Hull repair

The following links are for permanent repairs. For emergency repairs, see: Emergency hull repair. To repair your hull, original structural integrity and waterproofness must be restored, and aesthetics are an important aspect of any repair. The damaged hull of your kayak can be repaired in one of several ways:

Strip-Built and Stitch & Glue

• Epoxy and fiberglass
• Wood patch with epoxy and fiberglass covering

Skin-on-frame

• Stitch tear and recoat
• Sew on patch and recoat

Composite

• For some detailed instructions, see repairing composite kayaks.
• Use Epoxy or Gelcoat to fill minor nicks (see Gelcoat repair).
• Epoxy and fiberglass can be used to patch holes. Kevlar and carbon fiber use the same techniques as Fiberglass, substituing the appropriate fabric.

Polyethylene

• Heat gun
• Plastic welding
• Acrylic Resin and fiberglass - see: Emergency kayak repair materials.

Polycarbonate (Carbonlite 2000)

• Eddyline's info on Carbonlite 2000 repair.
• Two-part acrylic adhesive chip filling or crack gluing
• Two-part acrylic adhesive and fiberglass patch