Hi, new to the forum and need some help.
My buddy bought a kayak that has had the rear deck line hardware ripped out. It also has some exposed fiberglass (road rash perhaps).
How does I go about repairing this for him? (I'm not sure he even owns a screwdriver!) I was thinking that some kind of two-part epoxy putty in the hole, then drilling and a screw. For the shaved off area, I was just thinking of gelcoat or two-part marine paint to stop delamination. Suggestions anyone?


I just found this site and think that I'll be spending many a morning cruising the forums for good ideas - I've already seen two on a quick look.
Thanks Ted

It would be a good idea to check with the manufacturer about what type of resin was used in construction, because of compatibility issues.

If you have access to a public library, they might have CD's available on composite repairs. Otherwise you can find lots of videos, etc. on the Internet.

NC Kayaks website (nckayaks.com) has some nice tips and instructions on repairs.

Magooch's suggestion of making sure that your resins are compatible before starting.

Repairing holes I usually go overboard and put a layer of cloth on the underside then fill with a 2-part filler and finish off with gelcoat. Again going overboard on repairs I would use a stainless machine screw for attaching the new hardware and use a stainless fender washer and nylock nut on the underside. This should keep it from pulling out again. One final bit would be to trim the machine screw so that the end did not quite stick through the nylock. That way there would be no sharp edge to tear a float or dry bag.

The bow repair looks like a bit of reshaping with the 2-part marine putty and finishing with gelcoat. When we added rudders to our touring boats I used that method. At a later date the manufacturer saw our boats and we had a hard time convincing him that they weren't built that way at his facility.

Mikekayak

Many thanks for the suggestions.
I finally got the chance to take a close look at my friend's Nigel Dennis kayak. There is no bolt that goes right through the fiberglass. The ripped out deck hardware was actually held by bolting into a brass plug. The brass plug was ripped right out of its fiberglass "cup". What resin or epoxy was used by the manufacturer to hold it there I don't know. We're about to start some reshaping of the road/rock rash using 2-part marine putty. We sent an email off to Wales asking how they affixed the brass plug so we can do the same thing.

So thanks again, appreciated.
Ted