A happy seatpad story

My Evo, bless its good design, never agreed with my butt on much of anything. So this weekend I tried a new pad idea (thanks to D.K.) using "anti-friction" teflon tape. Here's my recipe:

1. 2mm neoprene padding cut to fit in the seat well
2. Strap down neoprene so it's entirely covered with "preservation tape".
3. Strap over that completely with overlapped teflon antifriction tape, running parallel to the keel.

The point of the preservation tape is durability and keeping the pad held down, while the teflon is for slippery-ness.

Despite the slightly higher seating position, I feel more stable and faster because I can now rotate like I'm sitting on a giant slab of butter (not that I know what that feels like).

The only drawback is that the teflon tape is **really** expensive (even more than preservation tape): $49US for a 5cm X 18m roll, from the local marine supply here in Seattle.

John

Use UHMW "slippery tape". The roll is 1" X 18' and costs $11.50 cdn from Lee Valley Tools. They are also in US.
The stuff works well on selected parts of a K1 seat too.

Thanks Jim, for the tip on UHMW-PE. Looking around for it, it seems to be less expensive than teflon. Though you probably meant that roll is 18m, not 18 feet ...

John,

You can order via the link below, but I could give you some after the next SWIFT. Jimmy already scammed some from me!


www.mcmaster.com/#76445a714/

Don

Lots of info on that link, Don - Thanks! Looks like the adhesive on the tape might be a consideration too - some use silicone which I think is bad on gelcoat.

Gents. Your solution sounds a good one (better than a pre manufactured generic seat pad). The website (McMaster has a glut of information. Which tape has the best bonding ability, bearing in mind that it will be set on 'preservation' tape and will often be submersed?

I had some seat issues myself and this seatpad worked wonders for me.

www.linckekayakequipment.com/store/index...-and-back-system.cfm

Not sure about "best," but the UHMW Polyethylene definitely works well on 3M Scotch Preservation Sealing Tape.

Don

Re: bonding, some has silicone-based sticky, others acrylic. I heard silicone is bad for gelcoat. I'm going to try the UHMW tape next.

I've heard the Lincke pads are good, but I wanted minimal thickness so I used 2mm neoprene under the tape.

Regarding which sticks the best: funny you should ask that.
Disaster … last weekend, halfway through a race, the super-thin teflon tape I had first used began peeling up from its edges. (see photo ) Quickly it rolled up into a sticky troublesome mass, and my pace dropped by about 2kmph. The thicker UHMW tape has much tougher durability, but damn if I could get it to apply during our recent cold snap in Seattle (later I found that 1000W halogen lamps worked great to heat the cockpit area).

Both tapes applied and stuck well on both gelcoat and preservation tape underlayment, as long as I didn't apply outdoors during temps too cold (low 40's F). The real problem is that abrasion on the seat during paddling peels back the thin tape's edge. I have not had this problem with the thicker tape.

The thick UHMW tape I used was labeled as .0615" thickness on the mcmaster-carr website. Beware that the chart I saw has confused labeling . I believe the thin PTFE tape is .0045", but can't be sure as I got it from a different source.

Just make sure you don't use tape that is too thin!