Recently bought a circa 1985 17' fiberglass Pisces by Current Designs.
I'm interested in fixing it up (fixing/improving for use, not fully
restoring to original condition) and am looking for advised
improvements. The rivited in place clear plastic attachment rings for
rear access hatch (terminology?) have broken off. Are replacements
available and should these be drilled out and re-rivited? The glass
bucket seat slides freely inside glassed in channels on each side. It
looks like there were once small bungee cords running from glass
bulkhead behind seat to attachments in front of seat. Glass channel
coming up at each end. Is West Systems epoxy, or regular resin, with
weighting, a good fix? What is best way to secure seat (mini-cell
foam under seat)? Is there an advised replacement seat system for
comfort, adjustability, etc.? (I have an older Wavesport WW kayak
seat sitting around which will fit inside boat). Front bulkhead is a
piece of 1 1/2" styrofoam caulked in place (presently removed for
repair/cleaning. Is there a better solution for forward bulkhead
(such as 3" minicell w/ rigid layer)? What are advised
cements/glues/caulks for these purposes? Anything else you can tell
me about the Pisces in general will be most appreciated. Thanks in
advance.

mccaldwell wrote:
Recently bought a circa 1985 17' fiberglass Pisces by Current Designs.
I'm interested in fixing it up (fixing/improving for use, not fully
restoring to original condition) and am looking for advised
improvements. The rivited in place clear plastic attachment rings for
rear access hatch (terminology?) have broken off. Are replacements
available and should these be drilled out and re-rivited? The glass
bucket seat slides freely inside glassed in channels on each side.
It looks like there were once small bungee cords running from glass
bulkhead behind seat to attachments in front of seat. Glass channel
coming up at each end.

If you could post pictures of this on Webshots or similar site, it would
really help in understanding how the boat was built.

Is West Systems epoxy, or regular resin, with weighting, a good fix?

Epoxy is great for making fiberglass repairs, but I'm not sure what it
is that you want to do.

What is best way to secure seat (mini-cell
foam under seat)?

Contact cement works well for bonding Minicel foam to fiberglass. My
favorite product for this is Weldwood Gel contact cement.

Is there an advised replacement seat system for
comfort, adjustability, etc.? (I have an older Wavesport WW kayak
seat sitting around which will fit inside boat).

There are several options. You could reinstall the original seat or try
the one from your whitewater boat. Kajak Sport sells molded seats.
Commercial foam seats are available or you can make your own.

Front bulkhead is a
piece of 1 1/2" styrofoam caulked in place (presently removed for
repair/cleaning. Is there a better solution for forward bulkhead
(such as 3" minicell w/ rigid layer)?

If the front bulkhead is Styrofoam or Ethafoam, it would be a good idea
to replace it with 2" or 2" Minicel foam. There is no need for a rigid
layer on the foam.

What are advised cements/glues/caulks for these purposes?

For installing bulkheads, Lexel or any of the GOOP products (they're all
the same) works well. If you email me, I'll send you some written
instructions.

For more ideas of what you can do with your boat, see my photo albums at:

http://community.webshots.com/user/brian_nystrom

In article
,
Brian Nystrom wrote:

For more ideas of what you can do with your boat, see my photo albums at:
http://community.webshots.com/user/brian_nystrom

Hi. Nice page. Never tried fixing gelcoat, but I'm sure my day will
come! Thanks, Bill D.

I own and still paddle as my primary kayak a Pisces. Below is my
advice:

On Sun, 19 Sep 2004 16:59:24 GMT, Brian Nystrom
wrote:



mccaldwell wrote:
Recently bought a circa 1985 17' fiberglass Pisces by Current Designs.
I'm interested in fixing it up (fixing/improving for use, not fully
restoring to original condition) and am looking for advised
improvements. The rivited in place clear plastic attachment rings for
rear access hatch (terminology?) have broken off. Are replacements
available and should these be drilled out and re-rivited? The glass
bucket seat slides freely inside glassed in channels on each side.
It looks like there were once small bungee cords running from glass
bulkhead behind seat to attachments in front of seat. Glass channel
coming up at each end.

The riveted attachmens - you can find these if you look at a good boat
store - or try defender.com. They won't be clear - current ones are
made in black. My 1990 pisces doesn't have pop rivets - it uses
stainless steel bolts, nuts and washers. Works fine.

Very different seat from the one I have.



If you could post pictures of this on Webshots or similar site, it would
really help in understanding how the boat was built.

Is West Systems epoxy, or regular resin, with weighting, a good fix?

Epoxy is great for making fiberglass repairs, but I'm not sure what it
is that you want to do.

No! Having done epoxy work on this boat, I have found from experience
that the epoxy eventually debonds. Use polyester resin. I use the
stuff found in the Walmart under Automotive.

