A seat repair

Full metal bracket

Last week when we camped off the highway near Arnolds Cove I cracked the seat completely off where it attached to the kayak on the left side. I use a bicycle cable lock to secure the kayak to the roof rack, not because I don't trust people, but because I'd rather not give them the opportunity to steal it. As I "forced" the cable along inside the hull the seat came apart. I'll not repeat what I said.

When I got home I epoxied the broken piece in place and cut a piece of sheet metal to form into a brace to strengthen the repair. I drilled holes for pop rivets before clamping in pace and putting in the rivets.

And riveted in place

I used pop rivets to secure the piece I made up for the repair. I spray painted after riviting to protect the rivets from salt water corrosion.

The other side was also cracked

In doing the repair I knew I had to make to the left side of the seat, I noticed the right side was also cracked. I felt bit better seeing this because I knew it wasn't my forcing the cable through that caused the break on the left. Good thing I caught this so I could do a repair while I had the seat loose.

There must be too much stress at these points for the plastic to last. Maybe if the seat were thicker here it would stand up better?

You'll also notice I drilled a 3/4 inch hole in the seat to allow the cable lock to pass through unobstructed.

A little support

A little support I hope goes a long way. I expoxied a piece of plastic over the top and underneath on both sides to add a bit more strength.

I guess these things can be expected given the amount of use I get out of my boat.

You have a Valley boat (?), you might want to check your seat for cracks.