I purchased a used Romany. The cockpit rim has cracks in the bonding material on both sides. Does anyone have experience with refitting or otherwise repairing one of these? SKUK website has a short writeup on refitting a cockpit rim.
They state in part: Fixing Rim: Fill the space between the cockpit rim and deck. We use a mixture of Gelcoat/Pre-Gel/Catalyst or you could use a Methacrylate Adhesive e.g. Plexus MA300 or Adekit A300. http://www.seakayakinguk.com/sea-kayaks/top-tips/24-repairs/294-refitting-cockpit-rim
If anyone has experience with doing this repair or any suggestions in general, it would be appreciated.
Gelcoat doesn’t have much inherent strength. I disagree with the recommendation. I’d use epoxy with filler added to a paste-like consistency. There are a ton of resources on fiberglassing that would do this more justice than I can.
I was surprised to read they used Gelcoat/Pre-Gel/Catalyst. But if that is what they use for initial install it must work fairly well because I can find no articles or YouTube videos on doing the repair so it must not be a big issue, yet SKUK does have it under there repair section, so who knows. I agree though that an epoxy solution sounds better to me. Personally I find the whole idea of the cockpit rim being a bonded insert a little strange. I would expect most manufactures glass the rim to the deck.
Considering that they have never learned how to build a boat properly in the first place, it doesn’t surprise me that their repair instructions are as sketchy as their construction. Thickened marine epoxy is the best way to go and arguably the way it should have been bonded in the first place.
West Systems website will have a few or more options with different purposes in mind. Stir in powder to your desired consistency. Do not breath it some is light and flies right in your face if not careful.
I’ve used Cabosil (fumed silica) and chopped fiberglass as fillers. Cabosil makes a paste that’s easy to spread smoothly, but glass fibers can be a bit lumpy. Both make the epoxy harder to sand. I’ve also used talc as a filler, but it’s somewhat soft and doesn’t thicken the epoxy as well as the other fillers, so it’s more likely to run.
Regardless of the filler you choose, mix it to a non-running consistency and don’t clamp it too hard. Otherwise, you’ll squeeze all of the glue out of the joint and it will be weak.