Kayak Developed a crack

moc · August 11, 2022, 08:46:33 PM

I went crabbing last week and came away with 60 crabs. Most crabs were in the 3 to 6 foot depths. When I got back to shore and wheeled my kayak over to my vehicle, I thought it was extra heavy. I thought maybe it was all the gear and crabs and me being tired was the reason. After unloading and packing away everything, it was time to lift my kayak on top my vehicle, well it was still heavy. I immediately opened the front hatch and was greeted to 1.5 gallons of water in my kayak. That was a lot of water, especially since it was dry when I launched. I began to search for a crack in my hull, and I found it. It was an existing crack on the top rear of the kayak that a kayak shop patched for me a year ago and the patch failed. I plan to fix it this weekend myself. I bought a $19 80 watt plastic welder from Harbor Freight. It is basically a soldering iron with a flat end instead of a needle point end. I will use extra plastic from an old home depot bucket that I have in my garage. I will report back later on how it worked out.

Mr. Ray III · August 12, 2022, 05:28:11 AM

All the plastic welder is going to do is melt the top of the crack, its not going to get down into the meat and make a strong bond. Use epoxy resin and a very thin piece of fiberglass cloth over the crack.

rdbeard · August 12, 2022, 08:16:06 AM

what ray said plus drill a very small hole maybe 1/8 th in at each end of the crack before adding the epoxy. this relives any stress in the crack area. ps if the yak in made of abs plastic i'm not sure epoxy will stick

Elokiden · August 12, 2022, 09:17:47 AM

Man that sucks. Luckily you didn't take on more water than you did. Best of luck with your repair. I've seen lots of different techniques out there with the plastic welder. Remember, it doesn't need to be pretty, just to hold.
Keep us updated on how it works out.
Good luck 👍

moc · August 12, 2022, 10:49:00 AM

Thanks for all of the advice. I have repair one of my old kayaks, a Hobie Revolution that also developed a crack under the seat. I was able to repair with no further leaks of issue over many years. There is a problem with the epoxy sticking to that kind of plastic. I had a friend who did that and it did not last and actually began to peel off after multiple use in the water.

You are spot on about on about drilling a small hole on each side of the crack that I plan to do. And you guys are correct on adding mesh that I have with my plastic welder to make the area stronger. I would melt the mesh into the plastic while also adding more plastic like I did my older kayak. I will let you know how it comes out... Maybe next weekend I will do it.

moc · August 29, 2022, 04:52:05 PM

Well I tested my kayak out after I repaired the crack. It held up fine with no extra water getting in after a full day of crabbing. I used plastic pieces from an orange home depot bucket that was a very close color match for my kayak. I also melted some metal mesh into the plastic for extra strength. The mesh came in the plastic welding kit that I bought from Harbor Frieght.

Mr. Ray III · August 29, 2022, 05:31:26 PM

Quote from: moc on August 29, 2022, 04:52:05 PM
Well I tested my kayak out after I repaired the crack. It held up fine with no extra water getting in after a full day of crabbing. I used plastic pieces from an orange home depot bucket that was a very close color match for my kayak. I also melted some metal mesh into the plastic for extra strength. The mesh came in the plastic welding kit that I bought from Harbor Frieght.

Quote from: Mr. Ray III on August 12, 2022, 05:28:11 AM
All the plastic welder is going to do is melt the top of the crack, its not going to get down into the meat and make a strong bond. Use epoxy resin and a very thin piece of fiberglass cloth over the crack.

I stand corrected. However, I would be curious about to see some sort of controlled strength test.

mr.krabs · August 29, 2022, 07:49:28 PM

Good luck with the fix, Mach. I recently sold my hobie revo that I had enjoyed for 12 years on various crabbing excursions.
Ended up going much lighter with the new hobie lynx and it's been great other than the price tag. Running the line is going to be interesting, but hope to unravel it a least once this year.
Again, hope your repair holds.

Logical1 · August 29, 2022, 09:09:32 PM

Quote from: moc on August 29, 2022, 04:52:05 PM
Well I tested my kayak out after I repaired the crack. It held up fine with no extra water getting in after a full day of crabbing. I used plastic pieces from an orange home depot bucket that was a very close color match for my kayak. I also melted some metal mesh into the plastic for extra strength. The mesh came in the plastic welding kit that I bought from Harbor Frieght.

Glad to hear the repairs worked for you. Now, when are we going crabbing?

moc · August 30, 2022, 10:35:10 AM

Lets plan something soon. This weekend is out since I will be out of town for the Holidays, but let's talk.

moc · September 14, 2022, 08:29:15 AM

Sor far I have been out on my kayak 3 times after the repairs and inside my hull have remained dry!

Logical1 · September 14, 2022, 09:30:07 AM

That's good to hear Martin.

rbenash · January 19, 2023, 09:58:58 AM

I've been river/moving water fishing from kayaks for around 20 years or so. Recently one of my 10 year plus fishing (SOT) yaks finally wore a hole after years of sliding over rocks, ledges, etc. Best way to fix it was to carve out a bit around the slit, weld with the special sticks and some SS mesh then weld again at the end and file things down a bit. Has worked great ever since, and still using it.

Here's a great place to look if you want to do serious repair work might be spendy, but doing it right usually is:

https://www.polyvance.com/kayak-and-canoe-welders-1/kcwpro/

samiam · January 23, 2023, 09:48:12 AM

Quote from: rbenash on January 19, 2023, 09:58:58 AM
I've been river/moving water fishing from kayaks for around 20 years or so. Recently one of my 10 year plus fishing (SOT) yaks finally wore a hole after years of sliding over rocks, ledges, etc. Best way to fix it was to carve out a bit around the slit, weld with the special sticks and some SS mesh then weld again at the end and file things down a bit. Has worked great ever since, and still using it.

Here's a great place to look if you want to do serious repair work might be spendy, but doing it right usually is:

https://www.polyvance.com/kayak-and-canoe-welders-1/kcwpro/

I currently use a canoe, not a kayak, but have used SOT in the past, so this is not *entirely* an academic question. Has anyone tried to foam-fill some or all of the voids in a SOT yak? Seems like it might be doable, but it also raises the possibility of warping or destroying the shell from inside pressure if too much was used, or it was applied to the wrong spot. I'm asking in this thread because if it was possible, it might have aided the repair (or possibly delayed the need for it).

Logical1 · January 23, 2023, 10:36:12 AM

Quote from: samiam on January 23, 2023, 09:48:12 AM
I currently use a canoe, not a kayak, but have used SOT in the past, so this is not *entirely* an academic question. Has anyone tried to foam-fill some or all of the voids in a SOT yak? Seems like it might be doable, but it also raises the possibility of warping or destroying the shell from inside pressure if too much was used, or it was applied to the wrong spot. I'm asking in this thread because if it was possible, it might have aided the repair (or possibly delayed the need for it).

samiam, along with the risks that you mentioned, there is also the weight and the permanent loss of potentially needed space. Another option would be one of the very light weight and removable Air Bladders designed specifically for this purpose.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0047H7ONS/?tag=bca1-20

Jack