Attaching Transom to Tubes on an Inflatable

[Sea Rider]

BB, Is the Bombard X2 a Rib or Sib watercraft ?

Gluing back just visible unglued portion will be just a temporal repair, as the side rubber holder portion will fail soon after. Worst if inflatable is used non top inflated to its recommended working preasure along with a 4 strokes OB. Doing it properly is time demanding and costly if sent to a boat repair shop. My techie uses a industrial heat gun to remove transom from holder and holder from tube, but he has 25 years experience repairing all kinds of Ribs-Sibs and that makes the difference with respect to one who has never done this kind of repair before.

Better is to use Tuluene to open and clean other glued part as opposed to a heat gun. If that Bombard is still in good overal shape, fabric is not dried, cracked, just with minor patches you should repair it well, will have years of boating fun.

Techie tells me you should look how well is upper transom glued to support, could look mint but with probable dried/hardened glue issues already unseen to the eye. Try to peel upper tap portion with hand, if peels off with no sweat, bad music, must do 4 sides. If the glue you have ordered does not stay flexible once dried on glued parts, it's no use..

Happy Boating

 

[BillyBoating]

Sea Rider, the Ax2 is a PVC SIB with slatted floor. Attached is a pic of the transom. I can't find any glue holding the transom into the transom braces/mounts. It looks like it is held in with screws at the top and pressed into the bottom of the mounts. You can see the screws in the picture. I'm hoping I can simply pull the transom out then strip and reglue each mount one at a time using G/flex glue.
If I can't pull the transom from the mounts easily, I will have to try gluing both mounts in place at once, wrapping a ratcheting strap to press the tubes against the transom.

 

[BillyBoating]

No Title

Okay, forgot to attach the pic. Here it is.

 

[JohnnyRudeClassics]

Thanks again Alan. I ordered some just now. My biggest concern is how to get those tubes tight up against the supports when I glue. Right now, when the boat is inflated, the tube doesn't rest against the support, so I definitely need to strap it together. Probably need to do a dry run to make sure it does seat when strapped before I apply glue.
Given that I got the boat for free, and I don't really care about the look of many patches, I'm willing to put some $$ into getting it on the water. Even the least expensive semi-decent inflatable costs so much it's worth a try. Plus in a dinghy I'm willing to tolerate slow leaks of water in, as I don't ever get in a dinghy with the expectation of staying dry. Heck, I normally get wet getting in.

I for one will be very interested to see how the G-Flex works for your transom repair.

While it is totaly tough stuff, re:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2a5RlcP-4JE

It never occurred to me to use it for inflatable boat repairs, but it makes sense that
it may do a good job for the transom where the mounts are about as flexible as any
sort of HDPE ( if not HDPE ). G-Flex is formulated tougher and for more compliance
than the garden variety of epoxy and that is why it works well with plastics, it flexes
instead of cracking. You can learn more off of the Manufacturer's webite:
http://www.westsystem.com/ss/g-flex-epoxy/

 

[alanfox55]

BB, Is the Bombard X2 a Rib or Sib watercraft ?

Gluing back just visible unglued portion will be just a temporal repair, as the side rubber holder portion will fail soon after. Worst if inflatable is used non top inflated to its recommended working preasure along with a 4 strokes OB. Doing it properly is time demanding and costly if sent to a boat repair shop. My techie uses a industrial heat gun to remove transom from holder and holder from tube, but he has 25 years experience repairing all kinds of Ribs-Sibs and that makes the difference with respect to one who has never done this kind of repair before.

Better is to use Tuluene to open and clean other glued part as opposed to a heat gun. If that Bombard is still in good overal shape, fabric is not dried, cracked, just with minor patches you should repair it well, will have years of boating fun.

Techie tells me you should look how well is upper transom glued to support, could look mint but with probable dried/hardened glue issues already unseen to the eye. Try to peel upper tap portion with hand, if peels off with no sweat, bad music, must do 4 sides. If the glue you have ordered does not stay flexible once dried on glued parts, it's no use..

