Cracked Jackson Kayak

[j cagg]

This may be far fetched but what about that spray stuff they advertise on TV You know the guy who cuts the bottom out of a boat and puts a screen door in

I wonder how that would work for stretching the life out of a beat up hull?

[j cagg]

Steve- as faer as I'm concerned, your patch job held up GREAT! I am very abusive to my hull! LOL! Rock spins really get me off!

[Nick Bowley]

I found 2 more cracks in my Jackson Rocker making it a total of 3 so far.   I don't even use that boat that much and dont know where those cracks came from.  I fiberglassed all 3 cracks.

I am not sure this thread will ever die.  Maybe it shouldn't.

[Eric Ruhl]

Like I said, when you are finally ready to give up, I want to try and make a nice frankenstein patch from various substances and at the very least it will look amusing and we can take some pictures about how bad Jackson boats are for handling a crack 

[j cagg]

Scrubbing the mud out of the scrapes and the Gorilla Glue was done. Going to order more G-Flex. Steve's patch held up for quite a while. Might as well go with what works...

[Nick Bowley]

Ill see how the fiberglass holds up.   I have been exchanging emails with Eric Jackson today, we are going to have to agree to disagree.

[j cagg]

Love the hull, hate the repair...

[j cagg]

Nick- Have you had the Rocker out enough to see how the bond of the glass is holding up?

[lucky leprechaun]

Speaking from personal experience, just some thing to think about....most cracks are caused, or at least started by transporting kayaks. Crosslinks can be welded by the right person, the manufactures say it can't be welded, this guy welds the stuff for a living....http://www.merchantcircle.com/business/Plastic.Welding.New.Holland.PA.717-445-7031
True, it's not a pretty as linear plastic after its been sanded, but a patched boat is a patched boat.

[Maribo]

... but it hasn't fractured yet!

[lucky leprechaun]

Here's some good tips for cracking boats...
-Always use ratchet straps (the real wide ones that truckers use, at least 20'000 lbs rating) when transporting kayaks and crank down real hard with all your might, to make sure they do not come loose while driving (it might come loose and break if it's not tight enough). 
-While transporting, always load the boats, hull to cockpit, this will ensure good crack development under the cockpit (good weak/ thin plastic spot on most boats)
-Never carry your boat, it might get use to it. Start every paddle by dragging your loaded boat to the put-in and at the end of the day back to the car. 
-Always, always, seal launch, the higher the better, even if it's rocky, this gets some nice deep gauges from bow to stern, and could potentially start a good crack, maybe in the sweet spot right under the seat.
-Rock splat/rock spin everything, even in class one, this is a good warm-up, kinda tenderizing the hull a little.
-Never run a river in high water, there aren't any good rocks to hit...duh.
-Always store your kayak outside in direct sun, hull down on rocky ground.  This will aid in making the plastic brittle and deforming the hull....good stuff.
-Refine your boof on DRY (who needs water???) rocks, not only does it make you a better boater, it really grinds away at the hull (sweet spot under the seat). 
-Never wash the inside of your boat. All that river grit that you have been collecting aids in grinding away the hull from the inside. This acts like layer of sandpaper between the hull and underside of the seat. 
-If you are a playboater, always play in shallow features.... go big or go home with an intact boat ...boooo. 
-A good pin, wrap and extended boat retrieval in rising water is also a great way to start the cracking phenomenon.
-Paddle down south more...the rocks are sharper.
-If your hull is oil canned, it means you are not trying hard enough. Solution - find sharper rocks (see above)
-Get your boat on the trailer FIRST at the LY. That way everyone else can throw their boats on top and help you in your mission...to crack your boat.
-If a crack does start to form, do absolutely NOTHING about it.  Don't pay attention to it.  You do not want to disturb the cracking process, let nature take it's course.  If you catch it too soon it will not have time to reach full maturity (complete hull failure).  DO NOT drill the ends of the crack to stop it enlarging and attempt to repair it. This will stop the crack dead in it's tracks....not good for cracking  booo.
-All of these methods should be applied in cold weather, to really expedite the process.

I'm sure there are some that I've missed, feel free to add to the list, but this is a good start, hope this helps.....let the cracking begin.LOL

[Eric Ruhl]

Here's some good tips for cracking boats...

I'm sure there are some that I've missed, feel free to add to the list, but this is a good start, hope this helps.....let the cracking begin.LOL

Buy a JACKSON KAYAK     

Okay it totally had to be said!! It is the talk of the kayaking community!!

[bd]

you guys are funny

i think the flip side to the discussion though is important. you bought the boat to paddle, so you might as well have fun with it. if rocks are your thing, then cracks are just part of the game. i've been pretty lucky over the years and always get a lot of miles out of my boats; when they crack, they have usually earned it.

of course, there are a few guys in the club who can break a boat a month if they are on a roll 

[lucky leprechaun]

Most boats will fail under these conditions. I would never own a creek boat made of  100% crosslinx plastic, by nature creeking is more abusive on gear. Crosslinx is harder to repair and less likely to hold together after the repair.  Most cracks occur under the seat, where the plastic is wore thin from general use.  Repairing that area and having it hold up on creeking runs where you are hitting the repaired area a lot is hard to do. I own a crosslinx playboat that I run up to 4's in. I'm the third owner, 2 of which before me were river guides, before that it was a demo boat, it is a 2009. So far no problems, does it look like a cheese grater got to it in places, yes, is the plastic thin under the seat, yes, have i had to fix the outfitting, yes. This will happen with most boats as they age and get used....stuff gets old and breaks with time like anything else in life. Here's the main issue that I have with 100 % crosslinx boats. The temperature range (max, min temp) that crosslinx can be cooked and cooled at is a lot narrower and specific than linear plastic, if it gets messed up, bad plastic. So you may end up with a good one or bad one depending on the batch. This has been tweaked in recent years by adding a mix of liner and crosslinx to lessen the likelihood of bad plastic.

I know I'm guilty of most of the boat abuse acts listed above, and after much soul searching and enlightenment, I have repented some of my eviilll ways...but rock boofing, rock splatting/spinning, playing in shallow features, hitting the bottom of the river, paddling in the cold ...are just too much fun...like Bill said it's all part of it.

[j cagg]

Lucky- I feel like you are "targeting" me! How did you know the crack is under my seat???