C-Forum

hey ya'll,

i was planning to weld up a bunch of holes in my wavesport score left over from kayak outfitting. i heard a nasty rumor that the WS boats from this era (around 2000) would not take a weld in the normal fashion. anybody have any experience with this or know for sure?

if it isn't weldable, any advice for sealing up the holes?

thanks

I can't remember ever welding to fill in a bolt hole - I'm going to go with one of my top 5 answers to boat problems - "Goop!" I've used it to fill in quite a few holes including all the extraneous bolt holes in my Rockit. They held from when I set it up til when I sold it - 6 years? Put tape on the outside to keep it smooth.

depending on where it is can't you just put a bolt with a neoprene washer in it? if you are afraid the weld won't take, bolt it with a bolt and neoprene washer and a lock nut. it worked for my remix where i didn't want to ruin any of the kayak outfitting in case i didn't like it, but i do!

Or a nylon nut and bolt!

i kept my big ex pretty dry with duct tape. i'm sure if i would gone for the gorilla tape and a heat gun it actually would have been dry.

They weld... just take your time and work the material in. Metal mesh is a help too... but if it was me I'd goop a nut / bolt in place and leave it be... faster, cheaper & .... easier! My $.01!!

Gougeon bros g flex is the answer.

Speaking from personnel experience welding cracks in various boats including my Wavesport Y; All welds eventually fail. Cross-link plastic boats don't hold welds as well as linear plastic boats, but they are weldable.


For bolt holes you should be able to get a water tight seal. I use the welder and methods described here: www.urethanesupply.com/kcwelder.php

Skip the mesh. If the boat is cross-link the mesh won't melt into the plastic. Bring the boat to Knoxville and I'll be glad to show you what little I know.

Hope this helps,

Randy

thanks for all the input....

randy: wow that welder is cheaper than i would have guessed.... i appreciate the offer to give a hand w/ your welder. i might just have to take you up on that some time--i did just get given a free, cracked jackson super star the other day....

i decided to go cheap and easy, ie. what i had in the house, and put some shoe goo in the holes i wont need, it seems to have done the job. i put duct tape over the holes i wanted to temporarily cover (i'll need them later when i add hip pads), and it seems to do a decent enough job as well....

the boat is just about outfitted....i'm excited to get in out on the water.

so, on the subject of welding, anyone know how to best fix a 4" crack in a jackson boat?

and where can you find g flex (other than ordering online)?

West Marine has a full line of epoxies, cloth, pigment, etc. http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/st ... SearchView

The closest ones to you are probably the Knoxville store and the one near Lake Norman. Or you could get some guy who lives near Lake Norman and drives through Asheville a lot (like me) to bring you what you need. I'll be coming your way at least twice more this month.