How to repair a hole in Outback deck?

I recently came across an old 2002 Outback that needed a little work. Most of the work I've been able to do thus far: replaced hatches, rerun all the steering/rudder lines, add carry handles, etc. I've got it working now, but the last thing I would like to do is repair a large hole in the deck (in the back directly in front of the rudder). For the time being, I just covered it with duct tape to prevent any water from leaking in (I've only been out on lakes and rivers, so no waves to worry about). But now I'd like to try and repair it. My research has really only led me to videos repairing small holes/cracks, but nothing large, so I'm not exactly sure how to go about it and was looking for some advice from any of the pros out there.

Edited: photos added (thanks for the assist jbernier). The yellowish stuff you see if left over residue of where the previous owner must have tried to repair it with a glue/epoxy. The greyish stuff is the duct tape residue from when I had the hole covered.

This is the view from the rear taken just behind the rudder:



Closeup from the rear of the section closest to rudder.



View from the right side of the front portion of the hole.

How to add images post: http://www.hobiecat.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=8574

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Jacques Bernier
http://www.hobie.com/
http://www.facebook.com/HobieCatCompany

Not sure what the heck happened there, but here's an idea to fix it:
Get a couple pieces of aluminum bar stock longer than the damaged hull area. Use stainless steel screws, flat or pan head, maybe with SS washers, to attach the bar stock under the damaged area, holding the hull pieces together from inside the hull. After securing the hull area with the aluminum bar and SS screws, use your best plastic welding skills to fill in the holes. Probably wind up looking kind of non-stock, but should keep the water out. You could just do a masterpiece plastic weld job, but you'd have to be pretty good at it.

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Waterman at Work - Kayak Fishing Photos, Video,Kayak Rigging - Blog

Large profiled patch covering that back deck area welded at edges to flat side rail sections. More likely to get a clean weld line You could reinforce area with an al angle bar as per above post.

Its an old model so odds of obtaining matching colour are low, If you cant source hobie plastic I think wheelie bins may match for material?

Yowtch! Looks to me like that Outback is dead. Recycle it and put your money and effort into outfitting a new or newer Outback.

Thanks for you replies/suggestions. I don't think I'm ready to scrap the Outback lol. It still functions just fine as it is, so was just trying to spruce it up a bit. I don't really care what it looks like aesthetically since I had duct tape covering it in the short term. I may try some things and see what works, and if all else fails I can always go back to my duct tape solution.

For sure you can fix that. You're right, even if you do a good job, it probably will not look great. If it gets you out fishing, who cares what it looks like.

A kayak like this with a hole in it is not exactly what you would call "safe boating". Duct tape may keep splashing out, but a kayak hull full of water is going to be a problem, kind of like a canoe. Wear a PFD and be sure to have at least one or two bailing devices(like a can).

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Waterman at Work - Kayak Fishing Photos, Video,Kayak Rigging - Blog

Looks like a simple plastic weld job to me.

The cracks should be easy enough. For larger holes it shouldn't be too difficult to source a piece of poly sheet of a similar colour (if that is important) grade and thickness. I would offer that up to the hole inside the boat, trace the outline of the hole onto the sheet from outside using some sort of marker, cut out the infill patch from the sheet, tack it into position and then weld it up.

it is a no brainer to fix the boat up rather than throw it away - there's too much plastic waste in the world already and those cracks and holes should be an easy fix.

Maybe contact a fiberglass repair shop, or a body repair shop and see what they say?

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2017 Hobie Outback Papaya

Fiberglass will not work to repair this plastic material.
As suggested above, plastic welding is the correct solution.

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Dr.SteelheadCatcher
Warrenton, OR

Here is a friend making riverbank repairs to a heavily used whitewater kayak which cracked on a four day trip on the Selway River in Idaho.



After the trip, he did what Nuprin should do: he sawed it up and left the pieces for pickup with his garbage.

Haha that is great! I don't think disposing of the kayak makes any sense. As I said, I use it to putz around lakes so I'm not really too concerned with the hole taking on a lot of water and sinking (I've been using it over a year with just duct tape covering it and that has worked!). There was a crack in the hull that I plastic welded, if anything I'm more concerned with that not holding and sinking me lol.