Here are some commonly asked questions about our
products with answers that may help you. If you don't find the answer here, please feel free to contact us with your question.
Should my kayak bend?
If you lift an composite kayak by the ends it will
bend in the middle. Put a load in it and lift it up by the ends and it bends
quite a lot. A skin-on-frame kayaks will usually bend a lot more. The same with a plastic kayak. Kayaks are
flexible. Bending is normal.
Modular kayaks are the same. Each section seems stiff but the
kayak will still bend in the middle. You will also see the gap between the sections underneath the kayak open a little as the interlocking moldings lock tighter together when you lift from the ends.
How tight should the joints be?
Because they take apart into convenient
sections there's at least one join in each modular kayak. This join will open a
little underneath when you lift the kayak from the end, and when you sit in the kayak on the water. This locks the kayak sections tighter together. The gap is normal.
Why don't the joints leak without a seal or gasket?
Point65 modular kayaks are molded in individual sections and
each section is watertight. When joined, water can freely move around in the
gap between the sections.
When a tugboat ties up to push a barge, there is
water between the hulls. Each hull is watertight so there is no need for an
extra seal between a tugboat and a barge to keep water out.
Point65 kayak
sections are also watertight units that clip together, so like the tugboat and
the barge, you don't need an extra watertight seal between them. Here is the Mercury without the nose section.
Why do some other take-apart kayaks need gaskets?
Composite kayak sections usually bolt together bulkhead to
bulkhead, with bolts going through the bulkheads. They do need an effective gasket
otherwise water leaks in through the bolt holes. The sections must also bolt
together really tightly to make the seal watertight. Any looseness in that type
of joint does result in leakage, unlike the connection between a tugboat and barge,
or between Point65 sections.
The straps look weak. Are they strong enough to hold a kayak together?
It is the interlocking plastic shapes that give the assembled
kayak its strength and rigidity. The buckles and ratchet straps act only as the
final lock, so they don't need to be stronger than they are: there is not much strain
on them.
How tightly should I ratchet the straps?
Point65 sections have enough tolerance to make them
easy for you to clip together, even when they are not lined up perfectly. Ratchet
them snug but not over -tight. There should still be a little movement in the
joint between the sections when you lift one end of the kayak. This is normal.
There will always be a gap between sections when clipped together.
This is normal. Water in the gap doesn't go into the boat. Roto-molded plastic
is tough and resilient but does not mold well to knife-edge tolerances. Point65
modules are strong, durable and resilient.
My kayak parts don't seem to connect together today.
The sections of the sit-on-top kayaks are affected by heat
and air pressure. At altitude or in hot weather the air pressure inside may be
enough to make them difficult to fit together. Simply equalize the pressure by unscrewing the drain plug, tightening it again afterward so water will not get in.
Of
course if you then go to cold and/or lower altitude you may need to let a
little air back in.
Unscrew the drain plug to let water out. If it is taking in a lot of water quickly, find out where it comes in: remove the drain plug, pour in some water, then see where water comes out. It may be one of the fittings is loose, or water is coming in at the drain plug. If you have punctured the hull you should be able to locate the hole. Loose fittings may be tightened, but don't over-tighten. A hole in the plastic will likely need a plastic weld.
I have a different problem or question that you haven't covered here.
Feel free to contact us if you have a question. We'll try our best to help!
Point65 modular kayaks are molded in individual sections and
each section is watertight. When joined, water can freely move around in the
gap between the sections. 
Composite kayak sections usually bolt together bulkhead to
bulkhead, with bolts going through the bulkheads. They do need an effective gasket
otherwise water leaks in through the bolt holes. The sections must also bolt
together really tightly to make the seal watertight. Any looseness in that type
of joint does result in leakage, unlike the connection between a tugboat and barge,
or between Point65 sections.
The sections of the sit-on-top kayaks are affected by heat
and air pressure. 
