While applying some fiberglass buffing compound to the forward hatch cover I noticed a hairline crack that goes all the way through. While I doubt it will leak very much and probably not get any bigger (unless I whack it again), it's still probably not a good thing. What am I going to seal it up with? I have some of that epoxy stuff suggested in a recent thread that I haven't had the nerve to use yet. Is that the stuff to use? Inside or outside or both? If I use it on the outside it will probably look like hell when I get through. I assume 303 goes on top of any buffing, etc. prep work? I had the kayak outside during a 2nd or 3rd mild winter. The neoprene hatch covers were just laid on as were the hard covers. The kayak was just covered with a tarp. The inside of the forward and aft hatches are both mostly discolored but the cockpit is not. The whiteish coloring does not rub off. I assume it is just discoloring and no big deal. Right? If I had thigh pads, the place they would be installed has a thin material pulling loose from the shell. What am I going to seal that with? The waterproof stuff I can think of wouldn't be strong enough to stand up to the constant rubbing which would start right at the opening of the seal. I have a minor bulkhead leak which does seem to be a good candidate for some kind of waterproof caulk. I presume that this seal should be flexible rather than rigid. The 6-9 inch section of the keel(?) at the extreme end of the stern is worn through the gelcoat (the shiny stuff? - about 1/16") down to the fiberglass (the dull stuff?). This is what I bought the epoxy (Marinetex?) for. Am I just going to lay on a coat(s) equal to the thickness of the worn away gelcoat? Will I have to do any sanding afterward? Will the epoxy hold up to whatever it was that wore away the gelcoat in the first place? If so, why don't they use some kind of epoxy/gelcoat combination to start with? Will I be putting anything over top of the epoxy? A year or two ago on r.b.p., there was an arguement about waxing canoes and/or ww kayaks and it's effect on protection vs performance, some for and some against the theories. Any thoughts about this for sea yaks? Clyde Sisler http://csisler.com *************************************************************************** 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 Sat Apr 17 1999 - 08:29:43 PDT
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