Plastic Vs Fiberglass

[Mission Man]

Hi Guys

i haven't bought a yak yet as i'm the type of person that tries to do as much research on something as possible before making the purchase. probably cause i cant afford to buy a second time if i'm not happy with my first choice.

now from all the stuff i have read i have seen that this could be a heated topic so i ask for restraint please. as i can see both have their place on the water with equal merit, my main concern with a plastic yak however is,

can and if so how, can modifications be made if need be. can one do the same sort of mod's on a plastic on as to a fiberglass one.

any opinions and all photo's would be greatly welcomed so i can make an informed decision on which type of yak to go for before starting with the "which Brand" task next.

Thx M.M

 

[Aperfectimperfection]

In my opinion, if there was a plastic kayak moulded in the same shape as a Clarkski GT490, a Stealth 495 or a Pinnacle Elite I'd maybe look at them, and then still go for fibreglass just because they have gained my trust.

I dislike the plastics, predominantly because their shape hasn't evolved in years, there's no facility to store rods safely and they are shaped like a barn door which makes for difficult paddling.

Plastics can be modified, I know the Aussies do wierd and wonderful things with plastic welding - but that is a specialist thing on our shores, and I'm not sure I'd be confident with a plastic weld in an important place when land is far away!

Just my restrained 2c :headb

 

[Mission Man]

Thx really appreciate the feedback, i was worried about the plastic welding thing, didn't know if it was true that its how modifications are done. i wouldn't be to happy a few km's for land while my yak started leaking from the modified places either.

 

[kobrob]

It also begs the question, WHY MODIFY?
You buy according to your requirements I believe.
The names mentioned of glass fibre skis says enough about rod and tackle storage on a ski. I have yet to see a plastic ski that has the abundance of storage space that the reputable glass fibre ski manufacturers ski's have.
If you wanted to add something onto a plastic ski to say fit a small outboard or electric, I guess you would have to carefully pop rivet it on or devise some other fastening method or tie it on with 'bloudraad' or a rope!
I wont add my cents worth about speed or wave riding or hatch sizes etc etc that already has been covered on similar threads but, buy according to your requirements, and you wont go wrong!:blah:kaykak

 

[Malgas]

Hi MM, I think before you buy you have to decide what you want most out a kayak and where you are going to use it most. Once you have answered this then you will be half way there. If you want it for still waters/estuaries then the plastic designers are probably ahead in this game in terms of functionality, durability and "indestructability". If you want to go offshore the fibreglass designs are far in advance of the plastics in terms of speed, storage/stowing of rods, wave riding ability. Once this is settled then you have to start looking at price......this is where the plastic skis may be less, but bear in mind that there is a very good 2nd hand market with the fibreglass ski's and you can get a good seaworthy ski- as the guys using the fibre skis tend to upgrade more due to wanting faster skis with a greater range.

 

[subaruseun]

plastics can take abuse on the bricks.

fiberglass is more streamline and has load space.

i have the two for different applications.

now! plastics you have to add on or bolt on to achieve mods easy. weld methods i have no clue about.

fibreglass with all the space inside are simpler and easier to mod and can be done in your garage.

 

[Mission Man]

kobrob wrote:

It also begs the question, WHY MODIFY?
You buy according to your requirements I believe.
The names mentioned of glass fibre skis says enough about rod and tackle storage on a ski. I have yet to see a plastic ski that has the abundance of storage space that the reputable glass fibre ski manufacturers ski's have.
If you wanted to add something onto a plastic ski to say fit a small outboard or electric, I guess you would have to carefully pop rivet it on or devise some other fastening method or tie it on with 'bloudraad' or a rope!
I wont add my cents worth about speed or wave riding or hatch sizes etc etc that already has been covered on similar threads but, buy according to your requirements, and you wont go wrong!:blah:kaykak

What i meant by Modify, excuse the wording as i'm not use to all the lingo etc is, say for instance wanting to fit a fish finder, or extra hatch etc, surely it would be a lot easier to do this in a fiberglass ski vs a plastic one. but as you say most fiberglass ski's come with a lot of space already where as the plastic one are very limited.

 

[Mission Man]

Malgas wrote:

Hi MM, I think before you buy you have to decide what you want most out a kayak and where you are going to use it most. Once you have answered this then you will be half way there. If you want it for still waters/estuaries then the plastic designers are probably ahead in this game in terms of functionality, durability and "indestructability". If you want to go offshore the fibreglass designs are far in advance of the plastics in terms of speed, storage/stowing of rods, wave riding ability. Once this is settled then you have to start looking at price......this is where the plastic skis may be less, but bear in mind that there is a very good 2nd hand market with the fibreglass ski's and you can get a good seaworthy ski- as the guys using the fibre skis tend to upgrade more due to wanting faster skis with a greater range.

Thanks for all the tips guys, at the moment most of my time would be on still water for about a year till i get the hang of it and i'm hoping that by the time i relocate to the coast next year i would have had enough experience on the still waters so that i can the hit the big blue. which is the end game.

