just touching bases. Scratches in a Kayak.

[padlin]

Not that I've tried it, but how about using P-tex like they fix gouges on skis. You melt it on then scrape off the excess. I imagine there are utubes on it.

[Darth-Baiter]

28 minutes ago, Zcoker said:

 

The procedure that I posted is for MINOR scratches, hence the material removed is quite insignificant. Even still, material has to be removed. Kayak seasonal hull maintenance is quite mainstream and follows much the same process. Weather this is counter intuitive or not or whether this makes any sense or not is subjective. The OP asked what others do to get the scratches out. I merely posted what I do. Take it or leave it. 

i dont think anyone was coming at you wiith ill.  i know i wasnt.

 

there may have been questions, which are normal.    i dont go beyond taping the hardest hit spots.  

[MN Fisher]

Or you could just weld over it

"The Steel Core 44-piece 80-Watt iron plastic welding kit can be used to repair plastics in automotive and agricultural equipment, ATV's, kayaks, toys and most other TPO, TEO and PP materials."

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Steel-Core-80-Watt-Iron-Plastic-Welding-Kit-with-40-Welding-Rods-41403/308107827

[J Francho]

Unless there's some major weak point or hull breach/leak, this seems like much ado about nothing. 

[flyfisher]

4 hours ago, Zcoker said:

 

The procedure that I posted is for MINOR scratches, hence the material removed is quite insignificant. Even still, material has to be removed. Kayak seasonal hull maintenance is quite mainstream and follows much the same process. Weather this is counter intuitive or not or whether this makes any sense or not is subjective. The OP asked what others do to get the scratches out. I merely posted what I do. Take it or leave it. 

I have yet to see a manufacturer recommend sanding down small scratches on the hull as seasonal maintenance.  And again, it makes absolutely zero sense to remove material to get rid of scratches as it only further thins the kayak hull and is purely for aesthetic purposes.

[Zcoker]

3 minutes ago, flyfisher said:

I have yet to see a manufacturer recommend sanding down small scratches on the hull as seasonal maintenance.  And again, it makes absolutely zero sense to remove material to get rid of scratches as it only further thins the kayak hull and is purely for aesthetic purposes.

Yep, purely for aesthetic purposes 

[TnRiver46]

Seems like a smoother bottom would make the boat a little quicker, just thinking out loud. I swam under and scrubbed the hull of a cruiser for one of my moms friend and she gained 5-7 mph . This is a boat that stays in the water though, stuff grows on them 

[Bankc]

I could see sanding the hull being a thing for racing kayaks and other longer, thinner designs.  That's where speed would matter, and you wouldn't be hitting rough objects with it very often.  But on a fishing kayak, they're going to be slow no matter what you do.  They're built for stability, not speed.  

 

I will say, I gain about 0.2-0.3 mph on my kayak by pulling the transducer out of the water.  It dangles over the side and creates quite a disturbance (TripleShot transducer).  Much more so any all of the scratches combined, I'm sure.  So I wouldn't guess I'd get more than a 0.1 mph boost, if that, if I completely smoothed out my hull. 

 

As noted earlier, you could easily repair scratches with a soldering iron and some extra HDPE stock.  Or, if you wanted, you could melt some HDPE in some acetone to form a thick paste, and then apply it over the scratches.  The acetone will melt the plastic, and as it evaporates, it'll allow the plastic to reharden.  

[Choporoz]

On 9/7/2022 at 11:17 AM, Darth-Baiter said:

you even worry about it?   

No.

 

On 9/7/2022 at 2:40 PM, Bankc said:

So long as you don't leave it out to bake in the sun and make the plastic brittle, it'll be fine.  

My kayaks were out of the sun when it was cloudy.  They are fine.

[K1500]

I just give my kayak to a local kid and buy a new one every trip. For aesthetic purposes… 

 

In reality I don’t worry a bit about scratches. If I wore through from honest wear (not purposeful abuse), I would likely see it as a badge of honor and a good opportunity to upgrade my kayak. 

[Darth-Baiter]

18 hours ago, K1500 said:

I just give my kayak to a local kid and buy a new one every trip. For aesthetic purposes… 

 

In reality I don’t worry a bit about scratches. If I wore through from honest wear (not purposeful abuse), I would likely see it as a badge of honor and a good opportunity to upgrade my kayak. 

hahah..awesome.  

 

yea.  when I wear this one out I will buy another.  no biggie.  

[Bankc]

1 hour ago, Darth-Baiter said:

hahah..awesome.  

 

yea.  when I wear this one out I will buy another.  no biggie.  

Not me.  I'm working on a kayak of Theseus type of thing.  

[Drew03cmc]

On 9/13/2022 at 9:38 AM, Zcoker said:

 

The procedure that I posted is for MINOR scratches, hence the material removed is quite insignificant. Even still, material has to be removed. Kayak seasonal hull maintenance is quite mainstream and follows much the same process. Weather this is counter intuitive or not or whether this makes any sense or not is subjective. The OP asked what others do to get the scratches out. I merely posted what I do. Take it or leave it. 

Wrong. To remove material, no matter how little, is to weaken the hull. If you fished where I did Saturday, you'd probably paddle back to the put in and say F this place.

 

I floated, well, floated isn't the term. I fished 3.5 miles of an Ozark river that hasn't had significant rainfall in months and I put in right below a dam. I could paddle the first 100 yards, then had to drag, paddled another couple hundred, had to drag. I would guess I drug my boat over a mile across limestone rocks, trees, and river gravel that didn't get my ankles wet. I did, however, take 8th in the tournament we had that day. I looked at my creek boat, a cheap Ascend FS10, and saw a ton of scratches, none deep, and look forward to abusing it more. 

[HookInMouth]

I've been a mission since 2018 to destroy my SS127. I've been known to "scoot" a half mile or more in shallow rocky water before dragging it across pavement at the boat ramp (I've tries scooting there too but unsuccessfully).

 

I figure if I screw it up enough I'll just have to buy a new one. Oh. Darn. 

[TnRiver46]

15 minutes ago, HookInMouth said:

I've been a mission since 2018 to destroy my SS127. I've been known to "scoot" a half mile or more in shallow rocky water before dragging it across pavement at the boat ramp (I've tries scooting there too but unsuccessfully).

 

I figure if I screw it up enough I'll just have to buy a new one. Oh. Darn. 

^this man gets it