Kayak Repair?

B

Billy

Active member
This isn't a duckboat, but I figured this would be a good place to start.
I have an Old Town Dirigo kayak that is built with a multi layer hull.
It has several cracks in the inner hull in the area that would be right under your calves.
They don't go through to the outer layer.
Any suggestions to how to keep them from becoming worse, or how to repair?
 
Billy

First thing to do is check Old Towns site for repair products and procedures for you boat. I've got an Old Town kayak and it sounds like yours is made the same way using the same materials. Be aware there are very very few choices as not many products will bond to the parent material.
 
i have a 17' oldtown canoe, using the same sandwich material method, and like dave said, not much sticks to it. i would think a specialty product would be needed, if you expect any kind of durability.
 
Old Town shows a patch kit on their website. I wasn't sure if that patch was the best way to go since the crack was not through the hull.
 
I have a green stick of plastic that someone gave me for repairing plastics when I had a kayak. Never had a hole, but still have the plastic stick around here somewhere. From what I understand, you clean the cracked area then use a torch and heat both surfaces and "weld" the crack using the green stick as the filler.

I have no idea what it's called, or who makes it, but if I can find the stick, I'll send it to you.

Where are you in MD?

-D
 
I am in Upper Marlboro.
I had thought about welding the plastic, but wasn't sure about mixing two different kinds of plastic.
This kayak is polyethylene.
It actually belongs to a friend of mine and the problem should have been a warranty issue, but he was given the run around pretty bad by Dick's and Old Town.
I am just trying to help him out so he doesn't have to worry about it splitting all the way when out in the middle of nowhere.
 
I asked my dad about the sticks b/c he was there when we got it from the guy. It's evidently a plastic that will fix holes in aluminum, not plastic.

So my advice is now useless and I still can't find the stick anyway.

Sorry about the trouble with Dick's and Old Town. I can't say I'm surprised. Customer service isn't what it should be anymore.

-D
 
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Old Town shows a patch kit on their website. I wasn't sure if that patch was the best way to go since the crack was not through the hull.
Click to expand...

Billy,

When it comes to asking a question and getting good helpful responses,,,,,,,,,,,,, a picture is worth a thousand words. Not knowing just what is or isn't "cracked" I can only give you a general suggestion.

The "liner" should be the same material as the hull proper. Repair steps would be the same. It appears the patch kit comes with some sort of two part resin and what looks to be fiberglass cloth. Should be pretty straight forward as in (a) remove any hardware that's in the way (b) sand the area to be repaired (c) mix the two part resin, apply cloth and resin (d) let cure and finish sand smooth.

I see they also offer a tube of glue. I'm betting that it is the same stuff that should be available locally at a hardware store. Devcon makes an epoxy glue that is especially formulated just for plastics. It will say so prominently on the face of the package. I've had very good results using this product to repair numerous items over the years.

Whether you can use the tube of glue or will need the complete repair kit will be a question only you or your friend can answer.
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Thanks Dave,
I will look into the Devcon.
I think that some of the manufactures are using it to attach waterproof bulkheads.
As far as pictures go, I guess it is time for me to learn how to post.
Billy
 
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Billy, I cant answer your question but I strongly recommend you contact Old Town. My son has an Old Town sot on kayak and just Monday I emailed them about a missing drain plug. They responde within 24 hours and offered to send me one free. You dont get customer service like that very often these days. good luck, Steve
 
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