Repairing a slalom kayak

[mills82]

Does anybody know how to repair a slalom kayak?

It has a crack on top near the front. I have not bought it yet but its nice and cheap its just it will need this repair doing.

Do I have to cut the affected area out completely or do I just sand it down and patch it up on top?

[MikeB]

http://www.ukseakayakguidebook.co.uk/co ... repair.htm

[SimonMW]

This type of thread may become more common I think ;-)

[mills82]

I think there will I dont think I have chosen the right time to take up slalom as a month ago 4mtr boats were going for about £20 but never mind I couldnt afford to get 1 then and I dont mind being a sheep and following the masses.


Cheers for the link I will read through it tomorrow I am sure I will have a couple of questions after

[Username]

This link in the competition forum has some advice -

viewtopic.php?f=14&t=68742

Including some instructions I wrote for someone who bought a knackered slalom boat off me, and some advice from others. One crack on the deck shouldn't be a problem to repair, but is the boat fibreglass or carbon/Kevlar? More of a problem win old boats is the material being soft.

[MikeB]

I am sure I will have a couple of questions after

If you can get some pics up then that'll help with the advice / suggestions - -

[TheKrikkitWars]

You'll also.need to know if its made from polyester or epoxy resin; you can repair polyester boats with polyester, vinylester or epoxy resins, but repairing epoxy boats requires epoxy resin.

The key to repairing composite boats is patience and preparation, if you rush (and thr fact that the resin goes off quick encourages you to...) then it can very easily become a godawful mess.

[JohnK]

It has a crack on top near the front. I have not bought it yet but its nice and cheap...

What sort of boat is it? How much is it? What do you plan to use it for? You may well find that gaffer tape is good enough.

[Chris Bolton]

A crack near the bow is probably a compression crack from burying the bow when surfing and hitting the bottom. Do the two sides of the crack look slightly raised? Mending such a crack requires a bit of reinforcement, such as a layer of kevlar tape - if you just put resin in the crack it will fail again. The usual place for a slalom boat to crack is just past the end of the foam wall; if that's the case, try to stuff some more foam into the end - if you can support the deck, it is less likely to buckle and crack when the boat bends.

Chris