Materials and Kayak building accessories    Minicel Foam for kayak seats and other uses    Router Bits (bead and flute)    Stainless cables - great linkage between rudder and footbraces    Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene    On-line Web Store (all prices and shipping options/cost listed here)

. top

Lightweight Closed Cell Foam Structure 100% Waterproof Excellent cushioning properties Very fine cell texture Density 2 lb / ft^3 - L200 / M200 Uses: Kayak seats, cockpit hip and knee padding, backrests, bulkheads, cushioning, padding, cartop cradles, sheets, mats, sanding pads etc... Minicel foam Natural charcoal gray color

If there was a better material for kayak seats than Mincel, I would be using it but Minicell foam just can't be beat. I had the opportunity to test and to select from 10 different types of Minicell foam ranging from soft to stiff. Due to their ideal properties, I settled on the M200 and L200 Minicel foam simply because they are the most comfortable seating material, especially for long distance paddles. The main difference between them is stiffness and 'softness'. The L200 is softer and more pliable, just the right material for very comfortable seats cushions, laminated kayak seats, back rest padding and custom cockpit fitting in general. The M200 is as light as the L200 but its stiffness is higher than the L200. This makes it the ideal material for very comfortable carved kayak seats and other applications where extra support but also softness is desirable. Due to its light weight and stiffness, the M200 foam is perfect material for kayak bulkheads as well as car top cradles. Unlike many other closed cell rubber foam and neoprene kayak seats, this micro-cell foam is nonabrasive with a smooth 'velvet-like' feel and feather light weight. This Minicel is also being used as impact padding in race cars (NASCAR), motorcycle seats, excercise mat, cushioning in specialty helmets and as anti-shock protection of electronic equipment in satelites and rockets. Other uses include knee padding for construction and garden use, general boating foam, seating for handicap chairs, high quality packing and shipping padding and car top or workshop boat cradles, to name a few. Minicel can be molded around curves without stretching, distortions and buckling. L200 5/8"x 1.5" A 'Pinch' test in strong spring clamps shows the relative softness of the M200 (left) vs. the L200 Minicel. Minicel foam can be easily shaped by knife and sculpted with a disk sander or grinder. After couple hours of sitting in a Minicel seat you will appreciate the unique property of the material because it continuously adjusts for different seating position and there are NO hard spots like in the 'one-fit-for-all' hard molded plastic seats.

Carved the foam seat today for the double paddle canoe I'm building. I followed your instructions on your web site and it came out great! I was concerned about having problems, as this was my first foam seat project. I roughed it out with an 80 grit disk and switched to a 120 grit disk to fine tune things, then sanded everything with a palm sander with a 120 grit disk... Your minicell foam worked great!... I have more canoes to build in the near future and will be ordering more foam, I'm sure! - Mike McEvoy

. top

Economical combo of bead and cove profile in ONE router bit. Why buy two bits when you can do it with one! Shank size for either 1/4" (6,35mm) or 1/2" (12,7mm) router collets Bead and flute tips from durable Carbide Both bead and flute are 1/4 inch diameter for perfect bead and cove kayak or canoe strips Adjust the router bit height in the router collet or router table to mill either bead or flute profiles on strips See the Kayak Shop pages on routing jig setup and issues to watch out for when routing strips. Order on-line or see Order page for non-credit card options Bead & Cove router bits 1/4 inch shank:  $41 1/2 inch shank:  $40

. top

Corrosion resistant 316 Stainless steel (1/16" stiff 1x19) Use with low friction UHMW polyethylene lined cable guides for passing through bulkheads and kayak deck. Maintenance free See ch.26 in Workshop for application Cable guides come with (4) chrome plated brass caps for finished look and corrosion protection of the the 'cable guide core' cable comes with (4) 'ferrules' to terminate one end with a closed loop of your choosing Stainless "stake eye" fittings compression swaged on one end to attach to rudder (not illustrated) depending on the kayak model, one complete rudder system needs 4 caps and 4 ferrules and about 18ft of cable and 13ft of guide. Uses: Rudder cable Stainless rudder cable Price: cable $0.50 / ft   guides with UHMW core: $2 / ft

. top

Wear resistant & chemically inert Self-lubricating Lighter than Water Specific gravity - 0.93 Non-hydroscopic - unlike Nylon it doesn't absorb water Perfect for homebuilders to make parts that are difficult to machine from metal A typical rudder body can be easily made of 3/4"x2.5"x3"  block Uses: Sliding foot braces, body of rudder assembly, bushings, spacers, shop jigs, wear plates UHMW- Polyethylene Price: $5 /  3/4" x 2.5"x 3" block e-mail for other sizes. Stock thickness 3/4" (19 mm)

If you notice any problems with the site (i.e. error links, missing images) please, let me know. Thanks

Mail:
Vaclav Stejskal
58 Wood Ln.
Acton, MA 01720
           USA
Tel:  781-481-9261

E-mail  

© 1999 - 2024 Copyright Vaclav Stejskal
All rights reserved
Last page update: 9 May 2024