PU is a relatively new material and has superior airtightness and durability, as compared to Hypalon and PVC. It is glossy in colour. The basic steps for repairing an inflatable boat are as follows: Identify the fabric with which the inflatable boat is made. The type of fabric determines what apparatus is to be used for repairing the boat. Create an ideal environment in which to work and repair.
Repair of tubes and collars of the inflatable boat involves tears up to 55mm long. Small tears can be repaired with a single fabric patch, but the larger patches need fixing both from the inside and the outside of the tube.
Gather all the materials required beforehand. Locate the tear in the tube. If unsure, apply soap water on the surface and look for bubbles arising. Cut a fabric patch with round corners including the overlap.
For Hypalon and PU patches, abrade the back to achieve a key for the application of adhesives. Clean the back of the patch with a solvent and wait till it evaporates. Mask the area that needs to be repaired to avoid excess application of adhesive.
Use a 2-part adhesive and apply it on the back of the patches in a thin coat. Wait for it to dry for 20 minutes and apply the second coat. Place a small piece of polythene over the glued area so the patch can be rolled and placed inside the tear. Unroll the patch and let the surfaces stick. Smoothen the patch to ensure there are no air bubbles. Remove the masking tape along with the excess adhesive. Place a heavyweight on the repair for 24 hours, to make sure the repair has been successful before relaunching the boat.
The process for inspecting an inflatable boat to find a leak is as follows: To locate the leak, you have to inflate the collar or tubes of the boat to the maximum so that it sounds like a drum when tapped on with the flat of your hand. Inspect all areas of the inflatable collar or tube for signs of wear and tear. Mix mild Ph washing liquid and warm water in equal parts in a spray bottle.
Spray the solution on one side of the tubes and look for any bubbles forming. Mark all the areas where bubbles are evident with a marker. Once the entire area of the boat is covered, rinse the surface thoroughly with water and allow it to dry completely. The next process is: Once the identification of the male and the female section is done, deflate the tube on a flat surface. Before unscrewing the male section of the valve, make sure the new one is handy. Lay the tube flat and put downward pressure on the valve.
I have read about lots of year old high quality boats that are still going strong. We had a 30 year old Zodiac that showed a few signs of aging glue, but who knows, it could still be going strong 5 years from now. Check for lifting around seams, transom, bottom, accessories.
A friend of mine had seams blow apart on his old zodiac while out fishing one day! He swam to shore!
Welded PVC boats from the '90s can have problems due to poor welding of seams - so, heat or radio frequency welded boats older than 10 years should raise a red flag for you, as the welding process was in its infancy and had problems. I will be repairing it once I locate the leak, hence how I stumbled upon this site looking for repair info. Aside from the slow leak and some minor damage to the fiberglass hull, 16 years later it has still got some good life left in it.
Saturn boats are generally really good quality. Thick PVC with glued seams molecular bond , adding overlap above and below the seams. They have an optional 5-year warranty, which is a lot and shows confidence in their product. Also, 2 months out in the sun can definitely degrade PVC, unless you cover it or spray it with some kind of UV protectant. Why not to contact dealer of that KaBoat to see what they can do about it?
If boat just over 2 years old, they can probably still do something about it. These days there are many companies in China that stamp out similar type of narrow motor boats, look similar to kaboats, but its not… I would probably contact whoever sold you that boat for help.
You can only glue rubber; PVC you can glue or weld better — and RF weld by machine or by hand with a heat gun and roller. Where labour is cheap hand welding PVC is more common than people realise. Cheaper than investing in a heat welding machine. Hi, yes, it looks like I used rubber and PVC interchangeably at times. Have corrected that, thanks for your input.
I Have an Intex seahawk II, bought Since last year it has starting to have leaks around the protection rubber that surounds it. I put this boat in harsh places. The Seahawk my review is not a durable, high quality boat. Once the seams start failing, as in your case, it might be time to start thinking of getting a new one.
It still makes a pretty good inflatable, though. Even tough stuff needs repairing now and then. The tubes of inflatables and RIBs are susceptible to abrasion, punctures, cuts, UV degradation over many years and even the aforementioned mice. They can repair just about anything you, or rodents, can do to an inflatable.
Before starting DinghyPro in January of , both Goings knew plenty about inflatables: Jeff was an executive at Zodiac for 20 years, while Chris spent more than 14 years at Defender Industries, selling, among other gear, inflatables. According to the Goings, DinghyPro is now the largest renovator and re-tuber of inflatables and RIBs in the Northeast, with more than repairs completed in I believe them: When I visited the shop, the Goings were working on projects from small inflatables leaking air to a foot-plus RIB needing complete tube replacement, with a bunch of other boats waiting their turn.
The most common repairs, said Chris, are finding and sealing pinholes and fixing the aforementioned mouse damage. Replacing the tubes can give an older RIB a new lease on life. In those cases, the Goings will have custom tubes built—their supplier can fabricate new CSM tubes for any RIB by taking a pattern from the original tubes. Different RIB builders use different arrangements for marrying tube and hull, so the Goings install the appropriate mounting hardware in their shop. Some RIB builders Zodiac is one attach the tubes with a track-and-bolt-rope arrangement: The bolt rope, basically a synthetic rope with fabric folded around it, is glued to the tube using a high-bond, two-part adhesive formulated to stick like a barnacle; there are different adhesives for CSM and PVC.
Sliding the rope into a track on the hull attaches the tube. They use fabric tapes, glued to both tube and hull. The Goings were re-tubing a RIB, a quality boat from a now defunct manufacturer, with this second arrangement when I visited DinghyPro.
They had carefully marked the tube to apply the first stretch of tape. Once the tube was taped, they would position it on the hull and glue the other half of the tape to the fiberglass, and then apply a second layer of tape to lock everything together. When the job is done, of course, the RIB is ready for another decade of adventures. Super-sticky adhesive are good for more than repairs. Chris Going said that any inflatable will resist aging if you apply a UV protectant at least once a month during the season, after cleaning the tube with a non-aggressive cleaner made for the purpose.
He uses, and sells, Aurora Boat Care Products Inflatable Boat Cleaner, a non-abrasive solution that does the work for you—spray it on, let it work, wipe it off. And, he continued, keep the tubes inflated to the proper pressure, usually 3 to 3.
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