Hey folks,
There's a similar post about the older style mirage locking twist cams and the bolts leaking. Well, doubt my bolts are leaking, but I am taking on copious amounts of water now.
Quick background:
- Bought two used Hobie Kayaks about 1.5 years ago (2011 PA 14 and 2008 Revo 13) from a local Austin guy who bought them at ACK south Austin (off I-35 frontage road)
- They needed a lot of attention, esp. the V2 mirage drives, practically re-built them with GT stuffs etc.
- After my first trial trip I noted the Revo mirage drive felt "squishy" compared to the PA14
- Came to this forum only to discover that my "squishy" issue was due to one of the cam columns (the HDPE extruded tube in which the large SS hex allen head bolt screws into on the STBD side was cracked, and warped out of shape.
- Found out about a repair method here (user name: roadrunner and possible a drsteelheadcatcher) helped me with some posts about using Loctite 3035 special epoxy for low energy plastics like HDPE and splitting PVC pieces and taping one side to serve as a clam shell. Smear the epoxy all in and press the PVC clam shell pieces together around the cam column. I did this on both sides but even better I put two allen wrenches into each bolt and tied a loop of string around them and twisted the string some (tension) to pull them together some so as to sort of set, like a bone fracture, before doing this repair.
- End result was great and the columns are still great, rock solid.
- I contacted the guy who sold me the yaks about this and I could tell he felt really bad, and in the end he ended up paying for the $50 Loctite 3035 epoxy (stuff isn't cheap)
So that's the history, I love these two yaks, they serve me well. I have both rigged for sailing and as you can see I made a stowage tube for the sails and paddles. So much fun...I uses them at least twice a week here in central TX. Planning a BTB trip to small oil rigs 2.5 mile off-shore this June/July.
Now today comes along and my fishing buddy and I are 3 miles up the Colorado River when notice he's listing very bad to port. We stop and find out he's got several gallons of water in the hull. At first perplexed, but within just a few moments standing there at the shore I saw the crack near the port cam seat area.
So I'm coming here first to solicit for ideas before I break out spare HDPE and torches. Any advice here? I will also say that as a backup on the underside (inside the hull all around the cam seat area) I smeared copious amounts of Lexel sealant as a security measure for any leaking. So I think if this went to a thermal weld repair I would need to remove it from the underside?
Options I know I have:
- Buy a new kayak (super low probability, I really don't want to)
- Pay ACK to repair it? Honestly, if I was instructed how, I would rather do it myself.
- Repair myself with advice here.
- One concern I have about thermal hdpe repairs is one I've done in the past seemed to make the HDPE more brittle. If I do a repair, I want it done, and done right the first time.
Options I'm unsure about:
- Support from Hobie as a second owner with a bill of sale and original POS from ACK south Austin
@mmiller @Matt Miller
Sorry for the large images.
Thank you,