There is another method I favour but I can’t find my jig I made up some time ago and in all reality most people haven’t got the time or inclination to make something too complicated for a one off replacement.

For this "how to" I have decided to use the method as set out in the Kokatat Gasket Replacement Kit, on first impression I know the instructions come across as a bit complicated and all over the place as it just doesn’t read that straight forward. But once you read it a couple of times and with the help of this little guide you will be back in action in no time.

What you need:

- Replacement Seal

- Aquasure glue

- Craft Knife / Scissors

- Sandpaper

- Acetone

- Double side sticky tape

- Latex glove

- Cardboard

- Compass, ruler

First things first, get yourself some good quality cardboard and cut out the discs as described in the instructions.

Once you have your cardboard cut take the cling film and cover the large disc but keep it tidy.

Having replaced many neck seals over the years I am in full agreement with Kokatat when they say “The simplest, safest and most effective method of dealing with deteriorated gaskets is to cut the old gasket off, leaving the base adhered to the fabric, then gluing the new gasket to the old gasket base. Kokatat strongly recommends this method, unless the gasket left on the garment is badly deteriorated (gummy) or there are already two or more layers of repairs.” So unless it really has to come off do not be tempted to fully remove the existing seal.

Take your scissors which will need to be extremely sharp and remove the existing gasket leaving a generous lip to which you can attach its replacement, be careful we are playing for keeps here so any slip of rip could be costly.

Once the seal is removed it should look a little like this.

As my Kokatat GMER Drysuit’s neck seal is attached from the inside I decided to deviate from the instructions a bit as I think it yields better results that following the external fixing method as per the supplied directions.

From here turn the top of the suit inside out and get your large cardboard disc ready for action. Not forgetting to take the time to clean the latex with a solvent and give the surface to be glued a light sanding.

As per the instructions place some double sided tape around the outside of your large cardboard disc which is now covered in cling film. The cling film is there just in case things don’t go quiet to plan and prevents the glue bonging the seal to the cardboard.

Place the large disc in under the neck seal, once remove the backing for the tape so that you can fix the drysuit to the disc. The ides it to try get the area you will be bonding as flat and as firm as possible. Take your time and do it right, it will pay dividend in the finial result.

Now its time to get the replacement gasket ready to be attached. Insert the 8” disc inside the “bellows” section for the gasket.

Now flip the replacement gasket over and get the cardboard ring you prepared earlier ready. This means placing double sided tape all around the perimeter of the ring and placing it over the end of the upturned gasket.

Now you remove the backing from the tape and carefully offer the gasket up against it ensuring to make it as flat and wrinkle free as possible. You prepare the latex surface to be glues like we did earlier with acetone and sand paper.

Its at this point where I made a rank amateur mistake on the tutorial front by forgetting to take a photo of the next step. But fear no with some dodge photo shop all will be ok.

Now were are at the business end of thing as its gluing time. Put a moderate amount of Aquasure on the prepared section of the Drysuit / Cag. be careful not to put an excessive mount on as this can leak out everywhere and cause you no end of grief.

Once your glue is on you can now place the replacement gasket on top, the seals are designed to fit in place perfectly and with the aid of the cardboard ring its super easy to place correctly. Place it confidently and press around the whole rim to ensure a good bond that is air bubble free.

Right that’s pretty much most of the hard work done, all we need to do now is place a flat weight on top of the setup as it dries over night.

The Aqua sure takes 8 hours to dry but takes a full 24 hours to be fully cured. DO NOT RUSH THIS, if you are really caught for time get yourself some Aquasure accelerator-Cotol 240 problem which cuts curing time down to two hours. I find I get best results if you let the glue cure in some where that is moderately warm as opposed to a damp shed or the like hence the above photo my my living room floor.

Once the Aquasure has had time to set its time to remove the weights and start taking the cardboard forms out of the gasket.

Start with removing the cardboard ring first, as I used a double sided tape which was a relatively low tack (i.e. cheap and not too sticky) after cutting the ring with a scissors it pops off easily leaving the tape on the gasket. It only takes two minutes and a little bit of patients to take the tape away from the latex. We can not remove both the small disc in the bellows and the large disc that is inside the drysuit.

