"Charlie" wrote in message
om...
"riverman" wrote in message
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"John-news-group" wrote in
message
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Hi

By Bow & stern air bage have leaks this will be the 2nd lot in about
3/4 years

I am thinking of filling the old bages with polystyrene beads

Has any of you done this sort of thing, if so any thing to look out
for

Thank you

John O'Connell


My first thought is that, if the old bags let air out, the new bags will
let
water IN, and there's no easy way to drain them. You might make them a
LOT
heavier this way..

You could probably seal up the bag well enough that, while not able to
hold air under pressure, it would keep the worst of the water out if
yuo were going to fill them with something. I guess you're talking
canoe rather than kayak, as kayka bags generally have to be 'inflated'
in situ.

You could try one more new set of bags and put them inside the old
bags. That might protect the new bags from the wear and tear that may
be causing the leaks.

I couldn't imagine trying to stuff a new airbag inside an older one, as the
hole is rather small. I like the expanding foam idea, but that would only
make a solid block similar to another poster's suggestion of an ethyfoam
block, cut to size. So I guess I'd just suggest using the ethyfoam block.

I did this in college, and it worked really well. We took a large ethyfoam
block made from laminations of a thinner sheet, and carved it carefully with
an electric carving knife. It fit very VERY closely to the contours of the
boat, and was easily removable for tandem paddling.

I think if stuffing used airbags with foam or beads was a viable
alternative, someone or a few hundred someones would have done it already,
but I have never seen it done...

--riverman