Refinishing an old kayak?

Paul, I don't suppose you have any info on this boat. Web searches have yeilded very little info and I e-mailed P&H weeks ago and never got a reply. Also, curious as to what else you have done to the boat from its original form, and if you have pictures, please share!

 

WPFix,
One of my jobs this summer was to recondition a small fleet of fiberglass kayaks for a local tour company. The boats were first sanded to remove most of a secondary layer of gelcoat (bottom) and paint (top side). A high build primer was then sprayed and sanded to improve the surface condition.

The topside was sprayed with PSX 1001 (I wouldn't recommend it) and the bottom was sprayed with InterLux Bilgekote. The black stipe is actually an epoxy bedliner that I added because I thought it might add some protection to the hull since all of them show excessive wear from customers dragging their paddles along the hull.

A water tight bulkhead is now being added in the stern of each one. This helps reinforce the rear top deck where the skirt rings are being cracked by overweight paddlers, and eliminates the use of floatation bags.

MM

 

I use the one part exterior stuff (MH patch ???) from home depot. Easier to sand than epoxy and since it is encased in epoxy or primer etc. (top and bottom) it never feels water or moisture or air -

paul

 

Well work has been pretty busy. A 2 month deployment and then moving to a new place have put this project on the wayside for a while. However now that me and the fiance are settled in I plan to start on this very soon, utilizing the advise given here. As added encouragement, right across the street from the new place is a large creek that leads right to the Erie Canal. So stay posted for updates.

Also, I plan to make the cockpit a bit larger and making my own combing for it, using a thin laminate wood, then cover it in fiberglass as well as using the same to attach it to the hull. I know this will be a labor of love, but will result in a one of a kind kayak that is fit perfectly to my wants and needs, and I can take aa personal amount of pride in.

 

Well, the ball is rolling. Learning how to fiberglass real quick. All the bad spots have been patched up, and the cockpit has been enlarged. Working on the new combing right now. First attept to mold one met with mixed results. After 3 layers of glass it is still very flexable, so I am planning to redesign it with bent wood laminate, and the just a layer of glass over that. Some odd contours near the front of the cockpit opening I will probably just fill eith a bondo filler or something similar. After that, hatches and a foam bulkhead, sand and paint, then finally deck rigging and done! I'll post pics of my progress later.

 

Not sure if this post has much of a following, but here is another update anyway.

I sanded down all the rough spots and used fiberglass cloth on the inside, and a coating a resin on the outside. I also cut the cockpit bigger and built a new coaming using laminates of plywood, and added some filler to smooth everything out, then going to put a layer or two of glass over all that when I am done. I cut hatches front and rear. The hatches will be using the cut out part as the lid, I am making a lip on the inside that the cover will sit on with a seal on the hatch, and then held in place by 1" webbing with plastic buckles. I made a seat out of 3/4" layers of minicell foam (thats all I could find) that seems to be suitable for a long day of paddling. Backband will be coming from the same material, along with a bulkhead behind the seat. Also added a 1" drain plug to the rear just in case water gets in there. Also going to add some poly resin to the inside to get rid of them fiberglass itches. This boat is almost 40 years old (1974 according to the HIN), and I am suprised at the condition its in.

Once the coaming and hatches are done, I am going to cover it all with a layer of glass, sand, prime and then paint. Add my deck rigging, and away I go!

Also, just in case anyone is curios, I am painting the hull white, top deck black, and the rigging will be orange. I am also thinking about accenting the deck with some orange art of some kind as well.