> Hi James, Oh Yes......a familiar problem with older Romany's. It will likely be the Sikkaflex that beds down the hatch rims has failed( Sikikaflex is a Marine polyurethane but I could be wrong ) I recall that VCP and NDK both chased down the manufacturers who informed them that the problem stems from the ABS plastic of the rims doesn't adhere well to anything. They recommended using a solvent that softens the plastic prior to applying the Sikkaflex. All new Romany's have added nuts and bolts/pop rivets but may not solve the leakage problem if the sealant fails although you will be saved the embarrassing occurrence of pulling off your hatch cover and finding the rim still attached. I have fixed them in a variety of ways all which seem to have held up so far. You had best remove the rims, some come easier than others, some by gently tugging them and some by levering off with a screwdriver, scraper etc. Thoroughly clean off the rim and recess being the obvious first step. West system or similar epoxy works although Nigel says that it won't flex with the hull but mine has been on for 3 years of hard use. Marine sealants/adhesives as long as you get knowledgeable advice from the store or better still 'phone the manufacturers and speak to the Tech. staff. A two part adhesive containing methylacrylate is amazingly strong and is being used by one sea kayak manufacturer to bed down all hatch rims with no problems as yet. Methylacrylate( if that's how you spell it) is one of the adhesives that Dentists use to glue caps on...so if it's good enough for your teeth..... I would clamp down the rim before the adhesive goes off but not so hard as to squeeze all the stuff out. Nut and bolt it with countersunk heads doesn't hurt but watch out to leave enough material on the rim as the countersink bit may ream it all away. I guess an appropriate rational for the problem is that all sea kayaks are a 'work in progress'. Good luck Phil Daligan *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Sun Apr 22 2001 - 10:11:46 PDT
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