28-10 9:23 PM EST –

made especially for plastic.
You can get it in most big hardware stores.
It comes in the double plunger that squeezes the proper amounts out of each tube, and it is less than five bucks.
If the holes are vertical, mix up a filler with it so it is a paste, and won't run through the hole, or put a piece of tape under the hole so it won't drip through.

Cheers,
JackL

Will try it
Thanks, Jack - the special adhesive silicone seal does not seem to stick, so I’ll check out the epoxy.



With the silicone, I put on masking tape to keep it in place. When I pulled the tape after a day of cure time, the silicone wants to come off with the tape…



Alan

West Epoxy
Might try calling West Epoxy (not West Marine) and talking to them about your problem. They are easier I’ve found to talk to on the phone vs. online. They have have some sucess with patching plastics and always are helpful with advice, for free.



Bill H.

If you used actual silicone sealer…

– Last Updated: Jan-27-10 7:59 AM EST –

...and you're not using the term "silicone" generically to refer to another type of sealant, you are going to have problems getting anything else to stick to the surface due to silicone residue. You can clean the surface with hexane (if you can find it) and that may help, but there's no guarantees when you're dealing with polyethylene.

Most silicone sealers are basically crap that's only good for caulking around bathtubs. As you discovered, they have very poor bond strength and are largely useless for anything to do with kayaking, plus they leave the aforementioned residue, that creates all manner of headaches.

If all you're filling is screw holes, you don't need to get overly worked up about it. Any decent, non-silicone sealant will do the job. Products like Sikaflex, 3M 4200 or 5200, Lexel, etc. will work just fine. You can put a piece of Hippo Patch or one of the other tapes on the inside for extra insurance if you like. Filling the holes with a P-Tex candle (sold by ski shops) is another simple option.

BTW, here's a trick for making anything hold better in a hole. Bevel the inside and outside edges with a countersink before filling hole. That creates a patch that's larger on the inside and outside than in the middle, effectively locking it in place.

Where are these holes?

– Last Updated: Jan-27-10 9:00 AM EST –

Is a big hole is in a place where you might consider making it BIGGER and install a day hatch there?

On my poly boats when I repositioned my seats or foot rails I was left with a pair of 1/4" holes. Initially, I just used weathersealing tape to cover the hope from both sides with some goop or similar in the hole but not around it (the tape is holding it in place). After a couple of seasons - these patches still look like new! In fact, I have used weathersealing tape these on four boats and only one had a filler in the holes and I have not felt the need to fix them any more permanently. But these are used for day paddles only so even if something gave it would not matter with such small holes...

For the rod holder the hole is probably bigger, at least hte size of a quarter I would think - you would want to put a piece of plastic to fill it in, then weld around the edges. I have not tried the epoxies, but somehow doubt they would be strong enough for a large repair without some mechanical reinforcements (eithre like Brian suggested with bevelling and very precise patch size or with some rivets or similar) to hold a patch in place.