Thermoform Repair

Let’s say I have a crack in a thermal molded boat. How do I patch it? Does anybody out there have anything bad or good to say about these kayaks? I’m thinking of buying one and I’d be interested to hear about the experiences of others. Thanks.

each manufacturer has their own…
…guidelines for repair; for some brands I believe they simply recommend crazy glue.



This material can and does crack. It is not a miracle product and has it’s pros and cons just as any other hull material does.



Is much less expensive (& will withstand impact better) than fiberglass.

It’s certainly lighter and more attractive than rotomold plastic & doesn’t have the deformity issues, but is not as suitable for impact/abrasion.



Many buyers remain wary of it even though it’s been on the market for nearly a decade now. Seems to me if there were significant problems with it the manufacturers would probably phase it out instead of introducing more models utilizing the material.

repair thermo formed
This is the link to Hurricane Kayaks repair http://tinyurl.com/2u7upq

Our dealer said he’s easily repaired one by drilling a very small hole at each end of the crack to keep it from getting bigger and then using plastic weld from the local Ace hardware to cover the crack from the inside. The plastic weld he showed us was a single tube with no mixing but he said two part epoxy would have worked too. Don’t know if this same easy process is the same for other brands. Durability was one of our concerns when we bought our boats but after several years of pretty tough abuse we see that we worried for nothing-Trylon is really tough stuff.

I’m intrigued with the post a month ago about using truck bed liner stuff on the scrape zones of the bow and stern. Seems like a good way to protect the composite gel coats and add some years to thermo-formed boats. Hope to read more from paddlers who have tried this.

Maggie

Thermoformed repair

– Last Updated: Mar-19-07 12:58 PM EST –

I have a thermoformed Eddyline. It's tough stuff. I've banged it around some, but I haven't had to repair it. I have used Devcon Plastic Welder to attach seat hooks and it worked fine.

Not all thermoforming is the same. It's good to research the different manufacturers. I've heard good things about Eddyline and QCC. I only have expereince with Eddyline. I think we will see more and more companies use thermoforming.

Link to Eddyline repair instructions:
http://www.eddyline.com/Eddyline_carerepair.aspx

I have had a
Hurricane Tracer since 04. it is a great boat light, nice looking and inexpensive. It has been dropped, run aground, and several other other thing that I am to embarrassed to mention with no damage. The company has great customer service. When you call you generally get on of the owners not some $5.00/hr “Customer service” person.



Check out their products and prices (the best).

I e-mailed Hurricane
and got an answer right back as to winter storage. They did say it’s better to store the kayak so it is not outside in Michigan’s winter temps,(windchills as low as 20 below) which can make the plastic brittle & increase chance of impacting and cracking. It also means the water is hard so I wouldn’t be going out anyway!



Once the ambient stays above 40 degrees good to go. And never a worry about oilcanning in temps 98 degrees and higher.



I just took my TampicoS out in river waters in the 30s, (air temp high 38) with a frosting of snow and about 10 percent ice in the stiller parts of the Huron River. Had no issues w. the cold putting in or taking out, tieing on, etc. The river had all kinds of underwater stumps and concrete blocks in it, too & I found a couple :wink: There were two other Hurricanes besides mine and we all did fine.



Their customer service is tops. They have been at the thermoform table longer than most of the other companies. In a prior version they were Aquaterra.

Hurricane was Aquaterra?
I thought that was Perception’s origin…



Hurricane I believe was a totally new company when they started up in about 1998 or '99 (when thermoform was very new). Perhaps the founder(s) formerly worked for Aquaterra?

Perception and Aquaterra
were supposedly partners, then a couple designers split off w. new partners to form Hurricane AS, while Perception got swallowed by Confluence.



Sorry I can’t find the link. It might have been an old thread in the archives here. Or maybe it was the owner the Sports Connection in Jackson. He was telling me a lot about how Confluence got so big and that may have been part of the timeline.

Hurricane rep
told me that Aquaterra became Hurricane Aqua Sports and started to develop the Theromforming processes for kayaks. He said they were the first to start to use it. Also said that Perception hired Hurricane to teach them how to use the thermoform equipment. He then said that Hurricane didn’t tell them everything.



It seem that Hurricane fewer seconds and miss molds that other companies. That is why their prices are lower.



However this could all be “sales” talk. . . he was trying to sell me the Tracer

& he succeeded :smiley:
say Ice, if your lady wants to demo a Tampico140S they are gonna put one in the demo fleet at Riverside Kayak Connection in Wyandotte on Biddle Street.

Yes he did
And I’m very happy with it.



Thank for the info . . . but a new boat purchase may have to wait for a while.

wait a while
mark this down— in midSeptember Quiet World Sports in Jackson begins selling off their 2007 fleet at much better than demo prices in wonderful condition.



Don’t know for sure yet but they may very well have a Tampico140 in the fleet… they always have the other Tampicos…



in the meantime, demo for the fun & knowledge, so is she likes the kayak and the right time comes up…

METHYL METHACRYLATE
Nasty stuff but it bonds to ABS like none other. Use it conjunction with drywall tape (the fibreglass mesh kind) and you will have a strong bond that can hold a piece that was completely sheared off together. Fibreglass will also work as a repair medium.



Methyl Methacrylate is a two part glue. Bell Canoe sells it as a Royalex repair solution under the name Bell Super Bond.



Valley Kayak is gluing in their bulkheads in composite boats with this glue. Current Designs uses it to glue the deck and hull of composite boats together. So it is strong dependable glue.