Results 1 to 16 of 16
  1. #1
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Posts
    27

    yet another cracked boat question

    Cracked my Habitat- on a rock, not a stress crack, right under the seat. It welded pretty well but I was wondering if it is worth anything to sell? Any secrets to extending its life at this point?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Nov 2005
    Location
    Making the Bowl Great Again
    Posts
    13,778
    You'd probably have to pay someone to take it.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Boozebay Harba
    Posts
    633
    Give it to a beginner. You can A: extend it's life by not being abused to hell, B: get the good smily vibes by helping someone else get into kayaking, and C: they won't notice if it does leak anyways because of not ever getting it completely dry after each swim.

    Then again this is TGR aka look at me land, rather than lets play with others land, so straight up ignore that suggestion and turn it into a planter or something to decorate your dooryard.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    northern BC
    Posts
    30,810
    Just paddle it ,its gona break again from flexing ,I suggest you overlap a few of layers of ductape over the crack so you dont fill up when it does crack again .I had a 5 "crack under the seat of an old dancer ,I overlapped some ductape and did a trip on a river at low levels and hit bottom a couple of doz times in rock gardens ,the tape looked good as new so I paddled it for another 5 years changing the tape twice a season ,its amazing how ductape WILL hang in there thru repeated shore lanches/abarasions/groundingout

    If you did sell it you would have to sell it fully disclosing the crack to a buyer

    in the glass boat days they didnt fix every crack right away,they ductaped .Once or twice a season someone would get a case of beer ,they mix up some resin and patch some boats in someones garage
    Last edited by XXX-er; 09-07-2008 at 12:03 PM.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    Fernie, BC
    Posts
    174
    Something to try with the duct tape:

    When you put a layer on heat the tape up with a lighter or torch until the silver part of the tape begins to bubble. Once it start to bubble get a metal spoon and smooth out the bubbles. Do one section of the duct tape patch at a time until the whole layer has been done like this. Then keep layering and repeating until you have 4 or 5 layers. It will last a lot longer then just put duct tape on top of duct tape. I have used this to fix cracked hulls on open boats and used it to fix a crack on a werner fiberglass paddle and haven't had to change the tape or the paddle in 2 years of paddling now. Worth a shot...

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    northern BC
    Posts
    30,810
    or a heat gun is the best ,we used tape and a heat gun to fix something i don't recall and make sure the egdes of the tape are well rounded

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    Fernie, BC
    Posts
    174
    ^^^ Truth

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Wandering the west
    Posts
    103
    There's definitely some technique to it and it just takes practice but weld it, then put duct tape on the inside. the stuff they put under roofs, black kind of tar tape. We always called it bithithane not sure the real name but it keeps water out real well. I spent three weeks hittin the lil white with a welded boat and that was my system.

    Answer the real question though, i've always gotten at least $100 out of a welded boat. Assuming the weld holds. weld paddle for a week and if its still good sell to a beginner.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    Sikskiyou's
    Posts
    1,547
    Selling a broken boat - well, I wouldn't do it. Welded boats are broken boats. Give it away or trade for beer to a beginner.

    That said, I've paddled broken boats for years. Yes, years - with the crack patched from the inside with layers of neoprene and/or roofing rubber. A good friend of mine paddled one with a foot long, 2" wide at the center, crack in the bottom for over a year. It was patched using this method. He swears by it, and it works. Well.

    Welded boat = broken boat.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Wandering the west
    Posts
    103
    To clarify and defend myself a little here. When I said sell I mean, I got cash instead of beer but about the equivalent of two cases of beer and only did it with friends who had seen the crack then the repair job and new the whole deal. I know they got more than two years of use out of it too.
    I agree, selling a repaired boat to someone you don't know for any real amount of cash is shady.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    Sikskiyou's
    Posts
    1,547
    Yep, I agree. "Selling" a cracked boat to a friend sounds okay. They must know what they are getting into.

    I wasn't trying to sling any crap at anyone. Just adding my $0.03.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    northern BC
    Posts
    30,810
    So were you really not sure why the boat was full when you know you emptied it 2 minutes ago?

    So you pull the skirt,look down and you can see river bottom thru the crack ?

    A cracked boat must be sold with a full disclaimer as to the repaired damage

    I gave my old dancer to my ex-GF to keep out at her cottage on the lake ,I hope somebody has fun with it ... AND I mean the boat

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    WV
    Posts
    1,782
    Quote Originally Posted by NlytendOne View Post
    Selling a broken boat - well, I wouldn't do it. Welded boats are broken boats. Give it away or trade for beer to a beginner.

    That said, I've paddled broken boats for years. Yes, years - with the crack patched from the inside with layers of neoprene and/or roofing rubber. A good friend of mine paddled one with a foot long, 2" wide at the center, crack in the bottom for over a year. It was patched using this method. He swears by it, and it works. Well.

    Welded boat = broken boat.
    might be the same guy who had a boat warrantied had to cut out the SN# then put a neoprene patch over the hole and paddled it for another season. That guy is my hero.
    It’s the places you ride that are special, not you riding there.”

    All stunts performed without a net!

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Nov 2005
    Location
    Making the Bowl Great Again
    Posts
    13,778
    This spring, I paddled the Green Truss with a guy who had bolted a patch over his almost new creek boat that had somehow failed on the second day he used it. He had to cut out the serial # but he screwed and glued a piece of the same type of boat over the whole area on the stern. The frankenboat looked like shit but he made a no portage descent.

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    Idaho
    Posts
    10,949
    Another option is to get extra boat plastic just bigger than the crack. Weld it. Drill holes through the new plastic and the hull, slather aquaseal betweent the two and the either rivet or t-nut them together. I did this with a Big Gun with an 8" crack in front of the seat. I paddled it for a year and sold it to a buddy for $100. He's still paddling it and that was 4 or 5 years ago.
    Quote Originally Posted by Benny Profane View Post
    Well, I'm not allowed to delete this post, but, I can say, go fuck yourselves, everybody!

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Posts
    27
    thanks for all the advice. The weld seems to be treating me well, it sounds like the way to go is paddle it and not care if anything happens to it because it is not worth much. thanks for the welding tips- some good ones.

Similar Threads

  1. Echo Boat Taxi 6-14-08
    By bcrider in forum General Ski / Snowboard Discussion
    Replies: 25
    Last Post: 06-17-2008, 08:52 PM
  2. Hours on a boat engine.
    By mtaylor in forum Tech Talk
    Replies: 27
    Last Post: 05-15-2007, 11:03 AM
  3. Legal mag question... so NSR it is ridiculous...
    By Evmo in forum The Padded Room
    Replies: 17
    Last Post: 05-03-2006, 12:55 PM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •