C-Forum

So I picked up my first slalom boat awhile ago, a beat up old Ninja Pro, the outfitting needs some work so it's just been languishing in my storage locker but I think it's about time I get to work on it. I have no real intention of racing it just thought it'd be fun to screw around with on easier runs.

The first issue is the pillars. All it's got is a full length of 1" blue foam insulation down the center in the stern and bow. Is this a common thing? Should I be replacing it with something else? One piece is loose, if I do keep it what can I glue it in with? Contact would be too difficult and would likely eat the foam anyways.

Second issue, though related to the first. What do you guys do for floatation? I'm pretty tempted to just glass in the bow and the stern so I don't have to mess around with bags. Bad idea? Obviously I lose storage space but I don't see that being a big deal for what I'll use the boat for and I figure it'd help with my first issue.

Third is a skirt issue. I ordered a custom skirt from Snapdragon and it came with a few inches of extra material around the bungee. My issue is I can't for the life of me get the dam thing on! Any tips or tricks?? I'm tempted to just cut the extra off, I understand it's supposed to help keep the deck watertight but it's not worth it if it's nearly impossible to put on. I have 3 other Snapdragon skirts that I'm very happy with but this is the first one I've used with this feature.

Any help much appreciated!

GSG wrote:...
The first issue is the pillars. All it's got is a full length of 1" blue foam insulation down the center in the stern and bow. Is this a common thing? Should I be replacing it with something else? One piece is loose, if I do keep it what can I glue it in with? Contact would be too difficult and would likely eat the foam anyways.

That's not uncommon, basically to minimize weight. I'd keep it if the boat's use will primarily be racing and training, without much big-water playing. Otherwise, replace the pillars with 3" Minicell.

Second issue, though related to the first. What do you guys do for floatation? I'm pretty tempted to just glass in the bow and the stern so I don't have to mess around with bags. Bad idea?

Bulkheads are a very bad idea. They will leak at the most critical times, and they stiffen the hull so that certain areas will wear prematurely. If you must have floatation, use split kayak stern bags, bow and stern.

Third is a skirt issue. I ordered a custom skirt from Snapdragon and it came with a few inches of extra material around the bungee. My issue is I can't for the life of me get the dam thing on! Any tips or tricks?? I'm tempted to just cut the extra off, I understand it's supposed to help keep the deck watertight but it's not worth it if it's nearly impossible to put on. I have 3 other Snapdragon skirts that I'm very happy with but this is the first one I've used with this feature.

I'm not sure what you're talking about... But if the material is outside the coaming (and not necessary for exiting), it's superfluous.

Thanks Bob, I thought there might be an issue with the bulkhead. Does someone make longer split stern bags? The ones I use in my other c1's would be way too short.

As for the skirt, the extra neoprene gets folded into the boat, acting like a gasket between the bungee and the rim of the cockpit.

Harmony has some 42" bags. With the current crop of (short) kayaks, that may be all you can get. Personally, I don't have float bags in my race C1, relying on the wall floatation in case the boat gets away from me.

To better secure the loose blue bulkhead from moving, weldwood 2"x2" triangles of minicell foam on each side of the bulkhead on top and bottom.

Snapdragon and it came with a few inches of extra material around the bungee.

Sounds like you got a Rapid Style skirt. The fringe is supposed to be wedged around the bungee not folded inside. You should still see some fringe poking out under the bungee when it is in the groove. The new style cockpit rims that are molded and sunk in a well are a bit harder to get the bungee under but once you get it in there it should be as dry a set up as you can achieve.

Ahhh so do you get the skirt on and then go around and jam the fringe under
a bit?

You have it upside down. The bungee should be on top when you put it on. Wish I had a picture.

Who knew something so simple could be so confusing. I don't currently have access to it so I can't visualize any other way of doing it.

I had one of those skirts once and if I remember correctly Snapdragon has a link on their site to show video of how to put it on. Its a little different than the usual skirt but it was the driest skirt I ever used.

The bungee will be on the outside. The fringe will hang out the bottom like a skirt.

Thanks Mike. It occurred to me that it was that simple but then I didn't think that would do much of anything to keep it any drier. Still a major pain to get on. I talked to SnapDragon and they said they'd remove it if I can't get it to work but I'm sure after a soaking I'll be able to wrestle it on.

Sometimes the bungee is too thick when you have the fringe as well. My old Ras-dex C1 deck has a fringe and fits my cut-down fine, but the rim on my Maverick is much closer to the deck and it just doesn't fit. I actually use an ocean cockpit spraydeck from my old sea kayak (which doesn't have a fringe and does have a thinner bungee) on the Maverick!

The boat pictured is a Vadja Nova. It's tough to get the back of the bungee in, due to whatever is covering the joint (ends of the bungee). Once that's in, I kind of lean left & work the right side in up to my hip, then the front. Once the front is hooked over, work the rest of the right side in while holding the front-center. Then work the left side in.

My Viper & Sith have a lot more room under the rim & are much easier to get this same skirt on.

Is your trouble that the bungee is large & doesn't want to squeeze under the rim, or that it feels short & doesn't want to stretch long enough? If it feels short, wetting it will help.

If it's too fat, you can flip it over so that just the bungee is under the rim & the excess material is on top. It won't be quite as dry, but you'll be on the water. Gives you an excuse to get out & stretch.

GSG wrote: . . . a skirt issue. I ordered a custom skirt from Snapdragon and it came with a few inches of extra material around the bungee. My issue is I can't for the life of me get the dam thing on! Any tips or tricks?? I'm tempted to just cut the extra off,

FWIW, Greg, the custom Snapdragon skirt I ordered for the Elf had that extra flange around it. It was hellishly difficult to get it onto the cockpit rim. I drove it back to the factory, and had them trim it off.

The cockpit rim in the Elf is quite tight, however, and I've had no problems with leakage with the trimmed deck.

However, I'm guessing that for, say, plastic conversions, where the cockpit rim is much looser, the extra flange should likely result in a drier seal. But if it's a booger to put on, it's prob'ly not worth the effort.

Jus' be careful when trimming the flange not to cut too close to the bungee!

Rick