ConSeal your Kayak

While attending the 2015 ATA Show in Indianapolis, I was walking down one of the numerous isles admiring new product when I saw a face I would not have put with being at the Archery Trade Show. As he continued closer toward me I found myself almost yelling “Chad Hoover” out loud.

That would have been awkward and being the gentlemen Chad is, he stopped to say hello. We began to discuss why he was present at the ATA, which he so nicely advised me that not only is he an avid kayak angler, as most of us know, but enjoys hunting. With that said, he began to describe a new product and company he and his partners Chris Stewart and Ryan Martin had formed.

The company manufactures a durable product that provides sound dampening, traction, cushioning and comfort for boaters, paddlers and hunters. He then advised me to go over and check it out for myself.

After the tradeshow, I contacted Chad about doing a review on their new product. Being a man with his hands in a lot of stuff, such as kayak fishing, he asked if I would work with Chris Stewart. After speaking with Chris, a few days later I received a sample of Black Diamond material. Since, at this time, there isn’t a pre-cut for the Ascend FS12T kayak, I needed to cut my own.

There are, however, pre-cut kits for other mainstream yaks out there. Check with ConSeal first before buying a flat piece and cutting your own. As stated by ConSeal themselves, “The material is a rubber, EVA, neoprene and PVC material in configurations that will significantly reduce noise and vibration.”

Looking for the best way to create a template to cut my pieces, I entered the Hook1 Forum and asked for ideas and provided a couple myself, because when I start a new project, I tend to over think them. Chad had popped up and said use painters tape to cover your area then cut it out and use that as your pattern.

I did that but took it a step further. I put the tape on cardboard to have a durable lasting template should anyone else in my area need one or if I should need to replace a piece several years down the road.

Take your time on this part. Clean your surface with alcohol and dry thoroughly. I then laid the tape crisscross, so it would hold up better when peeling off. I began to trim the sides and began to slowly pull the tape off and then transferred to poster board. I then began carefully cutting my pieces out. Remember to flip your pattern otherwise you end up cutting a bunch of wrong pieces wasting expensive material.

Then it came time to stick them to the kayak. I first, as I stated before, used a lint-less cloth and alcohol to clean the surfaces, then let dry. I then laid each piece out where they were to go to assure fit. Since I was outside and it was in the 40s I used a heat gun on low to warm the plastic before sticking the material to it. After easily peeling the backing off and sticking the pieces to the yak I went and used a new blade to trim away any unwanted pieces.

I have to say it was an easy process and something you can take pride in afterward. The ConSeal material was easy to cut and adhered well to the yak. I have filled those areas up with water and after three days, it had not started to peel. I will have a full season to continue to test the ConSeal and my instincts tell me there won’t be any change between now and end of season.

One thing to note here, once you have adhered the material to your surface, chances are it will not come back up in one piece. So, make sure you have it where you want it.

You’re probably wondering why I did this. For fun, maybe? With a kayak, and especially kayak fishing, stealth is important, and normally when you buy a kayak it is a lot of plastic. Then when you’re banging rods, paddles and feet around the noise is amplified under water scaring the fish off.

Also, when standing you need traction to keep from slipping and falling. So, with this said, ConSeal allows me to adhere sound dampening to my deck and to areas I want to add it to, such as storage areas and places where I throw gear because it keeps gear from moving around. In addition, this addition provides me traction on a wet surface when standing or getting on or off.

For more information, please visit: http://consealoutdoors.com/

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