Thread: Restoring vintage fibreglass kayak

Hi Fuzzie, sorry this is so late - only noticed it yesterday and am still considering what advice to give.

Regarding the seat, I will dig up some photos of my home made seats later to give you some ideas.

The bottom looks quite scratched in your photo but it may be better than it looks. Anywhere that has gone through to the glass fibres needs attention. You can either fill and then glass over it or just glass it. Lightweight glass cloth (not mat) will do. After patching these areas I would mask off most of the bottom, sand lightly, clean with a solvent eg metho then squeegee a thin coat of epoxy over it. Two thin coats would be better.

There is a lot more to be said about the glassing process and I can fill you in on that later depending on what you decide to do.

I also have some scraps of 86gsm cloth which would be ideal and can post some to you.
How much epoxy do you have?

Thanks Bob. The scratches look mostly cosmetic scrapes over rocks I would guess. There are only a couple of minor impact spots where the glass has been exposed and could be easily filled with builders bog.

I have about 400ml of Wests epoxy left which I'd probably prefer to retain for filling knots in wood - if I understand correctly the suggestions on the boatdesign.net thread that for a kayak of this age and design maybe simply painting it with an epoxy enamel paint would be a sensible renovation option.

I haven't put it in the water yet. I guess I had better find out first that it floats and can actually carry my weight. The shell was only $25 at the local tip shop. It was holding quite a bit of rain water when I picked it up, so I don't think it leaks. The lack of a seat is the main issue, somebody suggested just lining the bottom with an exercise mat would do for starters.

I suspect an exercise mat would be somewhat uncomfortable due to the keelson running down the middle of the hull .....

A seat can be quite simple though. You just need to make something that straddles the central ridge and has a flat top. Then you can put a piece of thick closed cell foam on it with hollows to fit. Note that closed cell is important - you don't want to be sitting on a sponge.

This my skin on frame kayak seat. No cover, just closed cell foam with a couple of suitable hollows, held in place by velcro strips. Can't remember for sure but I think I just sanded the hollows out with a ROS and coarse paper.
SOF seat [800x600].JPG

My fishing SOT is similar but with a fabric cover and a removable backrest. Still simple to make though. Seat base is held in place with velcro strips and the backrest has a bungy loop that can be unhooked.

SOT seat [800x600].JPG SOT seat lifted [800x600].JPG Seat back restraint [800x600].JPG

My 11 footer has a seat carved out of thick polystyrene foam from one of those foam surfboards that were around back in the 70s. Again, fabric cover and held in place by velcro. There is a layer of soft foam under the cover to provide extra cushioning. The ridge near the top of the backrest jams in under the back of the cockpit coaming to keep it in place.
11 footer seat side view [800x600].JPG11 footer seat location [800x600].JPG11 footer seat [800x600].JPG

Note that they are all removable for drying to avoid mould.

With regard to using builders bog in the dinged areas, be careful with this as it could pop out fairly easily. As far as I know that type of filler uses polyester resin which is the same as used in most fibreglass boats but it doesn't stick as well as epoxy. Also, being a thickish lump it will not flex with the hull. Even if it stays in place it may not seal properly. If it was me I would put a layer of glass over it extending 25 - 50 mm out to each side.

Good luck with it and let us know how you get on.