> Hey Ian:

> Tell us more! What are they called and can ordinary people get them?

> And with the photo reactive - you just lay up a strip in red light and
> then open the blinds! - right? ( And then you hit it with blue and the
> whole thing falls apart? hehehe )Or you have an 18 foot long black plastic
> bag tube (no light) with an internal glue applicator - and you lay it all
> up in sunlight as fast as you can feed it out of the bag!! - sound like
> machine possibilities here. For curvy areas just add a little steam in the
> bag!!

> (Like a long infeed table into the table saw, then Pete Ford' double
> router for double coves, then the plastic bag with the applicator, fed out
> to a rotating mold, and setting up as it fed out! Yipes, let's go into
> biz!)

> I'm intrigued! - mike

Mike, picture this.

You are three days into a week long solo paddle. You are tired and foolishly attempt a landing on a rocky shore in high surf. When you get your boat and yourself to the beach after the crash you notice a gapping hole in the hull.

Now this repair wouldn't be so bad except that the broken piece is gone the temperature is 55F, and it has been raining for the last week and humidity is 100%.

I don't know how long this repair would take on a stripper kayak using cloth and epoxy, but here is how long it would take with these products.

Make panel by laying photo-reactive presaturated cloth over hole- 30 sec.

Wait for new panel to cure- 10 minutes on a cloudy day. (Time for a glass of wine.)

Scuff sand panel and hull area with 80 grit paper- 2 minutes maximum

Apply adhesive to new panel- 5 seconds

Apply panel over hole- 2 seconds

Wait for adhesive to cure-10 seconds.

Total time- 12 minutes 47 seconds (Half hour if you finish the bottle of wine.)

This is using the fastest products but they are available with various working times and cure times. (Longer working time = longer curing time.) But it really is this simple.

The products are urethane based and can be used in many ways as they are thermal set and solvents won't touch them once set. They are apparently available clear also, so would work well for glueing the deck to hull. The rep. told me a couple of weeks ago that they could be used "underwater", but I would really want to test this first. However, I have used these products for 6-7 years and every claim they have made is corect. I have never had a failure. There are many manufacturers. The one that I use is Duramix.

They have a web site but it is mainly product lists with little info. It is a U.S. company but they have offices all over the world.

As for availability, at work I have to stand on one leg, jump up and down and constantly chant "Pigs are the best animal on old McDonald's farm." But this could be a supply department problem, and may not work for you. Any autobody supply outfit should have them or another brand. ( I do find Duramix easiest to use but have had excellent results with others.)

Ian