I tied my kayak down on my roof rack really tight and now I have a dent in the bottom. Is there any way to correct this?
I tied my kayak down on my roof rack really tight and now I have a dent in the bottom. Is there any way to correct this?
There are a couple different options presented here to remove a dent in your kayak.
If the dent or deformation won’t push out easily, leave the kayak in the sun with a black garbage bag over the area. This should heat and soften the plastic to the point that you can easily push the dent out of the hull. Polyethelyne plastic has a memory from being first molded, so over time time it should return to its original shape.
Heat and Pressure. Watch the following video to learn how to use a combination of heat applied to both sides of the dent and pressure outwards, gives us the result we need. With a bit of patience, hot water and a heat gun you can restore your kayak hull to it's original shape.
Here is some additional info: Due to the nature of plastic it may happen that a kayak will develop an indentation in the hull that we refer to as ‘oil canning.’ These indentations tend to form under pressure, either by hitting a particularly hard surface or through improper transport or storage.
The first technique to remove a dent is to place the kayak in direct sunlight (the temperature must be hot enough to soften the plastic) where the kayak will heat up and naturally reform to its original shape over the course of a few hours. Once done it should retain its proper shape. If that does not work the process may need some additional help in the form of weights/ your hands to push the indentation back out. Again, once reformed it should retain its proper shape. If you do not have access to natural ‘effective’ sunlight you may follow the above steps using extremely hot water or a hair dryer to achieve the softening effect needed. Please note that you will heat the plastic just until it is pliable, not to melting. A heat gun may be used for the same purpose but in inexperienced hands may do more harm than good and thus is not suggested except as a last resort. To avoid the same issue in the future please read the sections on the proper storing and transporting of kayaks.
For long-term storage and to prevent hull deformation, your kayak should be kept on its side or upside down, on a padded rack with bars placed on or near the bulk heads. Take care to protect it from long – term exposure to the sun or extreme heat, ...
When transporting your kayak / SUP, take care to avoid potential damage or distortion to the hull. A good rack system allows you to transport your craft on your vehicle safely and securely. When transporting a composite FG or thermoformed ABS, you ...
Here are the necessary things to replace a broken support / bottle holder on a thermoformed ABS kayak. Materials and Tools: a sharp utility knife small prybar sand paper gloves glue - we suggest a high quality plastic/metal adhesive which can be ...
There is no reason why you cannot fix a plastic ABS Thermoformed or Composite boat on your own. Using these resources and the right tools it can be done. If it seems too difficult, then many kayak dealers and also marinas offer this service. Ask ...
in this 4 min video we show you the parts and steps needed to assemble and mount your two kayak cradles on your roof racks. For demo on how to tie the kayak on to a cradle please check out the last part of this video and skip to min 5:00: ...