My son bought a used St. Croix Mad River canoe that has a small impact crack about 2 inches long. It goes through all 2 layers, the outside, the core and the inside surface shows a crack a little bigger maybe 3 inches long.
Can I use regular fiverglass resin to make a repair or should I use another material? Duct tape would keep the water out, but looking for a better fix.
Thanks for any help.
here you go
http://www.oceankayak.com/product_support/repair.html
Scroll down and you’ll see a section on poly repair.
Good site. Made “welding” easier to
visualize. Might be worth seeing if there is an experienced plastic welder in the area.
For lazy people not stressing boats that much, the hot duct tape method often lasts a while. Involves cleaning inside around the crack, applying several layers of quality duct tape, and heating with an iron. A guy, who just uses his old Dancer to paddle upstream and sun on the rocks on the Chattahoochee, told me a couple of years ago that he had a crack near the seat. I told him about the duct tape and iron method. He still appears every warm day I am over there, and the initial repair still works.
Thanks!
Thanks for the link!
polyethelene repairs
– Last Updated: Feb-08-07 12:33 PM EST –
West Marine now sells a form of glue for poly...repair. You don't have to use a heat source. It's like Epoxy resin, only it sticks to Polyethylene. Good luck. oops..they can SPELL it right too!!! Unlike me. LOL
Devcon Plastic Welder
Wal Mart carries this product. It is a two-part adhesive that, like epoxy gets quite warm as it kicks off, which it does in a HURRY!
I used a bunch of it doing a mod on a composite Hunter 216 sailboat. The stuff sticks like CRAZY, and is sandable when cured.
To make a strong bond in a crack,using something like a Dremel tool with a carbide pointed bit to open the crack into a “V” shape would allow you to get enough of the Devcon into the void to get a good purchase on the poly.
Try it, you’ll LIKE it! 
Bob
Your experience with a composite boat
does not predict whether the product will work with a polyethelene boat.
Devcon not for polyethylene
Thanks to the recommendation in this thread, I just bought a package of Devcon Plastic Welder from Walmart to try using for cracks in a royalex canoe. Sounds like it should work for Royalex, however the package specifically states “Does not bond to Polyethylene or Polypropylene Plastics.”