This spring, it is my great honor to visit several stores in the Northwest and share some of my care and repair experience for Eddyline, Mocean, Delta and Hurricane Kayaks. All of these kayaks are made from a heat formed ABS material and there are some strategies for repair that differ from polyethylene or fiberglass repair. You can easily make your own care and repair kit, and I will include links for these items in this thread (helps us a bit too).

First, let’s start with the strength and benefits of thermoform kayaks.

The acrylic capped ABS material that your kayak is made of if it is thermformed offers many advantages over poly kayaks while also offering the light weight and repairability of composite kayaks (fiberglass, kevlar and carbon).

UV The most common abuse most kayaks endure is UV damage and the outside of your thermoformed kayak has great UV stability. It will maintain shapes even at high temps and fading (as seen in poly boats) is minimal.

Abrasion is the second most common abuse and thermoform really earns first place over poly (soft) and composite (soft resin or gel coats). If you are gouging a thermoform kayak, you can be assured that a poly boat would have even deeper scratches and so would a composite kayak.

Glancing Impact The third most common abuse is glancing impact like you might experience if you bump your boat while movoing in the garage or glancing a log or rock without heavy force. You’ll see minimal damage besides a little scuff.

Loaded impact is where composite and thermoform kayaks can see more damage but the good news is that they can be repaired!

In summary, when we talk about “durability”, we have to pin down the type of abuse instead of making general statements. Poly does well with heavy thumps but not so well with long term sun abuse or abrasive abuse. Composite and thermoform boats will not degrade in a big way in the sun but heavy weighted impacts may be cause for repair.

Let’s get into the materials needed to tackle repairs.

Sealants

When to use: A common reason you would need a sealant for thermoformed kayaks is usually most often in Bulkhead repair. Perhaps your kayak was squashed in some way in travel or by snow (happens more than you would imagine) and the bulkhead broke its glue seal. In some older Eddyline kayaks, the process of bulkhead sealing wasn’t as good as later years for WA made boats so that may be a need for sealing attention. If you notice water passing through the joint between hull/deck and bulkhead, you can simply seal.

From most aggressive to least, here is what I recommend:

Stickiest and will actually help to reinforce- 3M 5200 Marine Sealant: https://amzn.to/4aPBVXx

Lexel Sealant not as sticky as 5200 but still offers some structural “bite” and maintains a flexi consistency when cured so useful for areas that might flex after the repair. 3M 5200 will also remain flexy.

Silicone Sealant – my most common use for this is to seal up a hatch ring that may be allowing in water. Also useful to seal around hardware. I’m a big fan of Sikaflex Marine Adhesive.

Scratches and Marks

These are really the most common requests I get from paddlers. Catastrophic injury is quite rare and usually not a result of paddling. But occasional bump marks, rack/pad scum and paddle hits or something you will very likely get.

At some level, the best strategy is to just let some of the stuff go and realize these are the little badges of using your Kayak and achieving water-based nirvana. However, there are some easy ways to clean up your kayak.

* never use acetone or aggressive chemical cleaners on the thermal formed Kayaks. Rubbing alcohol, soap and water and elbow grease are your best options.

Novus Polishing Kit for Acrylic – Manufacturers have this stuff at their final stations to give that shine https://amzn.to/4rV1XOT

303 UV Protectant – this is a must have. Not only can you use it on your kayak but you can also use it on Seat fabrics and your paddling gear. I also find that it helps restore luster and shine and also gives a coating that seems to keep your kayak cleaner for longer! https://amzn.to/3MQqTIm

Cleaning – I use Simple Green to help remove cartop bugs, marks and dirt. I like this spray bottle of concentrate. Rinse first, then mist this on my boat and scrub. https://amzn.to/46J9tE8

Rubbing Alcohol Spray is a must have too: https://amzn.to/4rPkkox

Magic Erasers – you’ll see the video that I found other ways to get marks off that don’t take away a little bit of the luster, but in places where you have marks that you don’t mind taking away a very small amount of shine, then magic eraser is a great option. I tried to avoid using this on the deck of my kayak because it does show up under a certain light conditions, but I use freely on the bottom of my kayak which generally gets more marks and goop on it than the deck anyhow. I like this pack because the foamy one inlcuded can be useful too: https://amzn.to/4ujkdDu

Lastly, a note on Keel Strips — I’m not endorsing these type of products though I certainly know paddlers who use after-market keel strips. My history is that I actually represented various keel strip products (Keel Eazy, Bulldog Patches, Rec Repair). Eddyline even sold kits and custom installed them for a few years. My experience with these products and their long-term results is what has changed my tune. I stopped representing these type of products and Eddyline stopped endorsing the use and stopped installing and selling keel strips. Here is my take: 

1. It’s easy to fill deep gouges with white devcon plastic welder. This replaces missing material with a curing acrylic based material which is essentially what the outer layer of the thermoformed material. Can be sanded to match very well.
2. Keel strips eventually peel up and leave a mess. Very hard to clean off the adhesive used in most keel strips. The really agressive ones (UV cure type) could also void warranty.
3. They are felt and heard on waterline, ever so slightly. You pay for sharp entry and exit lines…why change them?
4. When selling your kayak, the keel strip could potentially cover up real abuse. I don’t want to buy something that I don’t know what is under it. If I see a keel strip on a used thermoform kayak, I usually avoid them. 
5. They cosmetically bother me. 
6. Even the original Eddyline crew stopped selling and recommending them! Once you learn how easy a gouge is to repair there seems no need for these.

How I clean my Thermoform Kayak from marks and scratches Video:

Gouge or Crack Repair

Devcon Plastic Welder – This is the secret sauce and a must have for any field repair kit! https://amzn.to/3OYujt0

Plastic Welder in White (great for gauges and scratches) : this has become very hard to find it will update with a link when I find it.

The Dremel Kit I Use: https://amzn.to/4l88cMR

Krylon Fusion for coloring https://amzn.to/4s8Aj1j

Fiberglass Cloth Tape This is the cloth I use for internal crack repair along with Devon Plastic welder (see vids below)

Here are some vids that I created to go through my tools and process:

Thermoform Repair Part 1: What Ya Need

Thermoform Repair Part 2: Thermoform gouge and fracture repair

Stay tuned to see if this can be fixed!

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