C-Forum

I noticed that the saddle in my L'Edge, which I bought secondhand, is not glued in. It seems to be just wedged under the thwarts and it has some side-to-side movement I would like to eliminate. I know PE can be hard to get glue to stick to. My plan is to pull out the thwarts and saddle, rough up the PE with some sandpaper and then use Weldwood contact cement to glue it in. Will this work? Is there any danger of weakening the plastic? (I am guessing not, but would like to hear from others.)

Thanks

/\ that's exactly what you need to do /\

Since you will have the saddle out you might want to put in another pass through tube, and consider putting a dowel in the saddle at the back so that you can put a long screw threw the thwart to add extra stabilization. Some people use small diameter PVC rather than wooden dowel.

If you do a dowel, use plastic...the wood will rot quickly, as it cannot dry when it is stuffed down in the foam. Ask me how I know. You can buy 1" HDPE bar stock from places like McMaster-Carr...that's what I did.

And now for something completely different --

Think outside the box (especially if the box contains contact cement. . .)

In every boat I've ever outfitted from scratch, I've never glued the saddle in. There are lots of ways to secure the saddle without cementing it -- message me for pix.

Why? Well, as Wendy said, it's so-o much easier to work on the saddle when it's out of the boat: carve additional water transfer passages, pump holders or wiring, etc.

And, if you ever HAVE to remove or replace the saddle, there won't be a gawd-awful mess on the bottom of the boat.

Jus' sayin' . . .

Rick

Yes but, which Weldwood adhesive do you use?


anyone?

TonyB wrote:Yes but, which Weldwood adhesive do you use?


anyone?

The RED can. Do I get a prize?

Thanks for all the good advice so far. Can you tell me more about how to put the small diameter plastic dowel through the saddle to secure it to the thwart? Right now I believe there are a couple of pieces of dowel fastened to the thwart on each side of the saddle to keep it from moving side to side. Unfortunately the front of the saddle shifts a bit from side to side too, which is why I am considering the contact cement (Weldwood, gel formula always!)

Go to a home depot and buy a boring bit a little smaller than the dowel you plan to use. I have a 7/8" bit I use for 1" dowels. Drill as deep as you can into the saddle, press the dowel in, drill through the thwart and through the dowel, and bolt the two together.

Todhunter wrote:Go to a home depot and buy a boring bit a little smaller than the dowel you plan to use. I have a 7/8" bit I use for 1" dowels. Drill as deep as you can into the saddle, press the dowel in, drill through the thwart and through the dowel, and bolt the two together.

Does the dowel go through the saddle horizontally or vertically? If it is vertically, I would think I would need two wooden dowels, one for each side of the saddle, because with PVC the hollow ends would be facing up and there would be nothing to screw into. Does anyone have any photos?

Thanks

I use wood but not dowel. I coat it in Watco first. I use square stock. The flat sides seem to resist the hole in the saddle getting bigger and floppier over time. Of course the drilled hole in the saddle is still round but I use big enough wood stock that it is tight. Sorry, no pics.

Just like a C-boater to fit a square peg in a round hole .

I ve done the wood block, it gets mouldy eventually no matter how well you seal it. I havent been able to find plastic dowel. On my latest boat, I but a piece of 1/2 or 3/4" PVC tubing parallel and 2" below the rear thwart and just tie the saddle to the thwart. You could do the same at the front of the saddle also.

canoeman61 wrote:

Todhunter wrote:Go to a home depot and buy a boring bit a little smaller than the dowel you plan to use. I have a 7/8" bit I use for 1" dowels. Drill as deep as you can into the saddle, press the dowel in, drill through the thwart and through the dowel, and bolt the two together.

Does the dowel go through the saddle horizontally or vertically? If it is vertically, I would think I would need two wooden dowels, one for each side of the saddle, because with PVC the hollow ends would be facing up and there would be nothing to screw into. Does anyone have any photos?

Thanks

Vertical - one on the front of the saddle, under the front thwart, and one on the back of the saddle, under the rear thwart.

Todhunter wrote:

canoeman61 wrote:

Todhunter wrote:Go to a home depot and buy a boring bit a little smaller than the dowel you plan to use. I have a 7/8" bit I use for 1" dowels. Drill as deep as you can into the saddle, press the dowel in, drill through the thwart and through the dowel, and bolt the two together.

Does the dowel go through the saddle horizontally or vertically? If it is vertically, I would think I would need two wooden dowels, one for each side of the saddle, because with PVC the hollow ends would be facing up and there would be nothing to screw into. Does anyone have any photos?

Thanks

Vertical - one on the front of the saddle, under the front thwart, and one on the back of the saddle, under the rear thwart.

And he means dowel not tubing. solid material so you can screw into it.