Kayak Repair

After a few seasons of dragging my P13 up and down beaches, its keel has suffered serious wear, and also have some deep gouges. I am thinking of rebuilding the worned out area using polyethylene weld rod. Polyethylene has a melting point around 250 F, but all the heat guns I have seen have temperatures starting above 500 F. I am afraid of melting a hole in the keel.

Do you guys have any first hand experience or tips you can share on how to go about this repair?

Check out the link below, I posted some info regarding what tools to use and pictures of the finished product on page 2.

http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php/topic,24584.0.html

Preventing gouges from dragging is the easiest solution, though not always possible. Hit up Ocean Kayak they will usually send you the correct weld rod for free (color/material I think its HDPE not normal PE), unlike Wilderness Systems who charge you for weld rod. Harbor Freight has a gun for like $70 its temperature and nozzle adjustable (if I remember right).

If you have not broken through the hull you may be able to get away with putting on an epoxy "shield" then when it wears down do it again.

Your repair with welding rod may work just fine. Another option that I chose was to reinforce the area where the yak drags (I do recommend getting wheels, don't do as I do) with a patch of fiberglass and an epoxy made specifically for plastic application. This stuff is available at West Marine, called G/flex. I bought fiberglass cloth there as well.

The repair is not pretty, but it is functional. If it wears through, I can apply another layer of cloth and glue. Not ready for a new boat yet!

Paul

  Hmmmm ,  I've heard / read   repeated heating will weaken the surrounding  plastic.      I'd suggest welding it only if you absolutely have to.

     can you attach a shield piece  ( skid plate ) to that area  ?       Make up a section that can be mechanically attached and sealed with goop.   Then shape it with a sander or plane

   The heat guns put out 500 degrees , but like welding metal, you move the hot air stream into the weld puddle and out again to control the amount of heat  needed to fuse the materials together.          Rather than buy weld rod, you can also shave  some plastic off of  other areas of the boat.   Like around inside the edges of  the hatches possibly ?    Unless you need a really big piece.   

Check out the link below, I posted some info regarding what tools to use and pictures of the finished product on page 2.

http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php/topic,24584.0.html

That was a great repair job. Do you have pictures of the kayak that fell off the truck?

Hit up Ocean Kayak they will usually send you the correct weld rod for free (color/material I think its HDPE not normal PE), unlike Wilderness Systems who charge you for weld rod. Harbor Freight has a gun for like $70 its temperature and nozzle adjustable (if I remember right).

I will call Ocean Kayak tomorrow to try to score some welding rods. As for the plastic welder, I am looking at this:

http://www.harborfreight.com/plastic-welding-kit-with-air-motor-and-temperature-adjustment-96712.html

Is this the one you were refering to? I hope it will work.

can you attach a shield piece  ( skid plate ) to that area  ?       Make up a section that can be mechanically attached and sealed with goop.   Then shape it with a sander or plane

That sounds like a great idea. Unfortunately, my P13 has no screw holes for securing a skid plate, unlike the new tridents. 

That was a great repair job. Do you have pictures of the kayak that fell off the truck?

I'll have to look and see if I still have any of the pictures on a USB drive somewhere. To give you an idea of the extent of the damage, the yak had roughly a fist size hole in the back of the keel and about an inch missing off the nose. My buddy has said that since I did the reconstructive surgery repair it has been water tight and he hasn't had any issues.

That sounds like a great idea. Unfortunately, my P13 has no screw holes for securing a skid plate, unlike the new tridents. 

If you really want a skid plate I would recommend fixing the current damage first and once complete then request at least a 4x6 inch flat piece of plastic scrap from the manufacturer ( like the 1st picture below) cut to size and weld on top of the current repair. This can be accomplished by welding the edges of the sacrificial piece to the yak plastic. Just make sure you smooth the edges of the additional plastic so it doesn't catch while dragging or scooting it.

I had a great big gash in the Ride135 a few weeks ago.  Bought a cheap heat gun (customer supplies the patience) and used some scrap hdpe to fill it in.  actually blew a big hole in it, so I took  all the material that would have filled the hole and manipulated it in the heat with a 1/2" hdpe rod until very "wet", then reheated the edges of the hole and just sorta swirled it all in, the hole is uniformly patched, very thick and fully part of the boat.  It even looks great 

note, when playing with hdpe, it seems that it will only really bond when both "wet" surfaces are mixed together.  otherwise it won't form "crosslink ?" bonds and will instead slowly peel up (or rapidly when subjected to my lab tests).

so far, after 6 or 7 hours on the water, it is holding perfectly.  I'll try to remember to get pics this weekend.

jim

Hit up Ocean Kayak they will usually send you the correct weld rod for free (color/material I think its HDPE not normal PE), unlike Wilderness Systems who charge you for weld rod. Harbor Freight has a gun for like $70 its temperature and nozzle adjustable (if I remember right).

I will call Ocean Kayak tomorrow to try to score some welding rods. As for the plastic welder, I am looking at this:

http://www.harborfreight.com/plastic-welding-kit-with-air-motor-and-temperature-adjustment-96712.html

Yes thats the one.

Is this the one you were refering to? I hope it will work.

I had many of almost-all-the-way-through holes. I used the caveman torch w/the flathead tip.

I had many of almost-all-the-way-through holes. I used the caveman torch w/the flathead tip.

I forgot about you repairing your prowler after your meeting with the landlord. The repair looks eerie with red welding rod, almost looks like the kayak is bleeding. Was that the effect you were going for?

note, when playing with hdpe, it seems that it will only really bond when both "wet" surfaces are mixed together.  otherwise it won't form "crosslink ?" bonds and will instead slowly peel up (or rapidly when subjected to my lab tests).

Thanks for the tip!

I had many of almost-all-the-way-through holes. I used the caveman torch w/the flathead tip.

I forgot about you repairing your prowler after your meeting with the landlord. The repair looks eerie with red welding rod, almost looks like the kayak is bleeding. Was that the effect you were going for?

it is now called the P13 Bleeding series.

note, when playing with hdpe, it seems that it will only really bond when both "wet" surfaces are mixed together.  otherwise it won't form "crosslink ?" bonds and will instead slowly peel up (or rapidly when subjected to my lab tests).

jim

Jim is correct.....i had to heat both the kayak surface and the patch. I just waived the torch above the gouge until it "glazes/becomes a little shiny". Then quickly applied a small amount of melted patch into it. If I spent too much time in the same area, it would begin to sag. So I worked two gouges at the same time. Alternating from one to another. I also had a bucket of ICE COLD water and two sponges. As soon as it began to soften up, I'd apply a cold compress directly to it with the sponges, inside and outside. It worked out great!!