Hypalon Repair

Dry Diver

Seaman
Joined
Aug 9, 2008
Messages
54
I need to get a repair kit for my boat. Any ideas where I can get a small kit at a good price. I have a very small 1/16"-1/8" on a seam.

What would be the best way to repair it. Never done repairs on this boat yet. Need to learn.

Thanks

Dan

I will get pics up soon.
 

nobrainsd

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jul 19, 2008
Messages
230
Re: Hypalon Repair

Pretty good instructions from NRS and they are one of the best places to purchase supplies from in that they have good turnover and rotate their stock. Old glue is a waste of time, effort and money. For a better set of instructions check out http://www.shipstore.com/SS/HTML/INFO/INFOHYPNEO.html
This instruction sheet really reinforces the need to monitor humidity (the key to lasting glue repairs), identifies issues like the dreaded white haze, describes how to reactive a glue layer and is totally correct about the need for cure time. Many river raft repairs are made under suboptimal conditions because it is hard to remove the raft from a location near the water. For anything other than emergency repairs you absolutely must have the proper environmental conditions. I would consider a hygrometer (I found one for $12) a necessity. Don't rely on the weather bureau forecast. Your immediate vicinity can have much different conditions. Both PVC and Hypalon glues are hygroscopic, they suck up water. Leaving a can of glue open or storing partially consumed cans of glue with a lot of air in the headspace is a recipe for a weak bond. Using anything other than MEK for final prep is not advisable. Glueing a patch, seam or transom bond isn't that hard. Getting a repair that lasts is a bit of a trick. Do not take any shortcuts or you will be regluing the repair soon!
 

Dry Diver

Seaman
Joined
Aug 9, 2008
Messages
54
Re: Hypalon Repair

Ok, stupid me. I cant get the pic to upload, oh well I will figure that out another time. I will try to best explain my problem.

The pin hole that I have is about 3/4" below the fabric that the rope rail runs through. Another issue is that there is a reinforcing strip that is 2" wide over a seam. My pin hole is right in the middle of the seam. So in effect I have a patch that will be going onto an uneven surface. Hope I explained that well.

What I am reading tells me to overlap the hole by 2" in all directions. I will be unable to do this going up. I will run into the rope rail. I can go left, right and down the 2" but not up. Do I just run the patch as far up as I can and follow the 2" rule in all other directions or do I need to try to lift and tuck the patch unnder the rope rail that is currently glued down???

Thanks in advance

Dan
 

nobrainsd

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jul 19, 2008
Messages
230
Re: Hypalon Repair

It would be better if you posted a pic. I am assuming that you are saying you have a leak that is really close to the fabric that attaches the rope rail to the boat, similar to the one in the picture here.

patch2.jpg


It also sounds like that leak is in the middle of a tube seam with it's reinforcing strip. It maybe good that the leak is straight through the seam reinforcing strip, in that you can just patch it. Often leaks in a seam itself "travel" along and actually leak at some other place out the side of the reinforcing strip. Glueing a patch over this strip may just work, but if the seam itself underneath has issues the pressure may just work itself to another place. You will find out! Here is a pic of patch over an irregular surface. It has held up on the bottom of my boat for three years so far. The original owner damaged the fabric surface trying to effect repairs. After I repaired the floor to tube seam I had a spot that wasn't covered. I got lots of recommendations regarding the use of liquid rubber or other "paints" that would cover the spot and avoid a patch. The advice I got was that patches lowered the resale value of my boat. I didn't care about that. The boat is very sound, but I don't have any real expectations regarding resale and I felt that liquid rubber wasn't going to provide the level of abrasion resistance that I desired. I would rather have a "funny looking repair" that is bullet proof and it is repairable should it fail. Better to receive some scorn from other inflatable owners rather than have a tube failure beaching in a remote location. I am patch happy!
patch1.jpg


