Joy

This is great – thanks! If it’s okay with you, I’ll copy these pictures to the instructions page and give you a shoutout there so more people will see it.

The freezer might work – I haven’t actually tried it, but Gear Aid does recommend storing opened tubes in the freezer.

I usually toss the screw-on brush after the first use, and then I re-use the metal-handled brush even if it’s totally hardened, but in that case I use it more like a spatula. Sometimes I just use my finger to spread the sealant…[Read more]

I meant, did you read the section below the video with the heading “Ironing around the pointy bow”?

Just to make sure, did you see the “Ironing around the pointy bow” section on the instructions page?

It’s okay to have a few small wrinkles towards the edges of the seam strip there, so don’t stress about it.

Sure, send me an email if you’d like to order a replacement piece.

Great work, Mike, and thanks for the tips! Cheers

Wonderful! Thanks for sharing the details of your rowing rig – very cool!

Hi Cate, someone else did the same thing and was able to fix it by cutting off a bit of the valve stem (or the flange) and using the iron to melt it like hot glue and press it into the hole (kind of like welding metal). Give that a try first.

Hi pnwdavis,

I’m not sure why that’s happened – would you mind sending me a sample of fabric from that old seat? I’ll email you with the shipping info.

The packraft itself is made with the TPU on the outside, so it will be easy to see if the same thing happens there. If water is somehow part of the cause, that won’t happen to the tube fabric, as…[Read more]

Hmm, I have a lot more than 21 days on one of my boats made from that same batch of fabric, but I haven’t seen anything that bad – just a tiny bit of fraying along the edges.

I can’t really tell what part of your old blue seat that is in the picture – is that where you peeled it by hand, or did it actually come apart that much from normal use?…[Read more]

Hahaha!

You can use the arrow keys to skip forward and back, and if you click on the gear icon you can slow down the video too.

Nope… I just checked from two different devices and everything seems to be working fine.

The only common issue is people trying to use the wrong password, or the right password and the wrong instructions – make sure you’re on the right page for your kit and you’re using the password that’s in the letter that came with your kit.

There are a…[Read more]

Yep, I’ve been testing seats made entirely of 115 GSM fabric and haven’t had a problem yet (except where I did a poor heat sealing job on one!).

Right on… I guess your only mistake was thinking that you had made a mistake

Hi Cate – don’t worry! This is a very minor mistake and easy to fix.

There are multiple ways you could fix it, but if only the first side of the baffle is attached to the seat, the easiest thing to do is to cut off half of the baffle, and then cut a rectangle of scrap fabric 2-3 centimeters (~1 inch) wider than the part you cut off, and then weld…[Read more]

I noticed you didn’t order a spray skirt with your deck, so I’m guessing you’re using a different skirt, which might be a different shape, so trying to force it on may cause problems. If it’s a skirt designed for use on a kayak with a fiberglass or stiff plastic coaming, that will have a much tighter bungee in it than the one I supply with the DIY…[Read more]

Excellent – and thanks for the tip!

The bond made with Aquasure is much weaker than welded TPU, but in this case you are not relying on the Aquasure for a structural bond, only to make it airtight where the TPU is partly damaged. I would not use Aquasure between the seam strip and the tube fabric – even damaged TPU will be stronger, so simply reheat and reposition the seam strip,…[Read more]