kayak repair (plastic)

[rynosaurus]

hi guys

i have aquired an old kayak from a friend and noticed that it had a few pin holes in it. decided to grab some plastic and a flame torch and "weld" over top lol. whoops. ended up with a hole about 2cm wide and 8cm long and still have the other pin holes/scrapes to fix.
just wondering if anyone knows of some places i could get to fix this. i live on the northside of brisbane so someone out my way would be awesome

cheers
ryan

[pipifin]

I have heard that a soldering iron works best on the small holes or cracks...... not 100% though but makes sense.... Do you know what make it is? I'd search for the manufacturer and ask their advice.
Or if it is poly, even a poly water tank manufacturer should be able to help you out.

[Just_chips]

Look up someone who does plastic welding. I don't know of any but you should be able to find something. If it is repairable it will probably need a patch put over the whole thing.

I wouldn't worry too much about cosmetic scrapes, they won't affect the performance, and provided the other holes are small (i.e.1/8 diameter or so) and above the water line these can be easily repaired. I would suggest a 10 gauge, round head self tapping stainless screw with a dob of silicone around the head to help seal it driven in by hand (no power tools). Flatten any bur or lifting around the hole first to get a good seal.

I reckon you should post some pics of the damage to show people what not to do? LMAO

Kev

[GBC]

As above - pics or ban haha :)

If you know what brand the yak is, you should be able to find out what type of plastic she is - very important that you have this info.

Then any of the bumper tech guys can fix it no worries, but you do need to know what she's made of first so it can be fixed with the right patch.

I managed to repair a couple of stress fractures around scuppers on one of my yaks with a screwdriver heated up with a gas gun. Agricultural, but it worked.

[tunaticer]

Try giving the guys at Viking Kayaks a call, they are hole sawing yaks to bit every day of the week. One of those cutouts would probably do fine. They might even offer to patch it for you for a few bucks maybe.

[rynosaurus]

77737

well heres the pic - bit messy

thanks for the tips guys
its a perception minnow but thats all i know and after a google i all i can find is other peoples sweet modded minnows.
tunaticer - thats an awesome idea (i would prolly give it a go again if i knew the plastic was similar and prolly just do it with a heat gun instead of the flame torch)
if anyone has an idea on what plastic to use that would be very much appreciated
cheers
ryan

[GBC]

http://www.perceptionkayaks.com/pages/index/customer_service/care_and_repair

They are all pe by the looks of it.

[rynosaurus]

Whoops sorry - was looking for a minnow as the manufacturer not perception. Thank you very much or your assistance.
Woot looks good

[Gon Fishun]

If your stuck and not to far from Caboolture, try Steve, Creative perspex and plastic.5495 3634.

[choppa]

seeing that your on the north side,,,theres also a manufacturer on the corner of Lear Jet Drive and Spitfire Ct in Caboolture,,,, (basically behind the Sundowner Pub and Mcdonanalds),,, he has a variety of yaks etc that do not come out of the moulds properly sitting behind his complex waiting for the dumpster each day,,, cut of a piece and screw/bond it on or ask his advice,,,

choppa

[Damned67]

Give Ben at Qld Mobile Plastic repairs a call on 0402 288 384. He's a bumper guy, but I know he's done rain tanks and poly boats in the past. He's a fisherman too.
Cheers

[stonecold]

Its not as hard as it looks. Do a search on youtube "plastic welding". I found a video of a fella in pakistan or india doing some repairs one of those old HD plastic BMX wheels. Thought if he can do it so can I...guess what, I can do it!, (with some encouragement from Rabbi) I had a pin hole in the bottom of my viking espri. Used a soldering iron and some zip ties to fix it. Some HD poly pipe could be useful for fixing the larger hole. Goodluck

[rabbi]

Mmmm, Pakistani Perforated Plastic Patching Perfected!!!

The way you were sinking I thought you had done a Titanic number on the Espri.
The super glue comes along as a quick fix next time mate.

Using zip ties and a small soldering iron can be very effective but Practice on someone elses yak first.:P

[Feral]

Soldering will do the job fin on the small holes, it will work on the big one to if you have all day ;)

I've done quite a few repairs on my old yak fleet with my trusty dick smith variable temp iron. If you need donor plastic to do the job, fit a hatch in the deck somewhere.