One of the "truths" of repairs is that small patches will not hold. That is definitely not true for well bonded patches. Here is a shot of my tow ring and it's mounting base. I have another one of those damaged fabric spots covered by the larger patch to the side. It is NOT a substitute for correctly repairing a failing base mount. It is only to cover the damaged section of fabric I inherited. It was recommended to me that I use a larger piece of fabric underneath to neatly cover the larger area before I reinstalled the failed tow ring mount. But as you can see aesthetics don't mean anything to me. The really small dinky little patch covers a worn spot on the base mount itself. The heck with liquid rubber or an expensive replacement tow ring assembly. This little patch has traveled far and wide and isn't going to come off easily. It violates the 2" rule because it isn't even remotely 2" big. Yes, it doesn't have to resist air pressure. But it withstands a lot of abuse and I am confident that it could patch a small puncture and remain in place. I had to replace a large circular patch on my boat that was "blown" by tube pressure. The patch had a big "bubble" in the middle. Yes, the extra 2" border was still holding, but that is not what I consider to be a good repair. Relying on the 2"border to hold a bad glue job is foolish. The air pressure will work it's way outward inevitably. If the patch is failing right over the leak it isn't going to last. If a puncture is bigger than just a small pinhole it needs to have a backing patch on the inside too.

patch3.jpg


It is true that resale value suffers when you add patches. All sorts of dodges are used by some to avoid the appearance of a repair. Everything from large "wear surface reinforcements" that look almost original to installing a d ring over a leak and another one on the other side to make it look like accessorizing rather than patching. You need to decide what is best for you. It is absolutely possible to work down the edge of an overlapping glue job and truly seal a patch. It is also possible to use a patch that is smaller than the 2" border rule if necessary. That said, any repair has a limited life span like any glued seam itself. If possible you should consider the possibility that you will have to revisit the repair eventually. Those sealers you slosh around inside your tube should only be used as a last ditch effort on an old boat. They make repairing large cuts or holes almost impossible (you have to get all of the sealer off to install an inner patch). Hope this helps you and at the very least it will show everyone what a true pinhead I am! Gluing is easy, but a strong bond takes care, low humidity, proper prep and that makes the 2" border rule a guide not a rule.
 

Howard Sterndrive

Rear Admiral
Joined
Nov 5, 2008
Messages
4,603
Re: Hypalon Repair

I bought a huge 3 square yard roll of hypalon on eBay from a guy that said he was building RIBS for the military. I paid about $20 and it's handy stuff. Places that repair inflatables have tons of small corner cuts and odd color stuff they will sell for cheap.
I asked the guy I bought the roll from what the best adhesive for patching was and he told me 5200 (??)
So, I tried it... and guess what, it works great.

It just takes ages to set up and dry, but 5200 worked well on my Avon.
It even did a great job of sticking the Avon name labels (which are pvc) to the hypalon hull.

I carry the 1 part Zodiac brand hypalon repair adhesive on board in case of emergency -it sets very fast.
 

nobrainsd

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jul 19, 2008
Messages
230
Re: Hypalon Repair

Yep, that 5200 sticks to almost everything. I use a little bit to fill in the corners where the transom, floor and tube all come together. I kept getting sand, fish scales and assorted crap wedged in there and it was getting grinded in by the floor sections. However, The stuff stays flexible and is ridiculously hard to remove. Doesn't come off easily with abrasive wheels and the like. I had to slice some off with a safety razor blade and use a small sanding drum at high speeds on the remains. Very unpleasant. Made the dried two part glue removal seem easy, ha! Not something I would use regularly for repairs in replacement of two part glue and I wouldn't touch repairs on someones 5200 glued boat. IMO
 

TOHATSU GURU

Admiral
Joined
Jul 22, 2004
Messages
6,164
Re: Hypalon Repair

No, you do not use 5200 as a bonding agent...It will not hold and will loosen at an inopportune time.
 
Joined
May 15, 2009
Messages
72
Re: Hypalon Repair

Where would I find some large swatches of Red PVC? Any ideas. Looking for 2 foot by 1 foot or there about.
 
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