Big hole in towable tube, need to fix it by saturday, help please!

bizilux

Recruit
Joined
Aug 5, 2015
Messages
1
hey all,

so... we are going on holidays with 150HP big inflatable boat. im from europe and i dont know the exact english name for these kind of boats, but yeh, you dont inflate them, they come pre-inflated and you tow them to sea
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anyways, long story short, we will be having mad fun, just like we did 4 or 5 years ago, when we rented a bit weaker boat, it was 120HP or something in those lines.

so few days ago, we were inflating our inflatables, and looks like one towable tube has big hole in it (you can put few fingers in)... yeah we dont really go easy on them, i remember that that summer we broke a lot of things, including those triangles where multiple tubes are held together and then they go into one rope back to boat. so yeh, we really go full throttle on these things, thats why i dont want to do some half *** job at repairing this hole with some superglue that maybe isnt really fit for this kind of plastic that this inner tube is made of. we took it to a shop where they fix car tires, and they told us it aint rubber, its plastic, so thats why im here now, i've never done anything like this.


so... can someone that has done it before, give me some pointers? which glue? which type of material to put over the hole? should i put this material from both sides? first from inner, and then from outer too? and exactly how would be best way to put it from inner too, since it aint that easily accessible?

model of towable tube is diamond back, and company is HD or HO, i cant really tell from logo. and i couldnt find any hits on google, its bright green.


EDIT: so i took two photos, hole aint as big as i thought before, but heres the catch: its right next to this big seam. so i have no idea if this is even patchable... :/ i would go to extreme lengths to patch it, since new tubes are 100€+, but if it cant be done, it cant be done

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Bayou Dave

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Dec 13, 2012
Messages
1,780
I would try a tire repair kit. Make sure you have lots of adhesive near the seem. Or take it to a truck tire shop and get their opinion.
 

dizzy1

Seaman
Joined
Aug 6, 2009
Messages
69
I had same thing happen 2 years ago along seam of a 4 seater HO tube that was pretty new. I was able to patch it with a patch kit from Sports Chalet. It was designed to repair PVC fishermen pants. Came with patches and UV sensitive adhesive. Was able to fit a small patch thru the rip and glue first. Then did a large patch on outside, wanted to be sure it held up. Been using it for last 2 years with no issues at all.
 
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