Bonding adhesive for deck to hull.

I have built sea kayaks in the past where you can access the seam to bond deck to hull. I always wondered how they bond deck to hull on a surfski with no internal access.

I recently fitted a rear hatch in my Epic V8 which gave me the opportunity to internally inspect the seam. I was amazed as there appears to be no lip. The joint adhesive can just be seen. The only other bonding is the narrow external tape. The adhesive they use must be amazingly strong. Any ideas on what it is...Plexus maybe?

Obviously the longitudinal foam stringer is also used to bond, but it is the seam that interests me.

Do you think it is likely that a good Do-It-Yourselfer could remove the top deck from a Stellar, Epic or other ski made by the Flying Eagle Boat Company, to do internal hull repairs, and get it bonded back on again?

1xsculler wrote: Do you think it is likely that a good Do-It-Yourselfer could remove the top deck from a Stellar, Epic or other ski made by the Flying Eagle Boat Company, to do internal hull repairs, and get it bonded back on again?

No, that sounds a bit drastic.I built my own open cockpit sea kayak many years ago and bonded the seating pod on last a separate moulding. This allowed me to tape the inside seam as per normal on a sea kayak. I am amazed that no such internal taping is carried out on a ski and yet the seam is strong. Having witness my Epic ski get blown bouncing down the stoney beach with no damage, I am very impressed.

I would love to know what adhesive is used as I am interested in making another open cockpit sea kayak and this method would allow a deck moulding in one.

The most common glue used is Plexus - it comes in a number of types (mainly variations on drying time). Watch out - it exotherms quite a bit and cause blistering. Prepare surfaces well and degrease. You can take the deck off but I do not suggest that you try this. Only remove a section and work through that. Cutting the deck off is a mission - cutting along the seam line is really hard. Also remember there is a glued in stringer which makes lifting the deck off difficult. So cut a "work hatch" and even then cut on three sides and flap up the deck and work through this gap. Glue back in place and finish off neatly - I suggest cover surgery with a sticker as getting paint to match is near impossible!

Van Dusen kayak hulls and decks used to be edge butted with epoxy glue (using a thick nomex core) and I bet that is what epic do now although the core is thinner and they put a cloth "tape edge" over the seam too, it does generally work well for them !

latman wrote: Van Dusen kayak hulls and decks used to be edge butted with epoxy glue (using a thick nomex core) and I bet that is what epic do now although the core is thinner and they put a cloth "tape edge" over the seam too, it does generally work well for them !

Yes that is what it looks like on the Epic I have. I can't believe that epoxy is that strong that it can form a strong bond by butt jointing the thin edges of the hull and deck. The external tape must help, but this is a much lighter bond than would be done on a sea kayak. I notice the Epic V6 and and 18x are taped internally due to the hatch access, so I guess even Epic see this as the way to go if at all possible.

Plexus is a chemical bond so there is no need for thorough cleaning of the surfaces, that is why it was developed. Most other glues bond mechanically using the micro scratches which you have to put there for bonding to take place, Plexus bonds with a chemical reaction eating (etching) its way through most surfaces. It costs a lot but then you do less work.

Been wondering myself , check this out , www.itwplexus.com/industries/marine.cfm