Stengthening a Sea Kayak


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Brian_Clough
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I have been a bit undecided about posting this but here goes.
I bought a Sea Kayak - it is a great shape but I bought too lightweight a model.
The kayak has a Core-lite core and from what I can see is only covered with gel coat on the outside.
I do like to use a sea kayak to the full and don’t want to feel I should not try something because my boat is too delicate.
I also used a trolley and damaged the gel coat.
I wondered it would be feasible to remove the outside gel coat and replace with something stronger/stiffer/generally more robust.
To emphasize -I would prefer strength and rigidity rather than lightness
I have no experience with any of the products on this site but I do work in a job requiring skill with my hands, enjoy tinkering around the garage and enjoy a project.
One alternative that does comes to mind is just sell it and buy another. But ….
Could somebody help me with any other suggestions?
Fasta
Fasta
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Brian_Clough - 4/16/2020 3:50:56 PM
I have been a bit undecided about posting this but here goes.
I bought a Sea Kayak - it is a great shape but I bought too lightweight a model.
The kayak has a Core-lite core and from what I can see is only covered with gel coat on the outside.
I do like to use a sea kayak to the full and don’t want to feel I should not try something because my boat is too delicate.
I also used a trolley and damaged the gel coat.
I wondered it would be feasible to remove the outside gel coat and replace with something stronger/stiffer/generally more robust.
To emphasize -I would prefer strength and rigidity rather than lightness
I have no experience with any of the products on this site but I do work in a job requiring skill with my hands, enjoy tinkering around the garage and enjoy a project.
One alternative that does comes to mind is just sell it and buy another. But ….
Could somebody help me with any other suggestions?

I would vote for buy another one that suits you.





Warren (Staff)
Warren (Staff)
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As said, it might be cheaper an easier to sell on the lightweight boat and get something more heavy duty.

However, if that is not possible, it is possible to add extra reinforcement to the hull.  You would need to sand back to the fabric, and wet lay on additional layers of fabric to get the desired additional strength.  Then finish it off with a layer of resin, sanded smooth then polished, to give the nice level finish to the out side of the hull.

Warren Penalver
Easy Composites / Carbon Mods - Technical Support Assistant
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