 

[kobrob]

About fish finders.I have a Garmin 140 with a suction cup fitted to the transducer that I place under the ski just as I am launching. The cable just lies over the side of the ski. The small battery fits in the main hatch under where I sit and the cable slips under the main hatch cover. The finder unit is screwed to the top of my main hatch. The unit comes with a bracket but you have to buy the suction cup as an extra. I think this applies to Lowrance and other makes as well. I try to keep things as simple as possible hence my original claim of buy according to your requirements and what ever floats your boat or should that be, ski!:kaykak:blah:kaykak

 

[oomfaan]

To mount anything to a plastic is very easy. Just use stainless steel self-tappers directly into the plastic. No problems. My new fish finder is a self-contained unit that is secured with 2 wing nuts. The battery is housed in a pvc box and the link to the charger is via a waterproof plug. The pickup is on an arm made out of conduit and can swivel or swing out of harm’s way.

 

[Ignobilis Lunker]

Hi Guys,

I think Malgas hit the nail on the head, what is the intended purpose?
People always question why I paddle out to sea on a fibreglass kayak when I manufacture plastic kayaks. I compare it to, I wouldnt take a mountain bike to try win the Tour de France and I wouldnt take a road bike to try win the Epic. The kayaks we have available to us in this country all have their pro's and con's.

As Subaruseun says, ideally you want two kayaks for different purposes. A plastic for flat water and a fiberglass for when the swell is up.

I just want to quickly clear something up though, welding plastic is extremely simple, all you need is a soldering iron and some plastic, preferably with the correct pigment. You melt the plastic and stick it to the cleaned area that is being repaired. But the biggest advantage of a plastic, is that you should never have to repair it.

Also, doing modifications to a plastic is much easier than doing mods to a fiberglass. Main reason being, you can access almost anywhere on the inside of a plastic kayak, whereas fiberglass ski are compartmentalized and only selftappers can be used. Having access to the inside of an intended mod allows you to secure the mod with washer and nuts, which is a much stronger safer way of installing something. Again, because of the durability of the plastic, you do not have to be an expert to do this mod and not worry about the plastic cracking or breaking.

One trick about doing mods to a plastic is that most silicones do not adhere to polyethylene, and the 2 products that I know of that do are what we import from the states called Lexel(we do retail this), and sicaflex.

My advice to you Mission Man, is that you start out with a plastic kayak to learn on rivers and estuaries. For two reasons: a plastic kayak depreciates much slower than a fiberglass, a plastic kayak is still very capable to go out to sea with on calmer days, so when, or if you decide to take on sea fishing in a kayak, you can test the waters in your plastic, if it bites and you are set on doing the sport heart and soul, then either sell your plastic and buy the most suitable fiberglass, or keep your plastic and buy another more suitable sea fishing kayak. I have witnessed too many guys try get into the sport with a stable fiberglass kayak, either not enjoy the sport and rather stick to flat water, or really get into the sport and want a more performancy sea fishing kayak.

The catch with sea fishing on a kayak, its adrenalin filled, and its not for everybody. Paddling on flat waters is peaceful and everybody enjoys it!

Hope I've helped!

 

[Mission Man]

Thx to all for the advice, really appreciate it

 

[Pdoooubleu]

Dont buy a plastic ski man!
You can use a fibreglass kayak for both salt and freshwater fishing.
I use my fibreglass kayak for bass fishing aswell as going into the blue.
I you buy a plastic kayak you just have to a fibreglass kayak later on.

 

[Fishaholic SA]

Hi with reference to the advice to use a soldering iron to weld or do repairs on plastic;
a) Only polyethylene in (LD or HD)or Polyprop are used.
b) And cant be welder or heat bonded with a soldering iron.
c) Only specisiased welding machines can be used.
d) And for reference we in South Africa are the leaders in the world when it comes to installing and repairing of plastic product s and not the Aussies or Yanks.
Regards

 

[Christian]

Hi, I had a plastic (fluid synergy) for about four years now and decided to upgrade to a fiberglass (kaskazi dorado 2) recently.
The plastic was great and I will still keep it for bass, crayfish and if I am not going out too far. It is very stable and a great platform to fish from. I even went catching snoek with it. It is a great all round kayak and if I wanted to sell it I would not lose a lot of money. The plastic is also very easy to modify like previously said with the self tappers.
It does not have a lot of storage space but you can make a plan as you start cathing more and more fish on your trips. If I had to redo it I would get something a bit smaller and lighter the synergy is a bit overkill for one person I would say. The bulk and weight of the kayak might be the reason I don't go for a quick session.
I don't like going out when the see/weather is not nice, even on a boat... I am there to have fun. So the plastic can handle most conditions I want to go out in.
On the downside it is slow and It takes time to get where you want to go and this would be the reason I got the Fiberglass. I started to enjoy the paddling part of the hobby more and more and the fiberglass is much better on the move, but when I am lying on anchor I would rather be on the plastic.
So I suppose the big question is how much rowing and how much fishing will you do. If you have to paddle 20min on a fiberglass to get to the spot it might take 30min on a plastic not to bad. I would not mind spending 10min extra to get out there with a more stable fishing platform. If you are gonna be trawling for 4hours I would not do it on a plastic. Snoek same story If I am gona have to look for them with a fishfinder/ rapala I would want a fiberglass. If I want to paddle out 1km to the group of boats sitting on the shoal plastic.