Request for advice on repairing the hull-skin of folding kayaks

[baba...@aol.com]

Hi, I have recently acquired two second-hand folding kayaks; the first is a Nautiraid Grand Raid double and the second is a Klepper T7 double.

Can anyone give me advice on repairing the hulls of these respective kayaks, please?

(1) The Nautiraid has a hypalon hull, which has been badly repaired at some time in the past, with some glue which was clearly not appropriate for bonding hypalon, so that it has eaten through the original keel strip at the bow and stern and various small patches have simply come loose leaving spots of hard encrusted glue.

[a] I have removed the offending strips at bow and stern, which were peeling off in any case, but am not sure how to remove the hardened remains of whatever glue it was without causing further damage to the hull. Can anyone give me an idea of how to do this?

[b] If I wish to buy a new keel strip from Nautiraid, does anyone know if there is a Nautiraid distributer in the UK or do I need to contact Nautiraid in France direct?

(2) The Klepper's hull-skin is made from a grey-coloured material which I do not recognise. It is definitely not hypalon, nor does it seem to be any other kind of rubberised material. It is, however, rather old (I'm not sure when the T7 was made, but the T6 single came out in the early 1930s!) and the hull has become quite inflexible and friable. Can anyone give me any idea what the material might be and what modern material might be suitable for bonding with it to repair quite big leaks at bow and stern? Interestingly, despite its stiffness, the rest of the hull still appears to be watertight.

Many thanks,

Alan