How To Soundproof Your Kayak, Canoe, Or Small Boat In 5 Easy Steps

DIY Inexpensive Solution To Sound Deaden You Kayak…

Catching a fish right next to your kayak is probably one of the most exhilarating aspects to fishing in a kayak, but you don’t want to scare away the fish by accidentally making any loud noises. So the solution to your problem is you need to soundproof your kayak! Once you gather the correct materials, it’s actually a really easy project you only need to do once. That way you can remain ninja silent and catch more fish than your other buddies.

This is how you soundproof your kayak… First, gather all the materials you need. In this example, I used a yoga mat. Then you need the correct tools to adhere to the sound deadening mat to the kayak. Third, take the kayak for a test run and make any adjustments when you get home. Lastly, head out fishing with confidence because you just made one of the stealthiest fish-catching systems on the market. That’s it!

Fact: Noise Scares Fish

Experts say that if sound occurs underwater it travels exceptionally well and can spook any fish nearby.

When you move your tackle box, or adjust your seat, or accidentally drop your paddle on the kayak the sound will reverberate through the kayak and transmit the sound of the water.

To avoid scaring away all the fish, there is a product specifically made to deaden the sound for kayaks, stand up paddle boards, canoes, and small boats. That product is called SeaDek.

SeaDek is normally custom ordered. You choose the type of kayak you have and what type of foam style. They will create it for you, and when it arrives you simply apply the foam padding in the desired location. Yes, SeaDek will give you the blueprint of where all of the pads need to be placed.

However SeaDek can run you anywhere from $99 to over $300! There has to be an alternative.

As you probably already know, most of the noise will come from the center area in front of you when you change out lures and rods, and directly behind you when you are changing tackle and putting your rods back in their holders.

If you ever noticed if you fished a kayak for a longer. Of time you’ll notice it’s the edges you have to worry about. The edges will start to pull off first.

So I went on to Amazon and found a really cheap yoga mat for under 15 bucks and noticed it was significantly lighter than the original car mats. Score!

Following that, I decided to upgrade the adhesive by using the Loctite 300 (it says it bonds to rubber).

Furthermore, I know from experience, I can seal the edges with JB Weld plastic bonder contact cement.

Dry Fit – Measure Twice – Cut Once

Before you do any cutting it’s important to layout the yoga mat for a ‘dry fit’ along the area you plan to use it at.

Using a permanent marker mark on the mat before you cut. Remember you can always cut off more if needed.

Next, take out the yoga mats and make sure the lines are nice and straight by using 2×4 or something like that and remark your cut lines.

Finally, cut your mat to the appropriate size and lay back into the kayak to do the final dry fit.

One good thing about using a yoga mat is that it can be cut incredibly easy using a simple razor knife. This means no wasted money spent driving to Home Depot buying extra gear when I could use that for more fishing stuff! LOL

Sealing The Deal…

Now that your mat has been trimmed and you know doesn’t require any additional trimming it’s time to prepare for the adhesive stage.

Step 1) With the mat laying in the appropriate area, using a permanent marker, mark the edges on the kayak where the yoga mat lies against the kayak. Is this the border where you will brush on a layer of contact cement.

BEFORE YOU SPRAY: After looking over the directions of the two different adhesives, the contact cement says it needs about 15 minutes to fully dry, and the Loctite 300 spray only needs about a minute. So make sure you time the application of the adhesives appropriately.

Step 2) Line the outside of the perimeter with newspaper so when you apply the contact cement it won’t get anywhere you don’t want it to. It basically prevents over spray.

Step 3) As a reminder, the contact cement is only needed around the edges, approximately 2-3-inches border application is needed.

Using a small half-inch narrow chip brush and brush the contact cement around the perimeter you already marked on both the edges of the mat and on the kayak itself.

Step 4) Spray on some of the Loctite 300 adhesive in the middle where the yoga mat and on the kayak. Try to avoid any overspray where the contact cement has already been applied.

Helpful tip: leave the garage door open to ventilate all of the nasty fumes that could build up when you are applying the adhesives.

Step 5) Carefully lineup the mat to where it needs to be set in and then gently lay the mat over the sticky surface.

Both adhesives should be setting nearly at the same time and should lay down nice and smooth.

I recommend allowing the adhesives a full 24-48-hours of cure time to fully set.

Test Run…

This will really give your kayak a sound-proof upgrade. But sometimes, you may forget an additional place where you need coverage.

Take the kayak out and check to see if you need to add any more sound deadening mat anywhere else.

FAQ

Is SeaDek sold on Amazon?

I did find a product claiming to be very similar to Seadek sold on Amazon as a square and seems to completely remove the headache of applying any adhesives. The only hang up is that it’s a little pricey.

Otherwise I found a company called USATuff where they either will install the SeaDek material the correct way the first time, or they will sell you the SeaDek material and you can do it yourself.

Do yoga mats absorb water when they get wet? Any issues with molding?

The manufacturer says the mat is waterproof. I haven’t noticed it soaking up any water though. Also being in Arizona, any water in the kayak dries pretty fast so there is no problem with any mold.

What about Loctite 200 will that work?

No, even though it’s easier to find I tried that and it seems that it just won’t stick to polypropylene.

Why can’t I just use floor mats… like the ones from Walmart?

I do not recommend it. I did try just that and it was a complete failure..

He tried getting some floor mats from Walmart, thinking it was a great deal because they’re only around five bucks a piece.

And I attempted to trim these down so they could fit in the center area.

So what I quickly found out was it is very difficult for that material to adhere to the polypropylene material that makes up the kayak. It felt almost TRIPLE in weight and did not stick.

It was a fail – stay away from using floor mats.