I have a small crack in the cockpit lip on a Wavesport Diesel. The crack is on the lip above the left thigh brace, so it opens up when I am in the boat and closes when I'm not. I have contemplated getting a plastic welder to fix it. Any recommendations? My biggest concern is getting the correct material to repair the plastic.

Thanks.

Toby

I just ordered a Hejet HJ-500SH plastic welder, 4A model. I am going to make a bunch of practice welds on some think polyeurathane plastic this week before I go for the real weld. Based on the feedback I got from the welder rep, this should be pretty easy to do. I will take some photos and post my weld results online. Wish me luck.

Is the crack directly behind where the thigh brace interfaces with the cockpit combing. There is a little dimple in the combing there. If this is where it has cracked then take the boat back. There have been some problems with EZG's cracking there. This is the first other boat that I have heard of though. It may very well be a warranty issue that you would not be able to use if you plastice weld it.

The crack is on the combing. I used the thigh brace as a reference point and the crack lies about three inches aft of the screw holes for the left thigh brace.

I boat the boat used and suspect the crack is due to mounting the kayak on my roof rack with the cockpit against the Yakima Kayak Riser. The crack expands when I sit in the boat, but is flush when I am not in the boat.

A colleague of mine has heard of the Diesels having this issue as well. The crack doesn't pose a structural issue at this point, but I want to prevent it from splitting all the way through the combing. Right now, it is a partial crack, about one inch in length.

Even though you bought the boat used take it to a Wavesport dealer and see if they will warranty the boat. They may just take pictures and then let you use the boat till the rep is in the area at which point you would have to bring it in for him to see. That is what I have done for my customers. Sometimes if I think that the boat should not have cracked then I will replace it for people and deal with the rep on my own.

I cracked 2 Big EZ's in the exact same place and Wave Sport gave me a new boat both times, no problem... Check with them first. They are very helpful. Otherwise good luck. Don't forget to drill a small hole on either side of the crack before you weld. That will help prevent the crack growing. I wouldn't know though, I've never welded plastic before...

Thanks for the information on checking with Wavesport first. I have already ordered the gun and will chat with the reps first before I attempt any welding.

I can always use duct tape as a temporary fix. Duct tape fixes everything! Even the Space Shuttle.

Alright. Wavesport will only offer the warranty (a three year warranty, by the way) to the original owner, which I completely understand. I will repair the boat.

Thanks for all of your help. Again, I will post the results of my repair online when I give it finished.

Toby

if they are still using crosslink I doubt you will be able to weld it as it is much more akward than standard polyethaline due to the way it is made! Unless they have changed recently I know an experienced welder and he wont touch wavesports due to this good luck or keep on using gaffa tape

Thanks for the heads up, Urge.

According to paddling.net, it is made of polyethylene.

www.paddling.net/buyersguide/advResults....rby=b1.name,p1.price

I will find out tonight how it holds up.

Well, good news. The Diesel definitely is Polyethylene, not Poly Uretahne like my girlfriend.

I am on my fourth weld right now. I am learning a lot about the welding of plastic and kayaks. Let me tell you, the combing is a tough spot to weld. The good news is I have a large weld in place that looks like it is holding. Thankfully, the boat is blue, the weld is white, and it sits under my spray skirt. I have been documenting this whole process so I can share all of my pain and cursing with you.

I did manage to patch a gouge in the bottom of an Ace 4.7 without much trouble. I will take cracked hulls over cracked combings any day.

I will post the photos once I have the project completed.

Cross link is the type of polyethaline they use which is stiffer so should last better unless it cracks which yours has unfortunatly done.

Another option would be to see if you can buy just a shell from your local dealer and put all your outfittings in it and then you will have an awsome flower pot!

Sweet! Or I could make it into a giant cooler and haul a beer keg in it! Maybe I could use the shell for the pond skimming contest at our local ski resory, now THAT would be sweet!

I got the welds in place last night. I sat in the boat this morning and tested the welds. I think I was testing them too early and kept breaking it. We'll see how it holds up this weekend. Going to the South Fork of the American River and running some Class II stuff. I will have the welder and the gaffa tape with me just in case.

Well, I've had to re-weld the crack three times. I have learned a thing or two from this little exercise.

1. Urge is right (don't let it go to your head ) The crosslink polyethylene is different from standard polyetylene. It has a slightly lower metling temperature, which makes bond PE to XLink PE a pain.

2. If you are going to repair your boat, cut some plastic from the inside of your boat and use that for welding. There is a lot of spare material around the cockpit of the Diesel that I had access to, which made all the difference.

I have to remove all of the existing PE from my old weld, which wasn't much of an issue since it didn't bond to any of the plastic. I have heard from a couple of people that the Diesels are known for not having the best plastic and are known to fail in some cases (weak material in the cockpit flange, flattened noses, dents, etc.) It's a great boat to learn in (which is what I am doing right now) but I would be hesitant to buy another.

Thanks again for your help and advice.


Toby

Alright! The weld held together! I think the combination of using the boat plastic plus forcing some extra melted plastic inside of the crack in the cockpit did the trick. I used a couple of hard braces on the side where the weld is and I did not hear the sound of the weld cracking. Sweet! I'll get antoerh chance to test it in a couple of weeks when I run some bigger water in the Gorge of the South Fork American River.

Toby