fixin up an older inflatable

[mudslinging79]

i recieved an older inflatable that the repair shop wouldnt touch as it was "too old". had sone time and a little wood, so i replaced the old rotting 3 piece flooring with something a lil better, as well as made a stow box/fish finder mount, reinforced the outer seams as well as the bottom seams, and well, here she is. now looking to name her.

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[nobrainsd]

Re: fixin up an older inflatable

How did you choose to reinforce the seams? A long over patch, a rubber coating or special paint?

Nice looking floor!

 

[mudslinging79]

Re: fixin up an older inflatable

that was the delema as i have no boat shops in a reasonable distance. i needed something flexible, yet would stick to the boat. epoxy was out as well as rubber cement. i ended up using loctite 5900 flange sealant. i tested a small area on the bottom first, and i found it sticks, stays stuck, and flexes like a thicker rubber compound. i also found it handles abrasions pretty good. for the seams, i masked off about 1/2 to 1 inch ouside edges of the seam, then applied with a broadknife. kinda like taping drywall without the tape. it comes in caulking tubes, so i have some left over for the future. let it dry bout 24 hours though. nice thing bout it is its thick, like a silicone caulking.

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not perfect, but im happy with it for a first time job.

 

[nobrainsd]

necessity...

necessity...

is the mother of invention. Thank you for the informative reply. I hope you will follow up with how well the 5900 holds up. Were the seams leaking or was this just a preventative measure with edges starting to raise? I just attacked a seam that was leaking by working a screw driver in by working it back and forth. Glued the the opening and it worked, but I know older inflatables are a maintenance challenge. Alwyas considering whats next...

 

[mudslinging79]

Re: fixin up an older inflatable

the cloth strip was starting to come off the bottom joint between the side and floor, wasnt leaking yet but i figure why wait. ive scraped the bottom launching it along a gravel/sand mix launch, rubbed it loading it on top of the bronco, and ive tried pulling off a patch. so far its been bout 6 months and its stuck on there like it was done yesterday. the paint on the fiberglass back hatch is showing more wear and tear from the boat than the boat is showing from rubbing the hatch.

 

[Howard Sterndrive]

Re: fixin up an older inflatable

good info - I have a patch on the floor of my 1986 Avon that I cannot get to stay on at 30mph.
I have tried every adhesive on the market - I'm going to try just coating it with this flange sealant....

 

[jay_merrill]

Re: fixin up an older inflatable

I actually know nothing about inflatables, but just wanted to warn Howard Sterndrive not to let Stuttering John serve as his navigator. If he does, we'll have to call out the Coast Guard to find them, because it will take John 10 miles after every waypoint to call a heading change!

(sorry, I just couldn't resist! )

 

[mudslinging79]

Re: fixin up an older inflatable

heya howard, you find that glue stuff? if not try granger supply, thats who we get our stuff through.