Bill Leonhardt wrote: "So the question is, other than wedging things, how do you secure things in your hatch compartments from shifting around?" Bill, I have had pretty good results a couple of ways. One is with small plastic D-rings in small high-strength hard plastic bases which are available from the Northwest River Systems catalog, Nanthahala Outdoor Center catalog, and probably others. I bonded these bases several places to the inside of the kayak hull using 3-M's 5200 Adhesive/Sealant, which is a polysulfide (I think), available from West Marine and other places. This required cleaning the base and the intended spot on the glass composite hull with acetone (nasty stuff, avoid breathing fumes, especially inside the hull). Then I rolled the adhesive onto the bottom of the base with a Q-tip stick to get a smooth, bubble-free coating and pressed the coated base onto the cleaned, pre-marked spot on the hull (Don't forget to have the D-ring in place on its base before placing the base on the hull!). The 5200 has instructions about waiting 24 hours for tack-free, then 72 hours for cure. I had to tape some of the D-ring bases in place to keep them from sliding down the inside of the hull, waited 3 or 4 days and removed the tape. I have had one base come off later, and that was one I left under constant tension from a short bungee. Turns out there was either some air trapped in the adhesive or gasses released during curing that were unable to escape, so that one had gaps in the bonding area. The D-rings I used are about quarter-sized or smaller, and the bases about 1/2" wide by 1-1/2" long. Also, in case you're not familiar with 5200, it can be messy. It is much clingier than silicone caulk, harder to clean up, cures to a hard state, and forms a bond on fiberglass that as far as I know is essentially permanent. Probably not the right adhesive for plastic boats. Cheaper solution for the underside of the kayak deck is to mirror the deck fittings. This will work for some deck fittings, not all. I got fittings identical to those on the deck, then some slightly longer stainless steel screws to replace the original ones, and some small rubber o-rings to seal between the under-deck fittings and their locknuts. To make a better seal, I also applied a small amount of silicone caulk to the fitting where it seats against the hole through the deck. Voila`, now several of my deck fittings are matched by identical fittings on the underside of the deck. These things along with attached bungies or mesh have been especially useful in the cockpit, both behind the seat and under the foredeck. This allows securing some things out of the way in places I don't want filled with loose gear or inflated bags. I have also used the 5200 to bond some high-quality velcro strips beside my seat. You can put the mating velcro on a bailing pump or other lightweight objects to keep them in place inside the kayak and eliminate some deck clutter. Best wishes to all, John Somers *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************Received on Fri May 08 1998 - 12:16:18 PDT
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