G/flex Epoxy Drivewell Crack Repair

I've caught the dreaded drive-well leak again in my 2009 Hobie Adventure.  
But, Hobie being the stand-up company they are, has agreed to replace the hull
again. 

That's going to take a week or three so I'm going to attempt to patch it in the mean time as I'm tired of having to pump out the live well that the inside of my hull has become. I wish I was exaggerating, but I'm accustomed to pumping out 4" to 6" of water from my hull for every 2 to 3 hours of fishing. 

That said, I saw a commercial for West G/flex epoxy that starts out with "don't try this at home", then went on to cut a perfectly good hdpe kayak in half (it was Tuesday) and then glued it back together again. After it cured, Ben paddled it around a bit, then threw it off a bridge. Okay, he had my attention.
(actually they had me at "Don't,," )



I ran down to my local West Marine where I got a kit to give it a shot (for $2 more than the MSRP)     
Reading the instruction pamphlet suggests that to get the best adhesion, I should douse the boat in Everclear, then light it with a propane torch. Seems Andyjade has gotten some satisfaction from it. Is that what you did? Anybody else?
I'll post pics of my progress.

http://www.epoxyworks.com/26/pdf/Gluing_plastic_Gflex.pdf

Would 5200 work?

 I doubt that 5200 would be as effective.

Wali, I'd watch out for the everclear! Save it for drinkin' and use isopropyl alcohol for cleaning the plastic. When I worked in a boat shop (wood/composite boats) we used it for a solvent for epoxy. It's a heck of a lot cheaper! I'd also let any alcohol evaporate before using the torch, unless you want to save on the shipping charges for sending the old hull back.

Actually 4200 might be good come to think of it. The only "problem" with it is cure time. I used it to "seal" on a gripper cleat and had a REALLY hard time getting it off after it was cured (6 months  or so).

4200 is also the reason that I was the first (I love saying that ) to use goop for transducers. The 4200 was not cured after 8 hours and I had a tube of goop in my glove compartment. 

I think I'm going to try the G/flex just because I have it. I'll probably also skip the flambe' and prep with rubbing alcohol instead. I know it has a lot of water in it, but I've gotten some good results using it to thin small amounts of epoxy.

That was a cool video, the bridge launch is usually how I get my kayak to the water as well. Be sure to use 99% isopropyl alcohol not normal rubbing alcohol, which has water or oils that will interfere with the bonding.

I'd suggest Goof Off.  This stuff is great for prep work. 

I went ahead with the repair using rubbing alcohol and flambe'd it. I did not have any alcohol wipes handy and I didn't use the goof-off because the tested strengths in the attached pdf specified an alcohol prep. Actually I cleaned it well and dried it first, then flamed it.










The surface looks a bit slicker after the flame treatment. The idea is to oxidize the surface (not melt it).



I metered out the epoxy on to a plastic grocery bag,



 then twisted it up into a little pastry bag, and mixed it.



Then pinch the corner to form a spout to dispense it.



I got that from flying (crashing) model airplanes and not having anyplace to mix epoxy for quick repairs. Makes for a thorough blend with no bubbles as lagniappe.

I actually used two course's. The first I mixed in some chopped strand in pastry bag, then pressed it into the boat.



The second was just epoxy to fill any open "weave."




The G/flex was a bit more viscous than most epoxy that I have played with, and this was the un-thickened version as opposed to the one that appeared in the video. It still flowed pretty well and filled out the patches. Seemed to have about a 45 minute open time before it started to kick. I'll see how it firms up in the morning.

10 hours later,,,,,,,, bone dry inside my boat after a 6 mile round trip pedaling hard! (pedaling exacerbates the problem) Wuu whoo!   It's amazing how much faster and easier it is without lugging around 300 extra pounds. (hmmm, perhaps I should lose some Wali as well)

That snotty looking repair was tack free and hard at about 5 hours. I also wonder if I didn't close the cracks a bit with the flame treatment as I could catch a fingernail on it before, but not after.

No matter, it ain't leakin and I have a usable boat till the new hull gets here.


Wonder how long this will last. 

  Wow I thought that with that prone area being filled in solid that the cracking issue was gone!.  My current OB hull is my 3rd and hopefully last hull to be replaced due to drivewell cracking.    I'm wondering now, if I should reinforce that area now, as I did on my 2nd (an 06' hull which still ended up cracking) I used hot glue then. I like the epoxy idea a little better.  Flaming it it new.

Wali.. Thanks for the pic's and the write up.  I now have a new tool in my "fix it" arsenal.  Love the plastic bag epoxy trick! I use disposable syringes to apply epoxy in tight spots but like your way better! 

Is that area more stressed from drive torque or free play movement? Looks like long term fix in photos.

Is that area more stressed from drive torque or free play movement? Looks like long term fix in photos.

I think the short answer is "yes"
Although there is not a lot of play between the drive and the drivewell, it really does not take much. I'll still trying to wrap my head around the couple's, but those fore and aft contact points are definitely loaded. The one in the front for sure and the longitudinal crack seems to confirm that. 

That area also seems kinda thin as light passes through it pretty easily. I understand that the thickness of "through" parts of rotomolded castings are somewhat difficult to control (drivewell, scuppers,,,,). But it also seems like a company that is as proud of their boats as Mr. Alter is, would reinforce an obviously highly stressed area.
 I thought they'd fixed this issue a couple of years back too CGN. I also thought it was limited to the Adventure.
Wrong on both counts.
But as long as he keeps sending me a new hull to replace the cracked one(s) I won't cry tooo much or toooo loud.

Aint nuthin but a G thing, baby! Yes indeed the Jade likes this stuff. But I have had various degrees of success with it, and all corresponded to the prep work. I've patched a sizable crack in a 10 foot SINK (did I really think that boat would make a sweet snow sled? Yes. And it did.) And I've attached many a fin to a prone paddleboard during emergency pre-sesh repairs. But the flambe' approach is the only one that worked for me. The standard issue butane torch from Home Depot was the key for getting this stuff to stick to a Perception-brand boat (some weird linear polymer thingamajig) and a super-slick finbox. I really applied the heat, and, when compared to shoddy/drunken prep jobs, the difference was notable. Oxidize, my friends. I also used Everclear for the EtOH/isopropyl step, but it does contain some impurities. These are negated, however, with the addition of tonic water and a lime. At least it felt negated. Anyway, the beauty of Gflex is that it, well, flexes. When properly applied, it seems to bend with all reasonable torque and pressure. Standard plastic-intended epoxies never did the job. Gotta say, though, that the duct tape weld is pretty stellar. I think it was Alka who mentioned it, and that technique works. Granted, you don't getta pound 190 proof cocktails in the garage, but, hey, we all make sacrifices. Anyway, hope it works out, FFTW.

HOLYSHIT!! he actually just wrote a whole, comprehensible, paragraph!!