newbie kayak gear question

[perchbutt]

My first time out in my new used kayak-
ran into a gravel shoal called a boat-launch. Kayak's plastic. It scrapes. Anything out there like a bow protector? Would it be dumb to attach some flashing or other metal to the area or is there something better out there to use?

[wvbreamfisherman]

Don't know about kayaks, but there are kevlar rub pads you can attach to canoes with epoxy.

Most kayaks are polyethylene and epoxy doesn't stick well to polyethylene.

[perchbutt]

hmm...
mine's recycled plastic....maybe...

[wvbreamfisherman]

Check with the manufacturer to see what material it's made from. It IS possible to bind epoxy to polyethylene, but you have to prepare the surface with a torch.
http://www.oldtowncanoe.com/pdfs/Dis...Repair_Kit.pdf

I don't know if I'd put this much effort into putting a kevlar pad on a kayak. On my Royalex/Oltonar (ABS laminate) canoe I generally just sand around the deep gouges, wipe with acetone and fill them with JB Weld epoxy. This might work on polyethylene if you do the torch treatment first.

[ChadTower]

I would just walk further out into the water so I'm not getting into the thing on the rocks.

[perchbutt]

It's rocks or brush and rocks, and very nice fishing hole....
oh well, it'll be what it is- better to go out and play than sit around rotting. ;o)

[wvbreamfisherman]

Better to wear out than to rust!

[Subaru Camper]

I wouldn't worry too much about it scraping as I have beating the heck out of my kayak over the years and it still performs fantastic. The bottom of it is not pretty to look at but I look at them as battle scars and proof of the kayak being used (not abused).

Kayaks are pretty resilient and will take a lot of wear before that impacts performance, I have never seen any pads you can add but they may be out there. I would just suggest not worrying about it as it's going to be more cosmetic than anything else.

My motto is if it works, who cares what it looks like!

[Newanderthal]

it's just battle scars.