How is this done?

Is it just melting the plastic around or in the spot that is being welded and adding new plastic in to that area to build it up?

Is there home brews for welding?

You can plastic weld at home but it will take a plastic welder (good ones are $300) and some practice. Plastic welders have different nozels, and you select the right one then set your temp on the back of the welder. For prep you drill a decent sized hole at each end of the crack, then use a razor to make the crack a deep V. Next cut some of the excess plastic from the inside of the cockpit rim into a 6-12\" long rod, this is you welding rod. Next you use the plastic welder (expensive heat gun basically) and put..if I remember correctly you move it back and forth spending 60% of your time on the boat and 40% on the rod...this is the part that takes practice, put 4-5lbs of pressure on the rod and slowly weld it down into the crack. I like to sand the excess off mine after it's done so nothing sticks out on the bottom of the boat. You want the plastic warm enough to bond, but not too warm, if it starts turning white it's too warm and loses it's structeral integrity. Quite an art that I am not that good at, but do from time to time because the Ski Park I work at has a nice welder.


This one turned out \"decent\" but this boat was really far gone.


Big Crack before weld.


A lot of it depends on the boat, in this case the boat eventually cracked in 4 new places in it's last creek run because plastic eventually just starts breaking down and there is nothing you can do, at least on a creekboat.