What is best glue for kayaks?

[Old Cajun]

I am attempting to attach Gym flooring to strategic spots as bumper pads on my kayaks. I will be moving to Tampa and will be facing a lot of barnacles on bridges, docks, etc.

Boy is this stuff tough!!! Hard to cut even with a very sharp knife. It doesn't absorb water. I have dragged it over rough concrete, asphalt, etc. and you can't see any wear on the stuff.

I used marine goop and it didn't work on the kayak side. I also, tried to glue a plastic box to hold my battery--same thing. I have Loctite Marine Epoxy. Unfortunately, I didn't see the extremely fine print until I got home that said--won't bond polyethylene or polypropylene products.

Any suggestions appreciated and needed.

Old Cajun

[mweber02]

You might need to rough sand the yak in the spots you want the glue to adhere.

[Old Cajun]

You might need to rough sand the yak in the spots you want the glue to adhere.

I didn't sand it. Will wait on others and than try sanding before the marine goop. Thanks Mike!

[On the fly]

Short answer, there isn't one. I was working with a company last year trying to get an adhesive to keep a keel protector in place. We sanded, heated, cleaned, just about anything and they all failed at some point. Some lasted short time some lasted a little longer but all failed . What worked on fiberglass would not hold on roto mold plastic. For some reason it is a difficult task especially with something that is going to take abuse on the underside of the kayak. I know the soft pads on the top decks you can buy use adhesive but you can pull them off. You don' t want that for a keel type protector.

I did use marine goop inside my hull for transducer mount but you can pull it up and it gets no abuse inside the hull. I have seen where people used marine tex epoxy on front of keel. It seemed to stay in place. Here is a link to a thread where one person did just that : http://www.jaxkayakfishing.com/phpBB/topic22623.html

Wish we could find an adhesive that would be permanent.

Good luck!

[Yak Fish]

I asked this of one of our materials engineers at work and he said you need to flame treat the polyethylene....and that was about as far as I was going to take the conversation because a blow torch and my hull were not going to meet.

[Shady]

I used "seal all" to glue on the side protection stuff on my kayak. It holds for while, but then I end up having to re glue

[Ganto]

I use KeelEazy on the bottom of my Hobie to protect it from all of the rough surfaces that I drag it through especially on the rivers. Once it is on it is difficult to get off. Best substance I have ever found that adheres to the kayak. Here is the link: http://www.keeleazy.com/

[tufnik]

There's a thread on this subject in the Dry Dock section.

Some guys use duct tape and tubing along the sides of the kayak. I use an old garden hose maybe 3 ft long along each front side. Gorilla tape, or some other duct tape, holds it in place. It's temporary, but does the job. I need it because I fish the pilings at CBBT and wrecks at Kipto. So far, works fine.

[zimm]

Not an easy task
as I understand it, most if not all plastics film up on the surface with an oily residue during the curing process. Sanding with a low number grit 60-80 ( you just want a rough surface 2-3 passes should do it) will get some grip but not enough for long term adhesion.
Prior to sanding an alcohol wipe down to remove other impurities

now for the scary part to get a few more days of grip

step 1
- alcohol wash
step2-
let the alcohol completely evaporate
step 3 -
sand/ scrape the surface
step 4-
flame treat the sanded area use a flame spreader ( wide paint remover nozzle) a quick pass over the area shoul;d produce a smooth surface . before the area has a chance to cool spread goop in a layer sufficient to hold your added padding

I've successfully used this method to repair a rip on a Coleman canoe in an area that takes some stress and its held through a few trips with no separation. it's Ram X that they (Coleman ) say can't be bonded

.

[reel-em-in]

You could try this http://www.westmarine.com/west-syste...04_120_001_507

[Frogsauce]

Contact Cement has worked well for me in spots where other glues have failed. Just need to clean and then rough up the two contact points first.

[Runnin]

+1 to Frogsauce. Contact cement. Sand first.

[J.A. Veil]

I have had very tight bonding using Marine Goop after an alcohol wipe and some light sanding.

Another adhesive not previously mentioned is 3M 5200. It is often used in the boating industry for making tight/permanent bonds. I have never tried it on the plastic used in kayak hulls however.

[The dragon]

Ive been using GORILLA tape on the bow and stern and its working great specially when Im at CBBT.