Water sealant

[Shawn L]

I'm installing some Scotty bases on the yak and was looking for suggestions on sealant. What type/brand works best to coat under the bases and in the screw holes?

[On the fly]

Marine goop, I think west marine a carries it.

[Shawn L]

Thanks. Will get some tomorrow.

[kuljc]

Marine goop, I think west marine a carries it.

same. advance auto has the cheapest that i've found in a local store

[J.A. Veil]

Goop comes in several different formulations. You don't need the Marine Goop -- I have used Marine and regular and see no difference. You can buy a tube of regular Goop at Home Depot for ~$5.

[ComeOnFish]

you don't need to seal screw and bolt holes - assuming you drill a proper size holes. Water intrusion is minimal through screw and bolt holes. I mean less than an ounce for 24 hours. Sealant will make you feel better only. Tight hole is more important. Put a screw into a hole and suck it with your mouth if you can inhale a bit of air. You can't.
99.99% water intrusion happens through the hatches and ruder cable holes When he kayak is turtled or in the rough water (2.5-3' waves for some brand. 1' waves for some cheap brand).- which you have no control about.
Just learn how to upright the kayak in within 1-2 minutes. 5 minutes is not good for the most of SOT kayaks.

joe

[mweber02]

I just bought some "RV Goop" from Walmart tonight for under $4. The 3M version sold in BPS was $16.

[CAGE RATTLER]

I've always been curious as to why every kayak forum says to use GOOP?
Whats wrong with good ole silicone??

[mweber02]

I have never used Goop, but in my experience most silicones are not water proof. You can get them a little wet and they are fine, but long exposure or submersion it water will cause them to break down and leak. I made that mistake long ago using bathroom silicone to seal a leaking toilet tank. It only worked for a couple of weeks at best.

Now, from what I have read, there are plenty of people that feel a sealant isn't necessary at all. But if you are going to use a sealant, it makes sense to use one that will endure.

[ComeOnFish]

semi permanent or permanent glue on kayak

When I re/installed center hatches (to seal the round cover plates) and drilled big holes for the FF cable/wire (The FF packages didn't come with the rubber seals for the cable holes), I used bath tub caulk first. later I use duct seal. I don't use any glue that are semi permanent or permanent. I learned that when I remove or reinstalling devices such as FF. I use duct seal well for the transducer. Think removal and reinstall before applying glue.

Joe

[JKay]

I've always been curious as to why every kayak forum says to use GOOP?
Whats wrong with good ole silicone??

Goop is much tougher and water resistant than silicone. It also sticks much better to polyethylene kayaks.

[J.A. Veil]

Goop is much tougher and water resistant than silicone. It also sticks much better to polyethylene kayaks.

+2
I tried to remove a Gooped-on transducer from a previous kayak. It was tough to get it loose. Goop holds very well.

[dsiekman]

I used Goop to install my transducer. It worked great until it was knocked loose by an unsecured battery during transport. I picked up something called Lexel at the local hardware store. Supposed to be better than Goop, but we'll see. I have not installed it yet and have been using a pvc arm instead. The drag the arm creates is very noticeable and the increase in clarity of the FF is not, at least on my yak. I think I'm going back to shoot thru.

If you're really concerned about water intrusion on an install, check to see if 5200 will stick to polyethylene. I'm guessing it will since it sticks to everything else! 5200 is rated for marine use below the waterline.

[JKay]

I've used silicone, goop, and now finally duct seal putty for my transducer installs in a number of kayaks. The duct seal is by far the easiest to use. You tear off a small ball of it, flatten it out with your hand, and stick it to the hull. You then press the transducer down into it and mush it down as much as you can. You can push some of the excess material up the side of the transducer to further help hold it in place. It takes about 5 minutes to install and there is no drying. You can get the stuff in the plumbing section of Lowes.

[ronaultmtd]

I haven't seen anything...repeat anything that permanently sticks to roto-moulded linear plastic- not epoxy, glues, silicon, duct putty- absolutely nothing really and truly sticks to this stuff- slicker than snail snot-