A good result with gasket will attached with no wrinkles / bubbles and evenly glues the whole way around. I have no doubt its 100% sealed.

And that’s that, all I have to do is trim the seal a fraction so I’m not choked to death when I put it on. If this is your first time using these replacement gaskets give it one of two wears before you trim massive amounts of latex away as they do stretch. As I have used this particular replacement seal previously I know I have to remove 3/4 rings to allow me to be able to breath .

There you go that’s now tow different ways in which you can replace a damaged neck seal on your drysuit, I think this way is a little trickier and there is more preparation involved which tends to put people off but I think this way yields far more consistent results. I promise the next seal I replace I will dig out the jig I made up which is a gem to use and they you will have all the trade secrets to help you save a few buck and minimise your time off the water with a damaged gasket.

Right I’m off on my bike for a bit with my fingers crossed so that we have a repeat of the last couple of weeks here in Ireland and get loads of water and I can enjoy using what is without doubt the best quality dry suit money can buy.

If you have any hints / tip or comments on gasket replacement please pass them on for myself and other to try out and use.

Adrian

So very recently I loan my cag to a client and we had a bit of an oopsie with the neck seal when it was being taken off. This happens loads of folks & and I know people panic and think it will cost a fortune to send it away to be fixed. With a little bit of concentration and less that 20mins you can have the job done and ready to rock and roll for full use 24hrs later.

Now to be fair I have done a bunch of these back in the days when I worked in an outdoor shop many many moons ago but its seems more daunting that it actually is. The folks in i-canoe hooked me up with a Kokatat neck seal repair kit which has everything you need to do the job, the seals come in two sizes so everyone is covered.

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So as you can see in the kit you get:

• The replacement seal
• Small section of sandpaper
• UV protection solution
• Aquasure glue
• Instructions

There a a bunch of different ways to go about this and I chose not to follow the instructions provided by Kokatat as I had my own way of doing it. So in addition to the kit I also need a craft knife ( or in my cast my NRS wingman) and a method of stretching out the neck of your cag. I have always favoured the use of this specialist bit of kit.

I’ve always used a traffic cone in the past to stretch out the neck of my cag and make the repair easier for me, sadly when the way the Peak creek Cag is made it doesn’t allow it to slide far enough down the cone to get enough of a stretch. I could have resolved this by padding out the cone higher up with some towels but I was feeling kinda lazy& there happened to be a small bucket right beside me that looked like it would do the job just fine.

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So as you can see from the photo I slid the cag over the bucket and using a sharp craft knife I trimmed away the damaged neck seal while still leaving about 35mm of the existing seal. All you have to do now is slide the new seal over your cone/ bucket so it rests pretty close to its finial position. And then lift back the edge as per photo ready for sanding / gluing.

The Next step is just to take the small piece of sand paper you got in your repair kit and give the part of the latex you intend on gluing a very light sand just enough to create a key for the glue to adhere to. Now we are ready to get with the gluing, so open up the tube of Aquasure and apply an even bead around the existing next seal. Be careful no to go to close to the edge or you will stick your cag to the bucket when you pair the new seal.

So once you have applied glue the whole way around the seal it should look kinda like this, the next bit is super easy as all you have to do is fold the new seal on to the now glued section. The trick here is not to be afraid of it and just do it, once it sitting on it rub around the joining with your thumb to make sure you get a good seal and press out all of the air bubbles.

Now were are almost done the new seal is sitting perfect and we have no glue seeping out on our cag. I always like to add an extra bead of aquasure around the seam as it just a nice bit of reassurance and can’t hurt.

Right that’s the job done. The glue sets in 6ish hours but I always like to leave it a little longer before I take it off the cone/ bucket and then give it  an additional 24 hours to to make sure the glue is fully cured. Your cag will now be ready to rock and roll and be 100% dry again.

This is one of those things I reckon every one should try as its pretty easy and only takes 20minutes max, I think it took me longer to write this post that to fix the seal.

If you have any questions fire away.

Laters,

Adrian

EDIT: I have written another guide for a different method which you can find here

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