Best patch for dingys

Feb 13, 2016
551
macgreggor venture 224 ohio river
I have a 8' rubber raft that got a 1/2" cut, what's best way to patch it up. I have no local marine stores so I'll need to order. Any ideals?
 

Gunni

.
Mar 16, 2010
5,937
Beneteau 411 Oceanis Annapolis
First you need to know whether you have a PVC inflatable, or a CSM (hypalon) inflatable. They require different patching materials, and techniques.
 
Sep 8, 2014
2,551
Catalina 22 Swing Keel San Diego
Seaworthy was made in Croatia and imported, they are hypalon. A few sources are in agreement, but the most reliable source is this link below;
https://sailrite.wordpress.com/2012/11/13/repairing-a-pvc-or-hypalon-dinghy/

Adhesives for repair are expensive, especially when you buy in small quantities. The best source I have found to order small quantity adhesives and patch material is NRS.com
They also have great tutorial videos on how to apply the different adhesives and patches.
http://www.nrs.com/repair/hypalon_repair.asp

When you decide on an adhesive, do a little comparison shopping on defender.com and Sailrite.com
For PVC boats (most Zodiacs), the urethane adhesive I get from Sailrite is only $16 for a big 16 oz can. But that's not the adhesive you want for hypalon, and you don't need nearly that much to do one patch.
 
Mar 1, 2012
2,182
1961 Rhodes Meridian 25 Texas coast
Over the years, I've repaired 3 Hypalon dinghies with the supplied patch material and 5200 as the adhesive. One was done in 1983 and is still holding. The others were done in 2009, and 2011.

Works well
 

SFS

.
Aug 18, 2015
2,083
Currently Boatless Okinawa
This stuff works great for both hypalon and PVC: http://www.westmarine.com/buy/poly-marine--hypalon-pvc-adhesives--P010_301_007_513, you just need a bit of extra material to make the patch.
No. The above link is to an either/or choice. One type of adhesive on the page is clearly marked for hypalon, the other is clearly marked for PVC. Either version comes in a one part formula and a 2-part formula.

The ad clearly states "Choose between one-part or two-part formulas for Hypalon or PVC". You need to buy the adhesive meant for the material you are patching.
 

JTulls

.
Dec 6, 2014
89
International 14 and J-Boat J80 San Diego
No. The above link is to an either/or choice. One type of adhesive on the page is clearly marked for hypalon, the other is clearly marked for PVC. Either version comes in a one part formula and a 2-part formula.

The ad clearly states "Choose between one-part or two-part formulas for Hypalon or PVC". You need to buy the adhesive meant for the material you are patching.
Ah, good catch -- we use it at work on hypalon and for some reason I just assumed it was for both, sorry for the confusion!