Is this repairable?

I have had good success fixing cracks in basically flat areas of a kayak by drilling holes at each end of the crack, and then gluing raft repair fabric over the crack with vinyl glue. Contact cement doesn't work; it will quickly separate from the kayak. My repair trip for multi-day whitewater kayak trips includes pieces of raft repair fabric and vinyl glue, and I've used this successfully several times. However, the crack in Duncan49's kayak couldn't be fixed with this method because it dives down into the seat holes.

Here are pictures of us repairing a whitewater kayak which developed a crack on a four-day whitewater kayak trip on the Jarbidge and Bruneau Rivers in south central Idaho. For extra strength you can glue patches on both the inside and the outside of the hull. I cover the patch on the outside of the hull with duct tape to protect it from being scraped off by rocks.

Question for Matt:

Is the 81276203 kit still available and does it come with the caps, epoxy, and seat pegs?

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Duncan

Yes it's still available - not sure you need this kit - you really are looking for the PVC cap and epoxy - that's part 81265100
(You can also get all the same parts directly from any Home Depot.)

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

If he wants to upgrade to the twist lock seat pegs then he'd be better off with the kit surely?
In the latest catalogue it looks like it's listed as 81276201-TWIST LOCK SEAT ADAPTER KIT

The twist locks would put less pressure on the peg hole than the expanding plug.

Had the same problem 3 years ago, used pool noodles stuffed under the seat area,
with duct tape on the top. Noodles provide some flexibility, cracks have not spread.

An update. I found a shop who would weld it and that is now complete. I am sticking the PVC caps on now. Tomorrow we see how it works.

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Duncan

Good luck with it - I hope it works out. Please let us know how you get on...

Five hours yesterday morning, two hours in the afternoon, 4 hours this morning and I'm heading out now for another couple of hours. Repair is holding. The kayak hasn't broken in half yet. Thank you Everything Kayak in Gulfport Mississippi.

I'll give a long term report in a few weeks or sooner if I split open.

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Duncan