Happy Boating

G/Flex does stay flexible. If it were me I would me doing as much research as possible before starting the project. Along with what info you get here I would be making some calls. One of the places I would call would be Gougeon Brothers who manufacturer G/Flex,they are in Michigan.

http://www.gougeon.com/

 

[Sea Rider]

BB,

Transom is glued on rubber mounts and bolted on upper portion, most newer inflatables are coming factory delivered that way, will maintain transon from comming off, falling with attached engine in the event the glued transom portion fails while boating. If wanting to know how good or bad that transom is glued onto internal rubber mount, remove bolt & nut and peel upper lip as suggested. Eventually all glued transoms will fail with time, UV exposure punishment, poor inflation, heavy 4 strokes use....

Happy Boating

 

[BillyBoating]

Thanks SeaRider. I did peel up lip of mounts. No sign of glue there. Which in a way is good, as it should be easy to remove.
But brings me to second question, which is do I try to glue the mounts on each tube one at a time, then reinsert transom, or insert transom into both mounts and try to glue both at once using a strap across the boat?
The reason I chose G/Flex for glue is that is isn't a contact-cement like glue that will stick fast immediately upon contact. From what I've read, people have had problems with the tubes not quite lining up right in the mounts and ending up with big gaps because the glue just stuck that way.

 

[alanfox55]

In this video by NRS about using and how to use the correct adhesive for the application it is clearly stated to use G/Flex for transoms on inflatable boats. Though he doesn't show how to do that the directions come with the epoxy.

https://youtu.be/fxSbOhIk56A

 

[Sea Rider]

BB,

Techie glues both transom sides on their respective inner rubber mount firstly. Once well glued does the other side individualy too. For a perfect finish : inflate tubes to drum beat sound when banging on them or at least 2.5 PSI with gauge, with a black sharper marker, mark the contour/boundary of the rubber holder still glued onto tube, that way will have a perfect tube/holder match when re gluing again.

To offer a 3 year transom repair guarantee, transom must be fully disassembled from rubber holder and holder from tubes, parts immpecable cleaned and glued back on with tubes correctly inflated & secured tight with a long belt at rear of transom. Would suggest rising middle transom with something to have both tubes high in the air for a friendlier and comfy position while rubber mount is glue matched onto marked tubes.

Happy Boating

 

[BillyBoating]

Thanks SeaRider. I started cleaning up glue with MEK today, and the supports came right off. Now I'm working on clearing all that old glue. I'll use MEK alone on the tubes, but looking for a flap wheel or something else to help with the mounts, since they're tougher.
I marked where the mounts are on tubes, but there are spots where the mounts don't lay perfectly flush against the tube, so I have to find a way to keep them pressed down against the tube while drying.

 

[maccardiolog001@yahoo.com]

Hello BillyBoating ! I intend to use HH 66 and users of this product are quite few. Can you please tell me how you used it practically? I will use MEK to remove the old glue, but I did not apply the HH 66 application steps. My floor detached from pontoons in the front of my Zodiac Futura . How was the quality of the product ? Thank you in advance

 

[BillyBoating]

Hello BillyBoating ! I intend to use HH 66 and users of this product are quite few. Can you please tell me how you used it practically? I will use MEK to remove the old glue, but I did not apply the HH 66 application steps. My floor detached from pontoons in the front of my Zodiac Futura . How was the quality of the product ? Thank you in advance

Okay, I abandoned the transom-remount project. Just didn't have the space or patience. That said, I used HH66 to reattach the floor in another boat. I used the video that is mentioned in Post# 28 above as to how to apply the glue. It worked well on that flooring project. I've also used it to repai two tubes we towed behind the boat for tubing fun. I will say that, used the way noted In that video, I don't think there's a better product for PVC to PVC repairs.
As to your project, a few suggestions. First, give the rest of the floor a good tug and see if the rest comes loose. If some did, usually most will. May as well do it all at once. Second, Mark with a felt pen where the floor edge is on the pontoons. You can usually tell from the glue lines. This will help a lot when you reattach. Finally, I used extra strips of PVC, glued over the floor-pontoon joint on the bottom of the boat, for extra strength.