repair question
- Thread starter upcruiser
- Start date
vanderpooch
Authentic Adventurer
boatertalk.com would be a good source to start
DaveInDenver
Middle Income Semi-Redneck
Here in Denver we have a fantastic plastic supplier, Plasticare. I get WilderNest supplies there, my wife gets her model stuff there, people building boats and airplanes get their stuff there. I dunno if it helps you much being in MI, though...
http://www.plasticareinc.com/
http://www.plasticareinc.com/
upcruiser
Perpetual Transient
Thanks for the tips guys. I will investigate both. I've been surpised at just how fussy the type of plastic needs to be. I've tried 3 different things now to no avail. Finding something that has the same flex and strength charetertiscs seems to be the challenge along with the fact that once heated, the stuff I used became brittle.
It depends on what your boat is made out of. I have a plastic welder designed for repairing plastic radiators but I've welded a lot of boating plastic with it. You buy welding rods based on the kind of plastic to be welded. Someone on mountainbuzz just bought a similar welder and was welding a kayak. I think the basic type of kayak plastic is either linear or cross linked polyethylene.
Lots of kayakers seem to be using Bituthane to fix holes in their boats. Probably not as pretty as a weld but a pretty simple fix.
Here's a link to the mountainbuzz thread with a link embedded in the thread about the welder:
http://www.mountainbuzz.com/forums/f11/bitchethane-25465.html
Lots of kayakers seem to be using Bituthane to fix holes in their boats. Probably not as pretty as a weld but a pretty simple fix.
Here's a link to the mountainbuzz thread with a link embedded in the thread about the welder:
http://www.mountainbuzz.com/forums/f11/bitchethane-25465.html
grahamfitter
Expedition Leader
A friend of mine has successfully welded splits in the hull of several Pyranha Micros which have cross-linked plastic. One split was about six inches long and I was surprised the weld held for a couple of seasons before leaking again. If you need it I'll find out more information about that.
Prijon sells plastic rods which go in hot glue guns for repairing small holes and splits in their kayaks. That works fine but usually needs a heat gun to help if the crack is tiny. I have a Prijon Fly with a couple of small fixes.
I know a few people who paddle Liquid Logic "El Jefe" creek boats and routinely split hulls on innocuous rocks. The plastic seems to be too brittle and its not possible to fix it. To be honest I don't know why anybody paddles them other than the shock-absorbing suspension in the bulkhead.
Apparently duct tape works! You have to work at it a while but here's a link to a site that claims it works wonders: http://oregonkayaking.net/how_to/boat_repair.html
Good luck!
Cheers,
Graham
Prijon sells plastic rods which go in hot glue guns for repairing small holes and splits in their kayaks. That works fine but usually needs a heat gun to help if the crack is tiny. I have a Prijon Fly with a couple of small fixes.
I know a few people who paddle Liquid Logic "El Jefe" creek boats and routinely split hulls on innocuous rocks. The plastic seems to be too brittle and its not possible to fix it. To be honest I don't know why anybody paddles them other than the shock-absorbing suspension in the bulkhead.
Apparently duct tape works! You have to work at it a while but here's a link to a site that claims it works wonders: http://oregonkayaking.net/how_to/boat_repair.html
Good luck!
Cheers,
Graham
upcruiser
Perpetual Transient
Interesting reading guys. Yeah, I tried duct tape, gorrilla tape works pretty well. I'm thinking that I might try the bituthane route. I think I even have some leftover in my garage somewhere. I'm still collecting ideas though before my next attempt. Right now some ski base black graphite p tex is plugging it up. Gorrilla tape over that and I'm going to see how it holds. I think it is a very temporary fix though.
vanderpooch
Authentic Adventurer
Did you find what your looking for?
This guy is here in Chattanooga, he is a westy guy and kayaker. He is a real helpful and knowledable guy. drop him an email and i am sure he can point you in the right direction.
http://www.kayakwesty.com/pws.html
This guy is here in Chattanooga, he is a westy guy and kayaker. He is a real helpful and knowledable guy. drop him an email and i am sure he can point you in the right direction.
http://www.kayakwesty.com/pws.html
upcruiser
Perpetual Transient
I haven't really followed up on the repair yet. I did the ptex and gorrilla tape and haven't had a chance to try it yet. The rivers are all pretty low right now since we haven't had much rainfall at all and there hasn't been a good surf day yet this month! I will try to reach Necky and see if they can assist. Vanderpooch, thanks for the link. Appreciate all the help guys.
upcruiser
Perpetual Transient
Ah, now way, that's right. Well if it isn't a hassle, I'm just trying to find a hunk of the plastic that they make their whitewater boats from. Its a Necky Crux (though I have been calling it the Crax lately, haha). Its a creek boat and I suspect that all of their whitewater boats use a similar grade of material. Its yellow too, but I don't care what color a scrap would be. That would be awesome but if its a pain, no worries! Thanks Brett.
upcruiser
Perpetual Transient
well, if I try to cover the whole thing, I'd probably need something at least 4x2"