I have a Sea Runner Hydra Tuf-Lite sea kayak from 1980s. It is still a great boat. Am trying to locate a source for a replacement styrofoam block that seals the area for the floatation bag at the front. Squirrels got in and chewed it. Ideas? Here is the the chewed block.
NRS sells foam in blocks, various shapes and sizes… Maybe you can get one big enough to carve a replacement
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Almost all kayaks use minicell foam (not styrofoam which is not durable). Google minicell foam supplier and you should find something that will ship to you, e.g, 2lbs Minicell Foam | Foam n More & Upholstery
You’ll need to cut, shape and cement some, depending on the size and thickness of foam you order. Weldwood contact cement is often used to glue the foam together. It can also be used to glue the foam piece to the inside hull. But, if there are gaps, you may use a thick flexible glue/sealant like Lexel (comes in squeeze tubes).
sing
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Thank you. I will try to get something. I appreciate it!
Thank you!
You might want to try getting a hard foam boogie or kick board and see if you can carve it down to size. Those things are cheap and this time of year they show up at thrift shops and yard sales – would not be much of an investment. I thought of that because my neighbor, an old surfer dude, carves hard foam to make surfboards (which he then covers with gelcoat or fiberglass). If you need it thicker, you can get construction adhesive that bonds styrofoam and could layer two of them.
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The more I look at that chewed up piece, I realize it is actually a bulkhead that divides the cockpit area from the storage area. It is not what I assumed to be a center piller piece that goes right down middle of the front of the cockpit (as in white water boats) and gives structural rigidity to deck and hull.
For bulkheads, dense minicell of 2" thickness is better for the application. Minicell is waterproof. At 2" thick, it is fairly “rigid” but still has some “give” to take compression forces on the hull. (Styrofoam would crack and break.) Evafoam is less dense and has big air bubbles. I have used these “cheaper” pieces to fill in the front of overly long cockpits (for my shorter legs). It works for this purpose, but noted that evafoam bubbles will burst under pressure and will also soak in some water, unlike minicell.
Don’t know where OP is with his/her repair. But, he needs to create a cardboard pattern of that bulkhead. Place the cardboard piece into where the bulkhead was and double check the fit. The cardboard pattern is the then traced onto minicell for the cutting lines. Because the inside of the hull has a taper, the 2" minicell bulkhead has to shaved around the edges to match the taper. Rough sandpaper and/or a Sureform tool is used to the shape the taper. Test every so often in the shaping process by sliding the piece into place of the old bulkhead. Lexel glue is good for this application because it is thick and fills out voids and provides a flexible airtight seal.
sing
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Wow. Thank you Sing for putting so much thought into this. I really appreciate it.
One thing with the foam. It cannot be glued in as it is the access point to the stern floatation bag. The only reason this was pulled out was to check that damage was not done by the squirrels to the floatation bag. It was intact. The foam block is back in right now for the hull support, but because of the damage from squirrels, it will allow water in the cockpit to seep down into the stern, so definitely will have to get something that will withstand pushing back into that area that is super strong as it is a tough fit as it also supplies hull support.
You are welcome. It may also be possible for you get a piece of .5" thick foam tile, shaped that, and glue it to the original piece. (I have done bulkheads with multiple pieces of foam tiles.) The edge of this piece needs a bead of glue/sealant to minimize/eliminate water seeping through from cockpit to storage space, or vice versa. You can find these tiles at home depot or dollar stores, etc.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/TrafficMaster-Black-Gray-24-in-x-24-in-x-0-47-in-Foam-Dual-Sided-Gym-Floor-Tiles-4-Tiles-Pack-16-sq-ft-24120HDUS/301152506
The starting point is getting a good fitting cardboard pattern. Sometimes, the first pattern has gaps when fitted into the hull. Note the gap size, then tape on additional piece of cardboard to fill that space.
Good luck with it.
sing
I had an old Sea Runner like that, and a complication is that it has an aluminum tube running the length of the kayak as a stiffener (the keelson). There’s no way too get a complete seal around that aluminum tube without using some sealant like Lexel. You can actually see the cutout in the chewed bulkhead in your photo. And the plastic in that old Hydra is much less stiff than today’s plastic so you do need the bulkhead as a stiffener.
So there two options. Make a bulkhead and don’t fret over having it seal well. Then rely on the floatation bag. Or, use a lot of Lexel and seal a bulkhead fully including around the aluminum tube. In that case, you really don’t need the float bag anymore.
I have a weirdo sea kayak that lacked bulkheads. I used airbags for flotation but the bags were problematic, so I replaced them with foam bulkheads. I went for a watertight seal around the bulkheads so I could eliminate the airbags. This worked well.
I believe I sourced the foam from Sweet Composites.
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Ask Pamlico14 to sell you the Gray Things.
(Warning: Old-timer joke)
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