New Seals

[VicT]

Good Morning All - I am in the process of replacing some A-Frame gaskets on my Cobra Kayak. It seems pretty straight forward but wanted to be sure it is as simple as it looks. Any tips would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time...
VicT

[Coos-spearo]

If you are talking about hatch seals, I had a terrible time until I read a thread, somewhere, about a guy who found a better seal material at Ace Hardware. Sure enough, I went to Ace and found an oversize seal material that fit in the slot, worked superior to the factory seal and would pass a water tight test. Where I live and kayak fish if the seal fails you could die. If we are talking about the same thing and you are interested I could dig through the garage to find a piece and probably tell you what it is. I think it was a door or window weather seal that stayed soft regardless of temperature. Let me know if you want me to look. It should be fairly easy to find.

[Coos-spearo]

If you look up this title at amazon "Extreme Temperature Auto and Marine EPDM Weatherstrip", you will see the type of strip I used. I found the right thickness, which was a 5/16" high to slide in side ways to a 1/4" wide slot. The adhesive backing was removed after the seal was in place.

[VicT]

Originally Posted by Coos-spearo

If you look up this title at amazon "Extreme Temperature Auto and Marine EPDM Weatherstrip", you will see the type of strip I used. I found the right thickness, which was a 5/16" high to slide in side ways to a 1/4" wide slot. The adhesive backing was removed after the seal was in place.

That is GREAT!! Thank you for the info...

[VicT]

Is this the one you are referring to?

https://www.amazon.com/Extreme-Tempe...therstrip&th=1

[Coos-spearo]

Yes. If I remember correctly it goes in sideways with the adhesive strip pointing outward. I cut it to the correct length, then pulled it out and glued it together into a giant O-ring. Then I stuffed it back in and pulled off the paperstrip, which bonded it to the kayak. You should be able to find a similar product at any hardware store.

[billder99]

Great thread guys... I just purchased 2 Cobra Tourer kayaks, about 10 years old, in great shape but they will inevitably need some maintenance... appreciate these tips.