What is best way to secure seat (mini-cell
foam under seat)?

If you don't want the slider, use 3m 5200. I replaced the original
seat in mine with minicell seat from CLC, and used a now standard sea
kayak backrest that I attached to the deck at the sides of the cockpit
via 1/2 circle fittings and stainless steel bolt/nut/washers. Frees
up access to the area behind the seat, which has a lot of storage
room.

Contact cement works well for bonding Minicel foam to fiberglass. My
favorite product for this is Weldwood Gel contact cement.

Is there an advised replacement seat system for
comfort, adjustability, etc.? (I have an older Wavesport WW kayak
seat sitting around which will fit inside boat).

There are several options. You could reinstall the original seat or try
the one from your whitewater boat. Kajak Sport sells molded seats.
Commercial foam seats are available or you can make your own.

Front bulkhead is a
piece of 1 1/2" styrofoam caulked in place (presently removed for
repair/cleaning. Is there a better solution for forward bulkhead
(such as 3" minicell w/ rigid layer)?

I'd check with Current Designs and see if they have a bulkhead from a
later model pisces that would fit. the 1990 model has a hard plastic
bulkhead for front and rear that is glued in. Mine has yet to leak.

If the front bulkhead is Styrofoam or Ethafoam, it would be a good idea
to replace it with 2" or 2" Minicel foam. There is no need for a rigid
layer on the foam.

What are advised cements/glues/caulks for these purposes?

3m 5200.

Something you should inspect - Current Design boats from that time
period that used the automotive channel H shape to join the deck and
hull are pretty notorious for leaking at this juncture. I have ended
up reglassing the entire hull/deck joint from inside.

Something else to check -

The grab loop attachement point screws can work loose.

All that said, it's a great boat for camping - 7.4 CF between the bow
and stern compartments (about 209 liters), and that doesn't count all
the space in front in the cockpit.

wrote:

I own and still paddle as my primary kayak a Pisces. Below is my
advice:

On Sun, 19 Sep 2004 16:59:24 GMT, Brian Nystrom
wrote:

mccaldwell wrote:

Is West Systems epoxy, or regular resin, with weighting, a good fix?

Epoxy is great for making fiberglass repairs, but I'm not sure what it
is that you want to do.


No! Having done epoxy work on this boat, I have found from experience
that the epoxy eventually debonds.

If that's the case, you're doing something wrong. Epoxy bonds to
polyester resin with FAR greater strength than polyester resin bonds to
polyester resin. All that's necessary to get a good epoxy bond is to
clean and sand the surface thoroughly.

What are advised cements/glues/caulks for these purposes?

3m 5200.

While 5200 certainly works, it's messy to work with, a nightmare to
clean up afterward and it takes several days to cure. Lexel and GOOP are
much more "user friendly" and bond just as well. Lexel is used by many
kayak manufacturers for bulkhead bonding. I don't know of any companies
that use 5200.

It's been about 12 years since I last owned a Pisces, so I'm trying to
remember a little about how the boat was set up.

In mine, the front hatch was a 7.5" VCP, which is easy enough to
replace if it's worn out. My front bulkhead was ABS plastic, as was
the rear. If you have a foam bulkhead, then Minicell is the best way
to go. GOOP will hold it, or you can use 3M 5200, but GOOP is easier
to find.

The rear hatch is held in place with some webbing straps which are
secured to the deck with those D-ring things. Current Designs was
using a similar hatch system on the Solstice series until 2001, and if
you contact them they can probably send replacememt parts. The newer
version is black, not clear, but it's the same part. I don't remember
if they were bolted or pop-riveted in place. If they are bolted, just
unbolt them and remount with the same hardware. If they are
pop-riveted, it's your call. I'd use stainless steel machine screws
and nylocks to remount them.

My seat was molded plastic, but I know the seat you are talking about.
I had something similar in a Skookumchuck, and we'd take the seats out
and use them on the beach instead of sitting on rocks. I'd personally
replace it with something more comfortable, unless you like the feel
of it. The kit kayaks, like CLC and Pygmy would have seats that should
be easy retrofits. Current Designs seats are now part of the cockpit
coaming (either rivited on ABS or molded in), so they would not have a
retrofit. If the Wavesport seat is comfortable, go with that since you
already have it. If it is foam, just bond it in with contact cement,
goop, or whatever is handy.

If you repair the seat brackets, West Systems will be good. There
should be a stop in the seat, where it can slide forward but not back.
When paddling, your feet push back and hold the seat in place. When
not paddling, the bungee keeps the seat from sliding forward and out.

My deck rigging was standard nylon pad eyes, with marine bungee, and
those are easy enough to come across and replace as needed.

Beyond that, there's not much to say about the Pisces. It's far from
the fastest thing on the water, but I had a blast running it through
class II - III- whitewater. She is a forgiving boat.